Home > Coral Cafe (The Coral Cottage at Summer Beach #2)(2)

Coral Cafe (The Coral Cottage at Summer Beach #2)(2)
Author: Jan Moran

Marina had paid for the new deck with her severance settlement from the television station. Ginger’s insurance had also covered repairs after a waterspout had hurtled onshore just a few weeks ago. The twister had sheared the roof from the guest cottage and made a mess of the yard. They had just finished installing new shrubs and flowers. Fortunately, the new patio escaped damage.

Jack Ventana, a writer who’d been renting the cottage from Ginger for a short sabbatical, had moved to a room at the Seabreeze Inn with his overgrown Labrador retriever puppy, Scout. As irksome as Jack and Scout could be, Marina missed taking the occasional morning walk on the beach with the pair.

But that was before Jack had pulled a disappearing act. After she’d joined him for what turned out to be a romantic swim at the Seabreeze Inn—the historic house that her old friend Ivy Bay had restored—he’d promised to call her. They’d even shared a kiss. But a week had passed, and then another, and he’d made no effort to contact her again.

She was too busy for a relationship anyway.

As Marina secured the bag with tape, her mind whirred. She probably had time to create more than salads and pasta. She could do this. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. You have a dinner party planned for this evening?”

“We did,” Anne said, looking glum.

“We could host you and your friends on the deck,” Marina began.

Anne shook her head. “The whole point was that our friends wanted a tour of the yacht.” As her gaze fell on Marina’s apron, she pressed a finger to her lips. “Charles, you don’t suppose…”

Here’s my chance, Marina thought. Lifting her chin, she started to ask a question—but Kai beat her to it.

“As luck would have it, we had a cancellation for tonight, so we’re available to cater a dinner party. How many are you expecting?” Kai had been handling the pop-up dinner marketing and reservations.

“We’ll have twelve,” Anne said, smiling. “Why, I think that might work. Carol told me your crab-stuffed salmon and mango cheesecake are to die for.”

“That’s perfect,” Charles said, brightening. “Jean-Luc told me that the food has been delivered, so all you have to do is throw it together.” Charles made sweeping motions with his hands as if a little juggling is all it would take.

“Marina can do anything,” Kai said, turning bright eyes in Marina’s direction.

Twelve people, Marina thought. She could manage that. And the supplies were already there. “I’m sure I can sort out supper for you. What did your chef plan?”

“Lobster of some sort,” Anne said. “Jean-Luc is a magician with crustaceans.”

Marina smiled. “That’s one of my specialties as well.” She’d often made Julia Child’s Lobster Thermidor recipe with her grandmother. It was one of Ginger’s favorites. Dry white wine, parmesan cheese, mushrooms, cognac. She could do this.

“We have a few errands in town, and we’ll be back on board at 2 p.m.,” Anne said. “That should give you enough time.” She reached out to Marina. “Thank goodness you’re available. All that work coordinating twelve couples and their dietary preferences nearly drove me mad. I’m glad the effort isn’t wasted.”

“Twelve couples?” Marina asked, suddenly concerned. “Then, you mean twenty-four people?” She cast a worried glance toward Kai, who gave her a brave smile and a little thumbs-up sign behind Anne and Charles.

“And us, so I suppose that’s twenty-six if you’re counting,” Charles said. “Jean-Luc always buys extra food to allow for the extra last-minute house-guests people must bring along. Say about thirty-ish. Should be fine weather to dine on the deck.”

A shiver coursed through Marina. She’d never cooked for that many at once. Most of the dinners she’d catered had been six or eight people. “Not a problem. Kai will be my sous-chef tonight.”

Kai’s eyes bulged in protest, and she shook her head, but Marina ignored her.

“We appreciate this,” Charles said. “We’ll pay you well, especially on such short notice.” He picked up their purchases.

Marina watched the couple weave through the crowd. The dinner party would be an event to remember. Ever since she’d kicked off the pop-up brunches, lunches, and dinners a few weeks ago, she’d been busy, but this was an important job.

Marina needed the income—and it would give her the credentials she needed to approach other restaurant owners in town about her idea for a new event she was calling Taste of Summer Beach. With increased competition from major restaurant chains in the neighboring community, they needed to attract new business.

She turned to her sister. “I’m counting on you, Kai. Whatever you had planned, cancel it. Given the size of that vessel and the number of people, this soiree will be a lot to handle. I can’t do it alone.”

“All right, it’s not like I have a date or anything,” Kai said, leaning on the display table that they’d draped with a new coral cloth that matched Marina’s apron. “Besides, I’m dying to see what that yacht looks like inside. I wonder who is on the guest list?”

“Never mind that. I wish we could get inside the galley sooner. We’ll have to organize the menu and ingredients as quickly as we can.” Marina sliced another piece from their sample quiche and lifted it onto a cutting board. “Speaking of dates, have you heard from Dmitri?”

“He’s busy flying from one meeting to another,” Kai replied. “New York, Chicago, Miami. Raising money for a new theater production is a lot of work.”

“Think he’ll manage to come here? Ginger sure would like to meet the man you’re engaged to marry.” Marina cut the quiche into sample bites, arranging them on the platter they used for sampling. As she did, she thought about tonight’s job, hoping that Jean-Luc’s menu wouldn’t be too difficult.

“About that…” Kai’s voice drifted off, and she twisted the ends of her hair around a finger.

Marina sensed a note of uncertainty in her sister’s voice. “That didn’t sound like a vote of confidence.”

“I just want to be sure.”

“I can understand that. You’ve only known each other a few months, and you’ve spent half of that time here.” Marina was worried about this, too. Still, she was trying to support her sister.

Kai pursed her lips. “I’m going to push out the wedding.”

“I thought you had. Didn’t you tell Dmitri?” Marina placed an apple cinnamon muffin with a puffy top on the board and began to slice it into bite sizes. Kai had yet to wear the impressive ring Dmitri had given her, saying that it was too much for beachwear.

“I did, but I meant even farther out,” Kai said. “We have so much in common, but the more Dmitri pushes, the more I draw away. Or maybe it’s because we’re apart. Is that crazy or normal?”

“Ginger always tells us to listen to our instincts,” Marina said, arranging the muffin bites beside the quiche. “Dmitri is perfect on paper, and your clock is ticking. But you need to spend more time together. Kai, this will be a long-playing role, not a weekend marquee in Cleveland. Get to know each other better—beyond the first crush stage.”

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