Page 90 of Sinfully Shameless Chef

My tears blur the room around us, and I choke back a sob.

In the past, I’ve been accused of being overly emotional at times. Grams used to always say I wore my heart on my sleeve and that’s why I got hurt so easily. Maybe that’s true, or maybe I just had shitty luck with friends and in relationships. Either way, it always left me feeling like it was some sort of insult to think with my heart instead of my head.

But that single word from Jameson has changed my entire perspective on it. The way it hung on his lips, mixed with a hint of regret and longing for it.

“You have heart, too, Jameson.”

He shakes his head. “Not like you do.” His fingers curl slightly into my chest, emphasizing his point. “You have more heart than anyone I know, and you have your Grandmother’s recipes, which overflow with it. Can you imagine what I could do with them if I got my hands on them and what you could do with mine?”

I raise a suspicious eyebrow at him. “You think I’d let you mess with Grams’ recipes?”

He waggles his eyebrows right back at me. “I think we can mess with them together. It could be a fun idea. One new menu with two different dining experiences. Or maybe we keep our separate menus and offer two different options for people when they walk in the door. We can figure it out.” He shrugs and grins. “Maybe we call the place Grandma's Fury since she’d be so pissed about it.”

A laugh bubbles up my throat, and I drop my head back and release it into the space, ignoring the tiny pinch of pain it brings. “Shit. Grams would love that name. But I'm not so sure it's a good idea. Would we even have time to do something like that if you’ve already started plans for opening next Friday over here?”

He nods. “I talked to my contractor, and he assured me he could get all the approvals we need and an opening between our two spaces done in the next few days. Grant is willing to flat out purchase this building from the current owner to give us free rein with any changes and resolve any rent issues. And I ensured we both have full staffs. It would just be the question of the menus.” He narrows his eyes on me. “Which I don't particularly trust you to handle, so I’ll be taking any final ones to the printer.”

I chuckle. “Fair enough. What about Grant and Sylvie?”

“I bounced the idea off them, and they love it.”

I scowl at him. “I have a hard time believing Grant loves it.”

“After I told him how incredible your chili was and how much confidence I have in your ability, he came around to the idea. I also threatened to walk if he wouldn't at least consider it. And then when I explained that we wouldn't be a pigeonholed restaurant, and we could offer fine dining items as well as things that are a little more approachable for the neighborhood—people could come in with their kids or with clients—he came around.”

When he explains it that way, the idea does have promise. Though I never anticipated running a restaurant with a partner, there isn’t anyone I would want to do it more with than Jameson. Plus, we’d have Grant and Sylvie backing us.

“You really think we can pull it off in such a short amount of time, or would we have to push back the date?”

“As long as the inspector can get us approved, my contractor says he can get it done. And Grant can have the paperwork handled by his attorney the same day we decide on final terms for everything.” He looks around again. “We’ll be busting our asses the next two weeks, but I think we can do it. I think we should do it.”

“Wow.” I run a shaking hand back through my hair and glance around the restaurant I thought I was coming to say goodbye to. “This is definitely not how I had expected my day to go.”

“I bet not.”

“I'm just a little…overwhelmed right now.”

He grabs my shoulders, holding me steady in front of him and locking gazes. “You don't have to do everything by yourself anymore, Iz. You have me. You have Ashley. We have rich financial backers who have faith in both of us. There's no way we can fail.”

Oh, God, Grams would have a field day with this.

She would probably be jumping up and down, screaming at me to run from the offer, to stand my ground and do my own thing and not let a man change my mind. But this man is a part of me. And not just physically now.

He may have given me his kidney, but I gave him my heart long before that, and despite all the reasons not to, I trust him to take care of it.

I wrap my arms around him and kiss him with all the emotion I’ve held bottled up inside me the last two months. “I've missed you so much. Your shameless arrogance. That smirk you give when you know you’re right. Even the way my blood pressure rises when you piss me off.” I grin against his lips. “You have a deal, Jameson. Grandma's Fury is a go.”

He grins at me and waggles his eyebrows. “What about us? I've been medically cleared for physical activity. What about you?”

I lean in to brush my lips against his ear. “I was cleared on Friday. Do you think we can get rid of the staff for the rest of the day so we have some time alone?”

He pulls back and grins at me. “That can be arranged.”

“Good. Because I've been having fantasies about a certain béarnaise sauce.”

EPILOGUE

THREE YEARS LATER

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