Page 71 of Keeping Secrets

And he was her brother’s best friend, for Pete’s sake. Did he really think that he could just casually date her and go on seeing other girls at the same time? Is that what this was?

She felt sick.

“I’m sorry,” Ali said miserably.

“It’s fine.” Keely stood up and walked toward the door.

She wanted to call him this instant, to ask who that girl was, but she wouldn’t. She had a few hours of work left, and she intended to get through them.

After that, it was straight to the Bottlenose.

She intended to get some answers.

CHAPTER 22

“I don’t care what he says.” Juan’s face was stormy as he plated an order of onion rings. “Those fries were not overcooked when they left the kitchen. If he didn’t like them, he should order something that travels better.”

“Look, man,” Travis said, “I just told him I’d talk to you.”

“You’re a chef now too?”

Handing out paychecks was one thing, but the kitchen staff hated it when he came in and tried to tell them how to run things. Apparently, though, that was now a part of his job.

He gestured to a plate that was going out with the burger nearly falling apart.

“Scot put me on quality control, man. This stuff is getting sloppy.”

“It's bar food. No one cares if it’s sloppy.“

“Scot cares. Our regulars care.“ He gestured for the server to wait, quickly scrubbed his hands, and then put the burger back together and stabbed it with a bamboo skewer to hold it steady. Then he used a clean rag to wipe up the aïoli that was smeared across the plate. Finally he handed it off to the server with a nod.

He turned back to Juan and said, “Look, I’m just trying to keep things from falling apart.”

“Then help out. We’re short-staffed. The night’s just getting started, and we’re already scrambling to keep up. The new guy flaked, and Manny’s wife went into labor.”

“Right.” Travis scanned the kitchen, watching everyone scramble to keep up with the orders that kept coming in. “Where do you need me?”

Juan gave him a quick, assessing look. “Can you flip burgers?”

“I can do that.”

“Right, you’re on burgers then.” He glanced at an order and handed it to him – two cheeseburgers, medium and rare, with sweet potato fries. “Make sure Robby keeps up on the fries; we want them fresh.”

“That we do, Chef,” Travis said. “I’m on it.”

Juan gave him a grudging nod of acknowledgement, but Travis thought that he saw a hint of a smile as they got down to work. Across the broad metal counter that ran through the middle of the kitchen, one of the line cooks gave him a grin.

He was clumsy at first, figuring out where things were and where he fit into the rhythm of it all, but before long, Travis became another mechanism in the well-oiled machine that was the Bottlenose kitchen. He flipped burgers, pieced together salads, and plated desserts.

It was almost soothing to be so focused on the task in front of him that he wasn’t worrying about bigger things. Bartending had become so second nature to him that it hardly required any attention at all anymore. It was a relief to throw himself into a new challenge, to focus on making good food and let the rest of the world fade away.

He could understand why Keely loved baking so much, especially the challenge of making new things.

As if summoned by thoughts of her, Keely came bursting through the kitchen door, all copper hair and burning eyes. For a brief moment, he wondered if he was hallucinating. It wasn’t at all like her to come bursting in like that.

The next moment, she was shouting at him.

“Suddenly you can’t be bothered to pick up your phone?”

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