2. Chapter 2

2

CHAPTER 2

“ E ighty six, the Truffled Halloumi Fries,” Sasha Ashford called out to the kitchen staff as she threw the packaging from her last packet of halloumi cheese into the plastic recycling. “Okay, so those are definitely a hit.”

Sous-chef Sophie looked up from where she was plating the last serving of the fries on a bed of baby butter lettuce leaves, with a cup of Sasha’s homemade peppercorn ranch dressing tucked in next to them. “So they’ll go on the menu full-time?”

Sasha pressed her hands against the base of her spine and stretched backward. “Probably. I’m gonna wait a couple of weeks before I put in for another shipment of halloumi, to see what kind of buzz not having them generates after they sold out the whole month of this experiment. I want to make sure there’s a good chance they’ll keep selling.”

Rebecca, the dessert specialist, drifted by with a Mexican Hot Chocolate pie in her hands. “Esme loves them, too.”

“Yeah, that plate is for her; she’s why we’re out of them today!” Sasha laughed as she pulled down the next ticket. “They’ve replaced the loaded nachos as her favorite… hmm.” She paused for thought, the ticket dangling forgotten from her hand. “Do loaded nacho halloumi fries sound good?”

Everyone in the kitchen at the Indigo Lounge stopped to think about the suggestion. “Yes,” Rebecca said with a definitive nod of her head. “Yes. Absolutely. Yes. And don’t make us wait two weeks for a taste test, Sash.”

“Seconded,” Sophie volunteered. “But they should be special, seasonal, limited. Maybe for next month as a sort of Cinco de Mayo thing? Even though halloumi isn’t Mexican…”

“Still, that sounds like a plan to me. I like it. OK, I’ll put in a small order of halloumi so we can do some thorough taste testing.” Beaming at her amazing kitchen staff, Sasha looked back down at the ticket in her hand. It took her a moment to realize what she was looking at, and when she did, a flock of butterflies took flight in her stomach. “I got this one.”

It was a simple order, just a basket of peppered sweet potato chips with hot honey glaze, but only one person ever ordered them, or knew that it was possible to order sweet potato chips at the Indigo Lounge at all. Sasha hummed Sarah McLachlan’s “Ice Cream” to herself as she carefully sliced a sweet potato with a mandoline. Gently, she lowered the thin chips into a fresh hot oil bath, keeping a careful eye on them so that they came out perfectly crisp. She blotted all of the excess oil off with a clean paper towel before sprinkling a generous helping of smoky Urfa Biber pepper over the chips, then a handful of feta crumbles, followed by a drizzle of her special hot honey glaze. This went under the broiler to get the cheese a little melty and toasty over the chips.

Working quickly, Sasha also mixed up a big mango-passionfruit milkshake, even though it wasn’t on the ticket and Rebecca usually handled the milkshakes as part of her dessert duties. She filled a stemmed milkshake glass with the creamy concoction and sprayed a small mountain of whipped cream on top, dusted that with fruity sprinkles, and placed a maraschino cherry with laser precision.

Only when everything was perfect did she load up a tray and personally convey the order out to the bar herself, bypassing Cam Casey waiting at the kitchen window. Cam, a jack-of-all-trades at the Lounge who was picking up a wait shift today, raised one knowing eyebrow and nodded.

Sasha’s target was at the corner of the Lounge’s bar as usual, engaged in animated conversation with Esme Bloom, the owner of the café-bar. Butterflies took flight again as she walked briskly but with care for her special delivery towards Ruby Fierelli.

She looked fantastic, as usual—although maybe a little more tired than usual, Sasha observed. Clearly whatever she’d been working on during the week she was away from the Lounge had been a challenge. Her long, fiery red hair was pulled up in a high sloppy bun, and her blunt bangs, usually neatly arranged over her forehead, were all over the place. While Ruby usually wore funky crop tops, miniskirts, and tall socks with boots, today her lovely curves were hidden under a loose t-shirt and baggy jeans. And her ever-present laptop was nowhere in sight, nor the pin and patch covered messenger bag she usually carried it in. Sasha stopped and frowned. Something must have happened. She hoped Ruby was okay.

Ruby looked up from her conversation and her face lit up with a luminous smile when she saw Sasha. “Sash!”

Sasha’s heart skipped a beat. Ruby’s blue eyes were tired behind the thick rims of her black cat-eye glasses, but her happiness at seeing Sasha would be obvious even to the most emotionally stunted human being. It washed through Sasha like sunshine and got her moving again with Ruby’s order. She set it down on the bar with care. “Hi, Rubes. Long time no see.”

“Oh, just a week.” Ruby’s smile broadened. “I had a lot of work to do on my latest project. I needed to be more distraction-free than usual.”

“Ah, that’s why you didn’t send me any responses beyond thumbs-up or thumbs-down emojis.” Esme’s big brown eyes twinkled with good cheer. “I didn’t take it personally.”

