Page 5 of Get Lost

In second grade, Kelsey punched Tyler Garcia square in the face and busted his nose. Because he’d tried to look up her skirt when she was on the monkey bars.

She was fearless back then and he had no doubt that she’d become even more bold over the years. He was always impressed by her nerve whenever their paths crossed again.

And their paths always crossed again.

Chances were, if Kelsey thought Drew and Renee were taking advantage of Alex, she’d have come right out and said so.

Raising the appetizer in the air to pull Alex’s focus back to the task at hand, Drew wagged his eyebrows and shoved an entire endive boat into his mouth, nodding dramatically. “Oh, yeah,” he said around the mouthful, “this is the one,Allie.” Drew gave Alex two thumbs up and quickly returned to his work.

Renee’s eyes tightened as she watched her fiancé pick uphis little magazine, so Alex placed another appetizer in front of her to distract and diffuse. He had no desire to watch them bicker.

For this sample, he’d created puff pastry rings that stood up on their sides, stuck to the plate with a mascarpone crème mixture. Atop each ring was another small piping of mascarpone crème with a spoonful of caviar gems. The appetizer was created to mimic Renee’s impressive, deep blue diamond engagement ring.

Renee’s eyes widened and she clapped her hands at her chest, looking up at him with awe. He’d found her so breathtaking once upon a time, but now all he saw was heartache, betrayal, and greed. Drew could handle Renee, but she’d destroyed Alex, and he’d come a long way in recovering from that broken heart. He hoped forgiveness was in the near future, especially now that she would soon be married to his best friend, but forgiveness was still just out of reach. So, for now, polite indifference was the name of the game.

Knowing that Kelsey would be in Barbados gave Alex the strength he needed. Even if nothing happened between them—which he doubted would be the case—her quick wit and their sexy banter would get him through the difficult event. He was counting on it.

He motioned toward the miniature appetizer. “This is a gem canape. A dollop of Royal Ossetra caviar atop a ring of puff pastry,” Alex explained, “with piped mascarpone crème.”

“I don’t even want to eat it, it's so beautiful.”

Alex smiled, waiting.

When Renee popped the small appetizer into her mouth, she moaned, nodding wildly and pointing at the empty plate.

Alex nodded, adding the dish to the mental list in his mind.

They’d discussed and finalized the four-course meal weeks ago, settled on the dessert assortments last week, as well as securing a popular French pastry chef to create the cake, and all that remained was choosing three passed dishes to be served during cocktail hour.

They had two down, so only one more to go.

Alex presented them with another dish—one he’d made specifically with Drew in mind.

Drew looked up at the right time, his blue eyes widening as he took in the raw fish appetizer. “Yes. That one.” He grabbed the cone closest to him and shoved it into his mouth, nodding at Alex.

“This is sesame-crusted, flash-seared bluefin tuna, presented in a crisp wonton cone with fresh microgreens and a spattering of toasted black sesame seeds—”

“I hate raw fish.” Renee sat back, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You do?” Alex feigned innocence, even though Renee’s disdain for raw fish was old news. But Drew, avid fisherman that he was, loved the stuff, so Alex wasn’t going to deny his best friend something he loved. Renee’s perturbed expression was just a bonus.

Drew turned toward her, shrugging one shoulder as he swallowed the food. “You chose the first two, honey.”

She huffed, pulling her lips into a pronounced pout.

“And the dinner menus for all four nights, the desserts, the destination, the honeymoon… theguest list…” He leaned over and kissed the side of her mouth.“Let me have my raw fish.”

She pulled back. “You stink like fish.”

Drew smiled, his mouth still full.

“Fine. But I’m adding another option.”

Alex bit back a grin. More food equaled more compensation. He’d never beAndrew Harringtonlevel rich, but with this wedding, Alex finally had the full down payment for his restaurant. Drew had offered more times than necessary to front Alex the money, but as the son of a Mexican immigrant, Alex was raised to not just appreciate butchasethe American Dream; he wasnotraised to accept handouts. He’d grown up with a drive to be self-sufficient and have a successful career, turning a Bachelor’s in business and a culinary arts degree into a budding culinary career after college.

All that was left to do was put the pieces in place. He’d turn those degrees into the next hotspot in Hollywood.

When Drew requested that Alex cook for his wedding, it was Drew’s way of helping Alex with the down payment even after years of Alex declining his offers to invest. He didn’t want any investors who were close to him, as deals between friends can become murky. In fact, he’d seen it play out before: sometimes deals between friends became downright hostile. And Alex didn’t want money coming between him and Drew, not after all the years of friendship, and the betrayal they’d endured somehow. So, stubborn to a fault, no doubt, Alex almost turned down the offer to cook for Drew and Renee, but, after a lot of thought and a lot of turmoil, he came to the decision that if he worked hard and pulled it off, he’dearnthe money. And ultimately, that’s what mattered. So he accepted the offer.

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