And the office wasn’t much better. Hell, he could hardly stand to sit at his desk because of the memory they’d made there. Plus, as much as he tried to focus, he kept half expecting Sadie to briskly knock on his office door and poke her head inside. Instead, it was Rick manning the desk outside his office, and he wasn’t nearly as good at the job as Sadie had been. In the man’s defense, though, nobody would be.
Hell, two days ago, they’d lost an entire shipment of chocolates when a train derailed in Denver. Sadie would have had the whole situation taken care of in an hour. This time, it was Ethan himself who’d had to handle the crisis because Rick was out of his depth.
It was only natural that Ethan would miss her, wasn’t it? She had kept his life, his office, running smoothly for five years, so it only made sense that her absence would throw everything off-kilter.
“And just who’re you trying to lie to?” he muttered, and tossed his pen onto the desk. “It’s not Sadie’s efficiency you’re missing. It’s everything else about her.”
“Talking to yourself is never a good sign.”
Scowling, Ethan looked up at Gabe. “It’s traditional to knock before you come into a room.”
“I’m a rebel,” Gabe said affably as he crossed the room and dropped into the chair opposite Ethan. “So, I’m here to let you know Jeff’s come up with several more candies we’ll have ready for you in another week or so.”
“Good.” Ethan picked up his pen again and pretended to read the papers in front of him. “Great. Goodbye.”
Gabe laughed. “Nice talking to you, too. You know, you used to be easier to get along with. Wonder why that was. Oh. Maybe it was Sadie’s influence.”
“You want to stop talking now.” Ethan lifted his gaze and gave his brother a hard glare.
“No, I don’t.”
Ethan tossed the pen down again. “Damn it, Gabe, this is none of your business.”
Gabe shrugged. “Yeah, but you helped me out when the Pam situation got so screwed up. Thought I’d return the favor.”
“I don’t need help.” And even if he did, he wouldn’t ask for it. He’d been fine before that insanity with Sadie and he’d be fine again. At some point.
“Pam and I are engaged.”
Surprising, but not. Ethan was happy for his brother, but he really didn’t want to hear about love or marriage. Didn’t want anything else to remind him of Sadie. “Congratulations. Get out.”
Gabe laughed and settled in for a chat. Irritated, Ethan wondered what it would take to get rid of him. Probably dynamite.
“Pam’s brother, Tony, has been working with Jeff on the new line.”
“I know.”
“He’s as good as Richard said he was. Of course, Jeff’s still in charge, but Tony’s really pulling his weight.” Nodding, Gabe added, “And we’ve contracted for the rehab on the Donatello shop.”
“I know that, too.” They’d agreed to use Donatello’s storefront in Laguna to launch their new line. Gabe and Pam were in charge and Tony and Jeff would be the chefs. It would be a good test spot and if it worked, which Ethan was sure it would, they’d think about opening up more specialty stores. He wanted to tell Sadie all about it. Hear her thoughts, ideas and suggestions. She had a sharp mind and wasn’t afraid to give her opinion, and damn it, he missed that, too.
“I saw Sadie yesterday.”
Ethan’s head snapped up and Gabe grinned. “Got your attention with that one, didn’t I?”
Yeah, he had. It felt like years since Ethan had seen her. “How is she?”
“She’s doing great. Looked happy. She was out with her sister-in-law, shopping at Bella Terra. You know, the Huntington Beach mall.”
“I know what it is,” Ethan grumbled. So Sadie was out shopping and having fun and probably dating. Why wouldn’t she? Who would she be going out with? It wasn’t as if she’d had a lot of time to meet anyone. Or had she already met this mystery man before she left Ethan’s life? How? When? Most importantly, who?
The thought of her with another man was enough to send ice through Ethan’s veins. But he’d let her go, right? So he’d just have to live with that decision.