“Good, because I didn’t mean it personally.” Ruby stuck her tongue out and winked. “I just allotted myself specific windows of time to access my phone during the day, and I had to work fast to respond to everyone’s texts. As soon as I got the urge to open TikTok or Instagram, I had to put the phone down and get back to work!”

“A solid strategy. But does this mean we can set up another book signing for you soon?” Esme looked eager. Ever since the Indigo Lounge had been renovated and expanded, Sasha knew her boss was just itching to host a big sapphic author event. They hadn’t had one since before the refurbishing, and Ruby’s signings always did well.

But Ruby looked sheepish, almost squirming in her chair in the face of Esme’s excitement. “Sorry, Esme. This one’s not a me project, it’s a ghosty. Someone else’s name and Photoshopped pic is going on the back. And,” she ducked her head and blushed. “This one’s for the straights .”

Esme threw back her head and her delightful throaty belly laugh pealed out into the air of the Lounge. “It’s another Men in Kilts one, isn’t it? I knew you’d get picked up for more of those. How are you so good at writing burly straight men in wool skirts?”

Sasha had to suppress her own laugh as Ruby dropped her head into her hands in mock despair. “I don’t knooooow,” came the muffled groan. When she looked helplessly up at the Lounge ceiling, her bangs were spiked up into adorable disarray. “I didn’t even grow up reading that kind of bodice ripper like Nat did.”

“Hey, that’s supposed to be my dirty little secret,” Natalie protested, catching the stray as she walked by with a tray of cappuccinos.

“We’ve all seen the ones you carry around in your purse, Nat,” Sasha chuckled. “You’re lousy at keeping your own secrets.”

As Nat sailed off in a huff to deliver her caffeinated burden, Ruby started nibbling at her snack. “Mmm. These are perfect as always, Sasha. You should put them on the regular menu.”

“Nah. Then they’re not special.” Sasha ignored the knowing grin on Esme’s face. Every week, Sasha put in the grocery order and every week it included five, and only five, sweet potatoes, destined for a customer who never had to pay for them to be made for her. Sasha was certain Esme knew about her crush on Ruby, and she was grateful for a boss that never made a fuss.

Ruby noticed the slightly melted milkshake at last and reached over from her tall barstool to give Sasha a hug that made the butterflies in her stomach swirl. “And a milkshake! Sash, you spoil me too much. I got the smoothie the other night, too. Thank you.”

“Nah, no problem.” The delicious scent of the perfume Ruby always wore wreathed around Sasha, filling her nose with notes of jasmine, rose, and some hint of pepper that added a bit of edge to the heady florals. “You deserve a reward after all your work. I figured that’s why you hadn’t been in.”

“And I’m not even done.” Ruby sat back up and resumed working on her chips. “I’m close, so close to a story breakthrough that I can taste it. But I had to get out of the house and go somewhere other than the dog park. I needed people. ”

“I’m people,” Nat protested, catching another stray as she passed innocently by with her now-empty tray.

“I love you, Nat,” Ruby called after her roommate. She grinned at Esme and Sasha. “She’s been a treasure this week. Took Winston out for walkies, got us food, made me take breaks. Best roommate ever.”

Sasha slipped behind the bar to stand next to Esme. She started cutting up lemons to give her hands something to do, and to have an excuse to stay and keep talking to Ruby. “You know, if you want, I can take Winston for a few days so you don’t have to worry about him at all while you wrap up this project.” She liked Ruby’s little old man of a dog, a sweet fellow that slept most of the time but enjoyed a good game of fetch at the quieter dog parks of Los Angeles. Unfortunately caring for him, as she often did when Ruby went out of town, meant that she had to take Claritin every day without fail or risk sneezing her head off. Sasha wouldn’t do it for any other person or any other dog.

Ruby considered the offer. “No, not that,” she said, propping her chin in the palm of her hand. “I like the excuse to get up from my desk. But listen, I might need you in a couple months, actually.” She reached into a little army-green canvas purse sitting on the bar and fished out a white envelope. “My little brother sent me this.”

Esme plucked the envelope away and opened it, squealing as she pulled out a wedding invitation. Sasha peered over her shoulder and squinted to read the curling text. As she realized what it said, she couldn’t help her smile. “Danny and Ange are getting married?”

Ruby’s little brother and his college sweetheart had visited LA many times, and of course Ruby had brought them to her favorite hangout. They were good kids, or, well, not kids, she reflected. They were both about thirty, Danny having been a surprise baby five years after Ruby, Sasha remembered her saying once.

Ruby was beaming, her joy evident and nearly tangible. “Isn’t it awesome? I’m so happy for them. They stood so firm on their own timeline and their own needs. Not easy in our families.” She pointed to a thin little slip of paper in Esme’s hand. “And look, Danny wants me to be his Best Gal. I know that caused at least two arguments with Angela’s side of the family. Tradition runs strong in the Pausinis.”

