Page 63 of Falling for You
When Evan emerged from his room in fresh clothes, he frowned at his sister. “What the hell am I going to say to CeCe? I need to—”
“You need to do a lot of groveling. But you also need to say your piece as well. We can discuss that in the car.” Mallory held up her keys and jangled them in his face. “Let’s roll.”
*
“He’s not coming,” CeCesaid for the twentieth time that morning. “I should have gone after him. I’m an idiot.”
She and Max were already in the food truck, the fryer splattering away and the oven making the cramped space a million degrees. Not looking up from her fritter batter, CeCe whisked it with abandon. “I’m an idiot,” she repeated, her elbow cramping as she overworked the batter. It would be tougher than silly putty at this rate.
Max plucked the whisk from her hands. “For the last time, stop taking out your stress on our fritter batter. They’ll be as heavy as paperweights if you keep this up.” Max slid the bowl away from CeCe and gestured to a stack of onions that needed chopped. “Can you do some knife work, or is that a dangerous request right now?” He winked at CeCe, but she grimaced.
“I can cut an onion,” she said defensively. What CeCe wasn’t saying was that cutting the onions, and a lot of other things, were supposed to be Evan’s job. He was supposed to be there, shoved into this oversized tin can prepping for the competition. He was supposed to be by her side, literally and figuratively.
Max handed her a fresh bottle of water. “Drink this. You’re dehydrated and I need you on your A-game.”
“Ha! Fat chance of that.” She huffed as she peeled an onion. “My A-game flew out the window yesterday in a blaze of glory.”
Thinking back on the last twenty-four hours, CeCe couldn’t believe this was her life. After the showdown with Eric, she received dozens of texts and calls from friends and former coworkers.
You’re a badass! He deserves to go viral. You go, girl!Roxie declared.
You’re my hero!replied another former sous chef. This woman had also been one of the whistleblowers to come out in the morning with a similar story from the year before CeCe moved to Chicago. It somehow made her feel better and worse that Eric had acted this way with other women.
CeCe knew she’d done the right thing confronting Eric so publicly. He deserved more than what she dished up, and she couldn’t believe the tides had turned so quickly. As if reading her mind, Max asked, “Is this what cancel culture is? Is Eric canceled?”
From the doorway, Ginny laughed and stepped into the hot space. “You get cuter every day. You know that?” She handed her fiancé a cup of coffee before giving CeCe a caffeine boost of her own. “Yes, Eric is canceled. In more ways than one. Did you hear they have another judge for the competition?”
CeCe had heard, but it still brought a smile to her face that she got to hear the news again. “Yes. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say it made me happier than a pig in shit.”
Everyone chuckled, but the atmosphere was still tense. Lowering her voice, Ginny asked, “Any word from Evan?”
Max shook his head but stayed focused on the bacon he was frying. “He’ll be here,” he said. His voice held so much certainty that CeCe clung to his words like a life raft in stormy seas.
Ginny nodded, seeming satisfied with their progress. “Mind if I snap some action shots for the diner’s social media pages? When you win, I have a whole montage planned.” Not waiting for anyone to respond, Ginny took out her phone and started snapping.
Before she stepped outside, she handed her phone to CeCe. “This text came through from Natalie. She said she hasn’t been able to reach you this morning.”
Tell CeCe I know she’ll kick ass today because that’s what she does.
CeCe wiped her hands on her apron and took the phone. “It’s because I haven’t been looking for anything on my phone except word from Evan.”
“He’ll be here. I’m sure he needed some time to clear his head,” Ginny assured her. CeCe wanted to hug Ginny for her optimism, but she couldn’t move beyond Max in the tiny space. Besides, hugs led to tears, and she’d had enough of that this morning.
Last night had been the longest night of CeCe’s life. A jumble of emotions kept her from sleeping, but she was surprisingly alert right now. A weight she didn’t realize she was carrying had lifted after she told off Eric. Even before she realized her scolding went viral, she felt finished with him like she never had been before.
Unfortunately she also felt finished with Evan. The notion tugged at her chest, and she had to rub over her collarbone to keep from crying. She had betrayed Evan, even after months of promising herself she wouldn’t. Actions spoke louder than words, and her actions muddied the waters in their relationship.
“Do you have the onions ready?” Max asked, reaching out with an empty bowl.
CeCe blinked and looked down at the cutting board that was covered in misshapen onion pieces. “Gosh, if I diced this badly in culinary school, I would have flunked out.” She grabbed a handful of onions and tossed them in the trash. “We’re not going to win if I dice like that.”
“Then let me do it,” Evan said from the door of the truck. CeCe had to blink several times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating him into existence.
“Evan?” she asked, daring to make eye contact. He looked as wrung out as she felt, and that somehow seemed promising.
Without uttering a greeting, Evan stepped inside and shrugged out of his jacket. “The plan is for me to dice and prep the veggies, right?”
His blue gaze didn’t reach her own, but CeCe didn’t care in that moment. What mattered more was that Evan was here. She didn’t know what it meant, but she needed to do a lot of groveling. It had to be a good sign, right? Showing up meant he cared—even if it was just about the diner. Evan was a thoughtful, loving person. Maybe she hadn’t ruined things after all?
