Close to You

ton to do to prepare for her, thanks to Treat’s
mother.”
    “ Do you need
help?”
    She smiled, genuinely for the first
time all day. “I’ll make it. I just really need this event. I told
you Margaret is in the running to host it, right?”
    “ Yeah.” Olivia shook her
head. “Once Daniela meets you, there won’t be any contest. Just be
yourself. You’re irresistible.”
    “ You have to say that
because you’re my friend.”
    Olivia shook her head. “No, I’d tell
you if you sucked.”
    She laughed and held out her glass.
“Here’s to honesty.”
    Olivia clinked her glass. “And to
friends.”
     
     

Chapter Twenty-six
     
    Margaret looked around Crumpet, wanting to rip all the
doilies off the tables . She couldn’t
remember why she’d been so focused on this place. She hated
it.
    Pacing back and forth between the
kitchen and front door, she was aware of the looks her staff was
giving her, as well as the ones they exchanged between themselves.
Let them look—she didn’t give a damn.
    She felt like she was crawling out of
her skin.
    Treat wasn’t talking to her. She
worried her pearls, remembering the way he’d looked at her when
he’d pelted her with his accusations. He’d been around too—she’d
seen his truck parked in front of Grounds for Thought, at the other
end of the block.
    It stung.
    She deserved it. She’d all but driven
him over there.
    She stared out the window.
She hadn’t meant for it to go this far. She only meant to annoy Eve
with the flyers, the reviews, the imaginary cockroaches… She had no
excuse for the water hose. She’d been in a
state, a strange dazed-out-of-her-mind state that she’d never
experienced before.
    It was no better now. She swore the
walls were closing in on her.
    The business phone rang, and she
hurried to answer. “Crumpet.”
    “ Have lunch with me,
Margaret.”
    She stilled, recognizing Grant’s
voice. She must have still been experiencing the temporary insanity
because she said, “Okay.”
    “ I thought I just heard you
say okay.”
    “ I did.” If she didn’t get
out of there, she was going to scream. “Where do I meet
you?”
    He gave her the name of a restaurant
on Divisadero and California and told her he’d meet her there in
fifteen minutes. Not wasting any time, she told an incredulous
Tanya she was leaving for a little while and rushed out of the
teashop.
    Grant was already there when she
arrived. He stood up, smiling, looking happy to see her.
    She didn’t deserve to have someone
look so pleased about her. She frowned.
    “ Margaret, you look as
lovely as always.” He kissed her cheek and pulled the chair
out.
    “ Thank you,” she murmured.
Her heart pounded for some reason. She put a hand to her chest,
wondering if she was on the verge of a heart attack.
    “ Are you all right?” Grant
asked, concern lining his face. “You look flushed.”
    “ Just warm.” She tugged at
her necklace. They felt like they were choking her. Aware of the
way he watched her, she picked up the menu. “What are you
having?”
    They ordered, and she managed to make
small talk. But as soon as the waitress left with their order,
Grant sat back and studied her.
    “ What is it?” she asked,
fidgeting.
    He shook his head.
    The way he looked at her made her
uncomfortable, like he could see all parts of her, even the part
that did bad things for her own profit. She shifted in her seat,
trying to hide.
    “ Do you want to tell me
about it?” he asked softly.
    She stiffened, and anger she hadn’t
realized she still carried burbled to the surface. “That’s rather
presumptuous of you.”
    He didn’t even blink. He simply
watched her kindly, waiting for her.
    “ You don’t know me,” she
said tersely, surprising herself.
    “ But I’d like to get to
know you.”
    She gripped a fork in her hand. “I
don’t understand why. I’m not a good person.”
    “ How about if I be the
judge of that?”
    Growling, she let the fork clatter
onto the plate. “You sound so reasonable, but you don’t know. You
have no idea who I am.”
    “ I think I have an
idea.”
    She snorted in disbelief.
    “ Margaret, you’re a kind,
lovely woman.”
    “ No, I’m not.” She crossed
her arms. A kind woman wouldn’t have sabotaged an innocent young
woman for her own gain.
    “ You feed that homeless man
every day.”
    She froze. “You know about
that?”
    Grant nodded. “For weeks I’ve watched
you leave food for him. Do you know how many people pass by