“Good on Danny for standing strong,” Esme remarked with a nod of approval. “He’s a good egg. But what’s going on here?” She waved a little card. “Someone wants you to bring a date to this wedding real damn bad.”

Sasha looked more closely at what turned out to be an RSVP card. To her surprise, the little Plus One question field was circled in purple ink and surrounded by tiny, glittery smiley face stickers. She blinked and looked at Ruby. “Wow. Kinda pushy of them.”

The joy had evaporated from Ruby’s pretty face, the light dimming in her blue eyes. “Yeah. They mean well, but… ugh.” She pulled off her glasses and rubbed at the bridge of her nose for a moment. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. It was going to suck going as the last single Fierelli already, but now I have to bring a date? And subject them to my family who’d love nothing more than to marry me off next? I don’t know anyone I could willingly put through that.”

Cam strolled up to mix a spicy Delevingne Daiquiri for a customer, shaking back the long purple side fringe of hair that drooped over her mischievous dark eyes. “You should take Sasha.”

It took everything Sasha had in her to not kick her friend in the shin. Cam was the one person that Sasha had ever confessed her crush on Ruby to, and the crack she’d just made felt uncharacteristically unkind of her. Willing her anger to stay down, Sasha frowned at Cam. “Me? Why me?”

“You’re like, stoic, Sash. You could withstand any pressure, and anyway, you know the family, right?” Cam’s eyes sparkled, but Sasha couldn’t really get a read on her. What was she up to? Her next words did nothing to settle Sasha down. “You and Ruby are really good friends. You could actually fake being girlfriends super well, plus you kinda do look like a couple.”

“I do know the Fierelli family,” Sasha replied slowly, ignoring the latter half of Cam’s outrageous suggestion. She was afraid to look at Ruby. Would she laugh off the idea? Dismiss it with some witty comment? Swallowing hard, Sasha tucked a curl of her black hair that had escaped her bandana back into confinement and forced herself to meet Ruby’s gaze.

But surprisingly, Ruby looked thoughtful, like she was actually contemplating the idea. “That’s… not a bad idea. Straight out of my second book, actually, and I’m furious I didn’t think of it first. It could work… if Sash is up to it, anyway.” Her eyes lit up again. “Nat suggested I take her, but it would be pretty clear pretty fast that we’re just friends, and I’d be in for a world of even more nagging then. My family wants me to bring a date , a possibility . Not just a friend.”

“You and I are just friends,” Sasha managed to get out, but she could hear the words emerging in a choked gurgle. Dimly, she was aware that Esme had taken her hand in a reassuring grip. That helped her a little.

“We can fake more, though.” Ruby was in full imagination mode, her glasses now propped up on her head as she thought out loud. “We’ve been friends for so long, and you do know my family, they like you a lot. They’re going to be really crazy all that week, though. Hopped up on love and romance and matchmaking.” She gazed soberly at Sasha. “It’s only a suggestion, Sash. You absolutely don’t have to do this. It would be a great favor to me if you did, though.”

Esme’s soft, warm hand on hers was the only thing keeping Sasha from fleeing back to the kitchen without another word. She fished through a dozen possible responses. Terror made her want to say no, but the idea of pretending to be Ruby’s girlfriend filled her with a fizzy happiness she found immediately addictive.

Girlfriends touched, they hugged, they were always close and aware of each other. To be so deeply in Ruby’s orbit for a week, even if only for that week, could be like a test run. Maybe it would help Sasha confess her feelings out loud at last, if she liked it as much as she thought she would. And if it didn’t, well, she’d have that week to keep her warm for a while, at least.

“Yes,” she blurted out before she could talk herself out of it. “Yes, I’ll play girlfriend, take some of the pressure off you. A New York vacation could be a lot of fun even with all the wedding stuff.”

She felt Esme and Cam staring at her, incredulity from her boss and mischievous satisfaction from her friend. But in front of her there was only Ruby, pretty Ruby, sweet Ruby with her face lighting up in gratitude and happiness that was all for Sasha. She basked in the warmth of it as Ruby babbled, “Sash, thank you, thank you, yes, we’re going to have so much fun! I’ll take you to all my favorite places; I can’t thank you enough for this.”

“I’ll text you, we need to have a meet up, make sure we have our stories all in order,” Sasha said, pulling her hand out of Esme’s. Her cheeks were burning red with excitement and amazement. She could not believe what she’d just agreed to. “Tickets have got to be piling up in the kitchen. I’ve been out here for too long—gotta go, Rubes.”

Before anyone else could say anything, Sasha turned on her heel and all but raced back to the Indigo Lounge kitchen. Cooking made sense, food didn’t give her any kind of confusing feelings, and she needed to surround herself with that blissful normality before she could talk herself out of the decision she’d just made.