Sandcastle Beach (Matchmaker Bay #3) - Jenny Holiday Page 0,57
his victory a moment later, making an announcement and handing him the trophy.
“I gotta get one of those grilled-cheese sandwiches Law is doing,” Eve said as they approached Lawson’s Lager House a little later. The girls had gone for a swim after the competition to cool off, so Benjamin was already back at work behind the outdoor bar.
“Mmm,” Nora said as they got in line.
“He’s doing aged cheddar with raspberry-thyme jam and a drizzle of balsamic glaze this year,” Karl said, turning to speak to them from his spot in line.
Hmm.
Lawson’s Lunch sounded like the name of a place that would make good grilled-cheese sandwiches.
Grilled-cheese sandwiches that everyone apparently already loved.
Crap. Benjamin might actually win the grant.
Maya stood in line behind the girls while they ordered sandwiches and drinks—raspberry sangria for Eve and a sparkling raspberry mocktail for Nora—undecided about whether she could order a sandwich. Probably not. Probably the pizza logic applied.
“Next,” Benjamin said, as Eve and Nora cleared out with their purchases. He’d been sliding a sandwich out of a press, but as he looked up and locked eyes with Maya, he burned himself. “Shit.” The sandwich fell to the pavement as he shook out his hand, which caused more cursing.
He glared at her like it was her fault. As if. She glared back, because that was what she was supposed to do. They hadn’t done this for a while, so it felt a little strange, like trying to put on an ill-fitting item of clothing.
Nora stepped in. “Let me see.”
He let her take his hand but kept looking at Maya. “I don’t have your wine out here. My dad’s inside. Tell him your wine is in the small fridge with the Mill Street decal on it.”
“Oh, I’m not—”
“You’d better go in with her,” Nora said. “Put some cool water on this.”
“It’ll be fine,” Benjamin said.
“Not cold water. Cool,” Nora said, ignoring him. “And no ice. Get yourself a basin of cool water and sit down for a bit and immerse your hand in it.”
“I got this covered.” Eve stepped behind the bar. Benjamin rolled his eyes—he didn’t like being fussed over—but he went, holding the door for Maya with his unburned hand.
She paused. She hadn’t intended to hang around after the sandcastles. Rehearsals started tomorrow, and she’d been planning to hole up in her room at the Mermaid and work on her first-day-of-rehearsal, everything-is-normal-even-though-we-have-a-huge-celebrity-among-us speech.
Benjamin made an impatient are-you-or-aren’t-you gesture as he held the door. Screw it. A glass of wine would be good. She missed the bar. She hadn’t been able to stop in as much recently, given the work she’d been doing getting her apartment ready for Holden.
“Hi, Mr. Lawson,” she said to Benjamin’s dad, who was behind the bar. Benjamin himself headed back to the tiny kitchen.
“Hi, Maya. Lots of talk about your movie star.”
“Ha ha, yes! His being here is very exciting!” Hopefully it would also be lucrative.
“What can I get you?”
“I’ll have a glass of the Riesling.”
She noticed as he uncorked it that it wasn’t the same one she usually drank. “Oh, not that one, if you don’t mind. The other one.” Was this why Benjamin had been jawing about it being in some refrigerator or other?
Mr. Lawson peered at the bottle, which looked different from the kind Benjamin usually poured from. “I don’t think there is another one.” Well, she didn’t want to be a jerk, so she said, “I must be confused. That one is great, thanks.”
The living room effect of the bar, of feeling at home and like she belonged, was not as strong as it usually was. Probably because the bar wasn’t very crowded. Everyone was outside for raspberry festivities and fancy sandwiches, so there was no one nearby she could chat with.
Benjamin reappeared with a bowl of water and came to sit next to her. She suddenly felt a little more comfortable. Probably because she was used to his being here. For better or worse, he was part of the background of her living room away from home.
“What happened?” his dad said.
“Burned my hand. Doc Walsh is out there and isn’t going to let me come back out until I’ve soaked it for a while.”
Mr. Lawson nodded and moved to the other end of the bar to serve a customer. Maya and Benjamin sat in silence for a long moment until he said, “FYI, I’m working on getting Sadie Saunders elected mermaid queen.”
Sadie? That was not what Maya’d had in mind when she’d ordered him to cease