Entangled (A Tangle Valley Romance #1) - Melissa Brayden Page 0,25
and the amount of babysitting and trial and error to get all the components balanced was painstakingly difficult.
“Are we shopping tomorrow?” Gabriella asked, picking out a spot for herself on the floor where she began a series of stretches, showing off her lean torso. Joey had no idea how she managed to look so amazing when she was surrounded by food all the time. That just wasn’t fair.
“Yeah, I have two of our part-time pourers coming in to back up Loretta in the tasting room. Midmorning okay with you?”
“That gives me time for morning yoga.”
“You do yoga?” Joey asked. She always admired those women who could twist themselves into a variety of pretzel-like poses. They seemed so sophisticated and worldly. She wondered if Becca did yoga. “I’ve never tried it.”
“Well, then I’ll have to teach you. You’ll love it.” Gabriella hooked a thumb at Madison. “This one doesn’t.”
Madison shrugged. “I just feel the time ticking away. I’m supposed to stretch and breathe when my to-do list is just sitting there, dormant and afraid?”
“Yes,” Joey and Gabriella said in unison.
“I’d die slowly of impatience. I’d say you’d miss me, but I think you’d be busy breathing in.”
“What’s it like to be you?” Joey asked.
“It’s torture, Jo. You don’t want this life.” But Madison was laughing when she said it, a sign of healthy self-awareness.
After lounging for an hour, her friends eventually headed out into the night, leaving Joey with the dishes and a feeling of satisfaction. Life seemed so foreign to Joey now, that she took true comfort in establishing new norms. Madison and Gabriella were helping with that, and after her conversation with Becca in the tasting room, she had an extra spring in her step. She’d not detected a spark with anyone since Simone. She’d actually started to think that maybe the romantic part of her life was good and done. She was only in her thirties, and that reality would have been sad, but livable. Today, though? She’d experienced something exciting when she spoke to Becca, looked into her eyes as she tasted the wine. She didn’t know what it was exactly, but it had her paying attention. Joey did know one thing for certain. She wanted to feel that way again soon.
Chapter Four
“Joey, I have to confess, this stuff gets me going,” Gabriella said and rubbed her hands together as they moved from one end of the used-car dealership to the other in search of the perfect food truck for Tangle Valley. “Virgin Mary, I’m all atingle,” she whispered to Joey as they followed Powell Rogers, the sometimes gruff owner of the lot, to truck number two. She did a little dance as if in a boxing ring. Joey smothered a smile. Gabriella was definitely an enthusiastic chef, but she was no pushover. She spoke up for what she wanted, even passionately when called for.
Joey passed Gabriella a look and kept her volume down, not wanting to alert Powell to their plans. “Just let me know how you’re feeling about each one as we go.”
“Not a problem,” Gabriella said, still gearing up for battle.
“Does that help you shop?” Joey asked, pointing at Gabriella’s quick moving feet.
“Yes,” she said, as if it were universal.
“Got it,” Joey said, pressing on. “Do you.”
She’d lined up three different trucks for Gabriella to inspect, not knowing exactly what would be most important to her but wanting her chef to have everything she needed for success in the coming months when she’d be relegated to a small workspace. The introduction of the truck and the buzz about its food would hopefully act as introduction to the restaurant the following year.
They’d nixed truck number one already simply because the thing had been used into the ground, was likely on its last leg, and Gabriella felt it was like “a sad little truck that just needed to rest with its mama now.”
“Yep. You folks are about to fall in love. The beauty of this next truck is that it’s all top of the line equipment, and fully automated,” Powell explained with his Budweiser ball cap perched too high on his head like it didn’t fit. He’d always worn it like that, and Joey couldn’t figure out why he didn’t just buy a bigger size, but that was Powell.
“Sounds promising,” Gabriella said, ceasing her footwork the second Powell looked their way. They followed him to a maroon colored, medium-sized truck with a single serving window.
Powell clapped his hands. “Beautiful, isn’t she? Let’s go inside.”