Page 78 of Brooke
When she entered the restaurant, the chandelier gave a happy jingle announcing her arrival. The entire kitchen staff paused whatever prep they were doing and stared at her, a suddenly tense crew of chefs in white uniforms. Of course, she knew a few of them, including Nanine’s longstandingsous chef,Fabian, who inclined his chin her way.
Pierre immediately called out from his perch on Madison’s shoulder at the stove.“Bonjour Brooke!”
“Bonjour,”she called back, smiling at everyone. “I am here to see Nanine.”
A few of the original staff turned somber and put their heads down, whisking or stirring this or that.
Madison stalked over after calling out for Fabian to take over for her. She put her hands on her hips when she reached Brooke. “I talked to her when she got back from her trip with your father. She’s fine. There’s nothing for you to fix here.”
Compassion rose inside her instead of her usual defensiveness. Another Axel influence. Because could the dark circles under Madison’s eyes be any darker? “She called me, Madison. And it’s not about the restaurant.”
“Axel?” Her whole body seemed to slouch out of her wiry stance. “Are you finally telling her? Because I hope he’s still coming tonight. Judging by his notes fromLe Cirque,he’s got a heck of an insight.”
“Axel is still coming,” she said in a lowered voice, aware she was disrupting an already wired kitchen. “Yes, I hope to tell her. She’s going to see us together and know.”
Madison’s brow knit. “Together. Yeah, when you see something… Dammit. I’m already stressed to the gills of the fish we’ll be serving tonight, but I’ve been grappling with this all day. Brooke, I think I should tell you something.”
The agony on her face was heartbreaking to watch. Was she thinking about Kyle? “What is it?”
“I hate being caught like this, but I think I’d want to know before I came face-to-face with it.”
“What is it?” she asked, intrigued.
“I think Nanine and your dad have a thing going on.” Her whole face scrunched up. “God, don’t freak out. It’s happy. He was whistling when he brought in her luggage and the wine he’d bought, and she was singing Edith Piaf. Even Thea shot me a puzzled look, but your dad started talking about their trip and did the whole wine show-and-tell bit. Thea got distracted, but I could see the way they were looking at each other. Shit. Was I wrong to tell you?”
“No, and at least they had clothes on when you saw what was going on.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “I caught them in their robes last week. Awkward doesn’t do it justice.”
“So you knew?” She scrubbed her haggard face.
“Nanine swore me to secrecy for obvious reasons,” she said.
Madison gave a hearty nod. “I can see why! Man, Ithought I was breaking a confidence, and then I thought about you finding out flat-footed. Or knowing I knew. I didn’t want to punch you in the gut like that.”
She reached out a hesitant hand and laid it on Madison’s arm, making her friend jerk upright. “It’s okay, Madison, and thank you. I know it couldn’t have been easy to say.”
“No, it wasn’t.” She heaved out another breath. “I need to get back to the stove. Got a million things.”
“Go.” She squeezed her arm, feeling a little awkward herself. “You’re going to kill it tonight. I know it. If I thought you’d wear them, I’d give you my lucky diamond earrings.”
Her eyes shuttered. “That’s way too mushy and weird, but thanks. I told you I’m good. Besides, there’s no other way but up. I won’t let there be. Thanks, Brooke.”
“You’re welcome.” She flashed a quick smile. “Also, thank you for taking over. It’s the only way Nanine could be okay with stepping back.”
Her golden eyes suddenly gleamed. “Get out of my kitchen, Brooke. I’ve just sharpened my cleaver and it has your name on it if you say shit like that again.”
Biting the inside of her cheek again, she lowered her hand. “I could still outrun you in my heels.”
Madison snapped back to herself with a cock of her head. “Let’s hope we don’t test that boast. Out, Brooke.”
“I’m going,” she said and did her best not to strut through the kitchen to the stairs leading to Nanine’s apartment.
With every step, she could feel sadness starting to pull her down. When she reached their old Girls’ Floor and found it completely barren, she had to press back her tears. The Boys’ Floor was equally distressing, so she did her best to focus on the excitement of redecorating them after they were remodeled as additional restaurant spaces, something Kyle hadn’t begun yet since he was still working with Jean Luc to secure the proper permits.
When she reached Nanine’s simple wooden door, sheknocked softly. Nanine opened it moments later, her brown eyes a bit wider than normal under her perfectly sculpted brows. Her long white hair was already pulled up into an elegant chignon, and Brooke noted she was wearing a navy wraparound dress she’d given her last Christmas—when she and everyone else had thought she would continue working at Nanine’s until her last breath, as she’d often said.
God, how things had changed.
“Thank you for coming, Third Course,” she said a little stiffly, speaking in English. “I know you were working.”
