Page 13 of Falling for My Boss

But there was a simpler, purer joy in the kitchen when it was just on its own. It sounded ridiculous, and I would probably never say it to anyone but Ally, who happened to be one of my best friends in addition to my sous chef, but when the kitchen was like this, it felt like a different entity. Almost like it was alive.

The deep clean I gave the kitchen every Sunday was like a reset for the rest of the week. This was the time when I not only cleaned everything but took stock of equipment, ingredients, and supplies and noted anything running low. I sometimes moved things around, experimenting with different layouts and organization to see if I could make the space more efficient.

At the end of the process, I usually had a list of things to order, and I brought that right into the office to put the orders in so nothing got overlooked and everything would arrive before it was actually needed. My mind was drifting as I cleaned, and by the time I finished up and put the last of the soiled linens into the collection bag to be picked up by the service the next day, I realized hours had passed.

I was officially running late for dinner at my brother’s house. I rushed to change clothes and get there, but by the time I walked inside, they were already well into both the food and the wine. When I saw that, I braced myself. I knew what was coming.

“Hey,” Alex said, coming over to me and slinging his arm around my shoulders. “You finally made it.”

There was a grin on his face that had a lot to do with the glass in his hand, but not all. He had been much happier recently now that he and Camilla were together and planning their future.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” I said. “I was cleaning the kitchen and doing inventory and got distracted.”

“Oh?” Cam asked. “Whatever could have distracted you?”

“It couldn’t possibly be the new girl Ally hired,” Kane said with a teasing glint in his eye.

“Of course not,” Noah added, getting in on the ribbing. “Derek would never let something like a woman get his mind off his devotion to his kitchen.”

That was just the start of it. Like happened all too often, I got ribbed to hell about being single and teased about Jodi. That happened anytime I even took a halfway glance at an attractive woman, and I hadmost certainly been taking more than a halfway glance at her. If they weren’t teasing me or relentlessly pointing out there were only two of us who were still single and we needed to get a move on about finding someone, they were trying to do the work for me and set me up with someone.

I tried not to play into it. That would only make it worse.

8

JODI

In my first week at the vineyard, I had made more money than I had in almost two months at the diner. The work was faster, busier, and more intense, which made it more challenging at times, but it was the good kind of challenging. The kind that made me feel like I was always on my toes and really having to put thought and energy into each day.

Rather than just doing a job because it was what I could get, going through the motions in a place where I could easily be overlooked and even more easily replaced, I felt like I was actually a part of something. Getting together at the end of dinner shifts for family meal went a long way in cementing that feeling for me.

The closest thing to a family meal I ever got at the breakfast place was snatching some bacon or eating leftover biscuits and gravy after a new batch was made. We never all got together and ate, and we were rarely acknowledged beyond the occasional thank-you or brief comment of praise from Mr. Murphy.

Now that Derek and I had made amends, I could see Ally was right. He was a really good guy who seemed to genuinely care about and appreciate the people there working for him. Every day there were moments when he made sure he recognized what we were doing and how hard we were working.

I knew if I could, I would be happy to stay there for a bit. They seemed to not think too hard about my need to be paid under the table and hadn’t pried about it. I was getting along with everyone and enjoying my shifts. I had even tucked enough money away that I was already seeing my savings grow to a point where I would be able to do some possible upgrades for my life pretty soon. Maybe get a small apartment rather than just renting the room. Things were going really well.

Which of course meant something was about to go really wrong.

It was a gorgeous day, and I’d figured out that walking to the vineyard didn’t take all that long. It was a nice way to get some fresh air and give my thoughts a chance to run around through my mind without me having to focus on work.

I had only done it a couple of times, but it was a trip I really enjoyed. I could see myself doing it as long as time and weather permitted. So far, I hadn’t had trouble with time at this restaurant. I didn’t mind so much getting up and heading out for my shifts. I looked forward to getting to the vineyard and seeing what the day was going to bring. Which always included an overview of the reservations we were going to have coming in that day along with a review and tasting of the special items on the menu.

Considering I was in California and accustomed to continuing to live my life through the Rhode Island winters, I had a feeling the weather wasn’t going to be much of a hindrance either. Unless the sky opened up and I was dealing with a storm, I was going to be just fine.

The other half of me taking the walk to work more often than driving was that my car was on its last legs. It was an old, run-down sedan I’d picked up as soon as I scraped together enough money, and it hadn’t had long to live then. Now every time I turned the key in the ignition, it was a crapshoot as to whether it was going to start up. Much like my laptop, it was a bit of a game of roulette. One of these times, it was just going to give up mid-trip. There was no point in pushing it when I could easily walk.

I had only left my rented room a few minutes before and was making my way through town when I noticed a car zip past the end of the road ahead of me. It instantly struck me as familiar. A second later, the car came back the other direction, like it had made a wide U-turn at some point down that road and drove down the road where I was walking.

As it drove past me, I realized that Ididknow the car. The second that sank in, I ran for the first place I saw that I could go to get off the sidewalk and out of sight. Ducking into the library, I stood with my back pressed to the corner of the vestibule for a few moments, trying to catch my breath and gather my thoughts.

Maybe it wasn’t what I thought it was. It was possible it was someone else. Logical and probable, even. It wasn’t like Jack was the only person in the world with a silver Audi. And the last time I saw that car, it was in Rhode Island, all the way across the country. I didn’t get a clear view of the license plate, so I didn’t actually know for sure that it was him.

Letting out a breath, I leaned out of the corner to peer out of the windows at the front of the vestibule. The Audi came down the street again, more slowly this time and in the other direction. It was definitely not just driving around. The person driving it was looking for something. Or someone.

The car parked across the street and far enough down the block I almost couldn’t see it anymore. I stepped to the side to get a better view and watched the driver’s-side door open. A second later, my heart jumped into my throat and my stomach turned as my brother’s tall body unfolded from the car.

He stood at the side of the road and pulled sunglasses down over his eyes. He glanced at the phone in his hand and then looked up and down the road.

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