“I did. Ida was really helpful.”

“She’s a great lady,” April said. “And she’s great at what she does. I think in time she’ll realize how much she still wants to be a part of things.”

“Yeah, she liked that I asked her. Said it felt good to feel useful.”

We paused outside my office door.

“Are you hungry?” April asked. “I’m headed to the kitchen to see what scraps Gaspard has left for us.”

“Definitely. But I’ve got a few calls I want to make first.” Mostly I just wanted to get all the cheesecake details ironed out before I went to Gaspard and told him he’d be serving someone else’s dessert.

“I’ll see if I can get Gaspard to bring you something. He’s rough around the edges, our chef, but he’s a big softy at heart. He might be feeling generous since you’re new.”

Yeah. New and about to make him really mad. How fun. “Anything would be great,” I told April. “I’m not picky.”

April would stand by me though. I could tell. For all the reasons I had for my first day at work to be flat-out terrible—finding the place basically shut down, participating in a staged intervention, and then taking on a wedding that was less than a week out—surprisingly, things still felt like they were going to be okay. The people of Winding Way were already treating me like family, like they believed in me and wanted my help. I felt completely accepted, and I hadn’t been at the inn six hours.

Half an hour later, Gaspard appeared in the open doorway of my office. He held a Styrofoam to-go container and a twelve-ounce can of Coke. “April said you were hungry.”

I smiled. “Starving.”

He handed me the food. “Do not get used to personal delivery. It is only because you are new.”

“Noted. Thanks for the special treatment.”

“Now.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “The rules of my kitchen: There is a refrigerator in the back. Not the walk-in. That one is off-limits. But in the back, close to my desk, there is a small one for the staff. Anything you find there, you are welcome to enjoy. Some days it will be empty, but most of the time, it is not. That’s all you have access to. Understand? You eat food from anywhere else in my kitchen and you are no longer welcome.”

“Understood. Staff fridge only. Kitchen off-limits.”

He grunted. “How is the wedding?”

I looked over the spread of information in front of me. “It’s a lot to go over, but I think we’ll be able to pull it off.”

“I have the original menus Glenda approved. Has anything changed?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I’ll double-check though. If there are any changes, I’ll make sure you get them.”