Page 46 of For Butter or Worse
“Nothing’s going on,” he finally said.
What he had to keep reminding himself was that they were in a manufactured situation, because when he forgot, it was easy to imagine that he was on an actual date with Nina.
“Don’t bullshit me. Any time I used to bring up Nina, you’d tell me what a massive snob she was. But you haven’t said one bad word about her.” Gavin took a rolling pin to the ball of dough on the counter. “Fuck, wait, do you...likeher?”
Leo shook his head and gazed up at the ceiling. Why did he have to have such a nosy brother? And how was he supposed to answer that question? “So maybe I was wrong about her, okay? She’s actually a nice person.”
“She’s a ‘nice person’? Oh, bro, you are introu-u-u-u-uble.” Gavin elongated the wordtroubleuntil he ran out of breath.
“She did me a big favor. It’s nothing. Just work,” he hedged. The kiss they’d shared had absolutely been for work, as fake as the homey kitchen set they used on the show. But her lips pressing back against his hadn’t felt fake. Neither had the urge to pull her in close to him...
Gavin raised an eyebrow, then let out a “pshhhhh” as he cut the flat dough into neat lines. “How did I get the job involving manual labor, and you scored the job where you make out with people?”
Leo cracked his knuckles. He certainly hadn’t sought out the spot as a celebrity cooking-show host. He ran a family business and had gotten an MBA—there was a clear path for him that didn’t involve fame.
But a casting director reached out after seeing a profile story on him in theLos Angeles Times. Not all local restaurants became nationwide chains, after all. According to the casting director, he had valuable experience to pass on to the aspiring chefs.
And when the show began, the restaurants exploded. People loved coming in with the hope of seeing the wholesome and funny TV host. His TV persona reinforced the restaurant’s image as a family-friendly haven. Even though being in front of the camera sent his anxiety through the roof, that really didn’t matter. He had too many people relying on his success to go back now.
Vinny’s wasn’t profitable because of Leo. The food and family atmosphere his dad had established, and his brother had continued, were what brought people in the door. He often wondered why he was the one on-air and not his brother.
“When are you seeing her again?” Gavin leaned across the kitchen island. He had a grin on his face that Leo couldn’t place.
“Sunday. We’re going to the LA Food and Wine Festival.” The daytime festival would bring foodies, chefs and sommeliers from around the city together in one place. The most celebrated restaurants would have booths present, with their chefs at the helm serving samples from their menu. Visitors who bought passes would be able to taste wine paired with the food at the event, and Nina and Leo would be VIP guests.
He’d done his homework this time and researched all of the chefs in attendance. He was going to arrive overprepared so he could avoid another disaster like the one at the Sunset Grande. He should’ve been thrilled for the second chance to be immersed in the food scene that Nina had promised to bring him into. Meeting twenty or more chefs within the span of a few hours would be a huge leap toward his goal of making connections, but he was genuinely nervous, and not about meeting the people he needed to impress. Because the overwhelming thought he kept having was that the only person he really wanted to impress was Nina.
18
NINA
Historically, Nina only wore heels during episode tapings. But today she’d put on a pair of slightly uncomfortable and chunky wedges, all in the name of the LA Food and Wine Festival.
And also, maybe, because she was feeling a little uneasy about seeing Leo again. Because if he thought she was a bad kisser, or whatever the hell had made him pull away, she at least wanted to look better than he did.
Not that she was trying to impress him, exactly, but she did want to feel as confident as possible. There were no winners or losers, butif there were,she wanted to be on the winning side. So, yes, she’d put in a bit more effort than was strictly necessary for their date, including base-level contouring and wearing a flared, forest-green pleather skirt.
“VIP badges just feel different, don’t they?” Leo said as he fingered the lanyard-and-plastic pass around his neck. “Like, I am better than a significant amount of the people here.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” She laughed.
She eyed the tall concrete buildings around them. When people thought of LA, they pictured palm trees and wide streets, but that wasn’t the case downtown, where the festival was. The skyscrapers made you feel like you were in New York or Chicago.
He handed her a lanyard and their fingers brushed. The little electric charge she felt from his touch was annoying, at best.
Okay, so they were kind of friends, which was a truly bizarre shift from sworn enemies, but she wasn’t totally sure how to act around him. She’d thought holding hands had been a step too far, but now that she’d kissed him, how was she supposed to behave?
So she opted to stand a healthy two feet apart. She didn’t want Leo to think she was desperate to be near him, especially since he’d made it abundantly clear that he wanted to move away from her the last time she’d gotten too close.
They walked through the gate, which opened to a wide street with two rows of booths on either side. And since they were VIP guests, they got early admission before the real crowds arrived and crushed their way through. Seemingly endless food being served by the city’s top chefs was an incredible experience. This would be a dream date in any other scenario, but with Leo...she just felt unsure of what could happen.
As if reading her mind, he reached for her hand. “May I?”
“If you must...” She tried to play it cool, but her heart thudded extra hard. He wound his fingers through hers, as natural a fit as peanut butter and chocolate. Though she didn’t want to dwell on how warm his hand felt against hers.
“Should we start light, and then move into the heavier dishes?” If she could focus on the food, that would take her mind off whether or not Leo was thinking about how her hand felt, too.
“I can go hard if you can.” He smirked at her.
