Page 86 of Sinfully Shameless Chef

“They're getting ready for your opening next Friday.”

“What?” She takes another step and then shakes her head. “No. I can't. I don't have the money to open anymore. And I'm in no physical shape to do it even if I financially could.”

I take a step closer to her, needing to be near her even when I know I have to give her time to take in everything. “You'll have help. Ashley quit her job and is going to come work for you.”

“What? She can't. She's been there for years, working her way up. She's a shoo-in for chef de cuisine when Emilio retires in the next year or two.”

I shake my head and capture her arms in my hands to hold her steady because it looks like she's about to pass out. Maybe I should've thought through this reveal a little better, but once I knew everything was ready to move forward, Ashley assured me it would be okay—that Isabella was ready for this.

Maybe she was wrong.

Izzy’s mouth opens and closes, and she sucks in a shaky breath. “I'm not ready. I can't be ready in ten days. I haven't finalized the menu. I haven't done any advertising. Dammit, I don't have the money to do any of it, Jameson.”

I take another step closer to her until my chest is almost brushing against hers. Being like this again, close enough to feel her shaky breath and smell that sweet scent I’ve been dreaming about, makes the last few months completely worth it. “Yes, you do.”

“No.” She shakes her head, a mixture of panic and despair overtaking her beautiful features. “You don't understand. My medical bills—”

“Are taken care of.”

“What?” Her eyebrows fly up. “How is that possible?”

“A generous benefactor.”

“Who the hell has that kind of money?” She freezes, and her eyes widen slightly. “Grant and Sylvie?”

I nod and offer a shrug. “They insisted.”

“Oh, my God. I can't accept that.”

“You can, and you will. Grant felt terrible about asking you to move the opening date.”

She scowls at me. “No, he didn’t.”

I chuckle. It's good to see her attitude and ability to call me on my bullshit hasn't changed just because we were apart. “You're right; he didn't, but when Sylvie found out, she was furious. And trust me, you don't want to see that woman angry. She had a talk with Grant, and we got things sorted out.”

“What things?”

“Well…” I scan the restaurant and the bustle around us that I wasn’t so sure would ever get to this point. “As I mentioned, they’re taking care of your medical bills, and they’re also paying the rent here for another six months on top of what you already paid so you have plenty of time to not have to worry about making some massive profit.”

“No, no, no.” She pulls out of my hold and raises her hands. “I don't want any handouts. I can't take their money.”

“What about my money?”

“Excuse me?”

I raise an eyebrow at her. “Would you take my money?”

She scowls at me again and crosses her arms over her chest. “You don't have any money. It's why you needed Grant as a partner in the first place.”

I grin at her. “That's true. But over the last couple of months, I’ve been hired to be the face of a few culinary brands. It turns out being a celebrity chef pays pretty well if you get the right contracts. I’m going to be filming a few commercials and appearing in some print ads soon.”

“You're serious.”

“I am. I want your restaurant to succeed, and I don't want this little hiccup to stop you.”

She chuckles softly. “You call having a kidney transplant a little hiccup?”

A laugh slips from my lips, and I press my hand to my side against the twinge there. “You know what I meant. You're too good, too driven to let this alter your course. I won't let you fail.”

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