Page 27 of Housekeeping

She picked another one for me, then one for herself, and took a tiny bite, chewing with a small frown on her face.

“It’s not bad… but it’s still missing something. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but I need it to be good enough for the hotel’s standards in case we get another surprise review.”

“Your food always gets nice reviews anyway. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“There’s always something to worry about. Everybody’s a critic these days, and I don’t like hearing people didn’t like my stuff.”

“If this is going to have a lot of sugar, though…”

“I’ll figure something out for a sugar-free category. There’s only so healthy you can make any dessert, and that one will probably take me longer to work out. Also, I need to take in possible allergies, so I’m watching the ingredients I put in…”

I watched her in admiration. “You take your job seriously.”

She laughed. “Of course I do! I spent a lot of time and money to get to where I am. I wouldn’t waste so much effort if it were something I hated. Besides, it’s great when I get to taste my food.” Then she laughed again, a little more rueful as she glanced down at herself. “I do have to worry about my weight with all the pastries and desserts I keep eating.”

“Exercise more. It’s why I usually walk, though if you wanted, you could try going to the gym.”

At the word ‘gym,’ Jessi almost looked pained, and I laughed at her reaction. As much as she worried about her weight with what she loved to eat, she disliked the gym. I’d be making time to go myself but I ate pretty healthily, and while I was curvy, I wasn’t quite as plump as Jessi was. She was self-conscious about it but I thought it looked good on her.

“So,” she said after we’d eaten a couple more. “What’s been going on with you lately? You’re not acting like your usual self at all.”

Now that she’d brought it up, I couldn’t help feeling down again, my shoulders slumping as I let out a weary sigh.

“I’ve just… been having problems.”

She smiled. “I realize that. And because you did the same for me, I won’t push you for details until you want to tell me on your own.”

I gave her a grateful smile back, though it was touched with unease. I didn’t know why I hadn’t told her yet. It had bugged me before when I knew something had happened between her and Trent, and she didn’t tell me about it, but every time I’d opened my mouth to try and broach the subject, I’d say something else instead.

“It’s not something to worry about,” I reassured her. “It’s just something I need to get over.”

Mason would not become my whole life. I had a lot that was great in my life without him. Even if he was hot as hell, and just the thought of him made me want to stay in bed some mornings, I could and would move on.