Page 106 of Chloé

Yes, I think I am.

Chloé gave herself a final once-over and then headed for the stairs. Tonight was the night, her first evening as executive chef of JULIEN Paris, and she was equal parts excited and nervous.

No, that wasn’t right—she was definitely more excited. This was what she was born to do, what she’d been training her whole life for—and her fathers entrusting her with the French side of the family business meant more to her than they would ever know. She just wished they’d been able to take the time off to come to opening night.

For the last month she’d been planning and prepping this menu, teaching the staff the new meals and the plating of them. So when Zayne asked if she was ready, she felt confident in her answer that yes, she really was.

As she came down the flight of stairs to the ground floor of their apartment, it was to see both Ethan and Zayne waiting at the bottom, and the sight of them dressed to the nines in tailored tuxedos had her close to tripping over her feet. The two of them were absolutely devastating.

“Look at you.” Zayne gave her a thorough once-over. “So fancy in your chef getup. The jacket, the pants, the little black buttons.”

She chuckled and looked down at herself, smoothing her hand over her pressed black jacket. “I don’t know, compared to you two, I suddenly feel underdressed.”

“Are you kidding? You look so…” Zayne searched for the right word.

“Professional,” Ethan said as he stepped forward and kissed her cheek. “You look like a beautiful, professional, world-class chef, which is exactly what you are.”

She smiled and reached up to smooth a hand over her braid. “Thank you, both of you. That’s the highest compliment.”

Ethan turned and looked out the front door. “The driver just pulled up, so whenever you’re ready.”

“The driver?” Chloé frowned. “We could’ve walked—it’s just a couple of blocks.”

“We know.” Zayne hooked an arm through hers as Ethan opened the door, and when she spotted a limo, her feet faltered. “We just thought you should arrive in style this evening.”

“Seriously?” She laughed and shook her head, loving their over-the-top ways. “A limo? Really?”

“Well…” Ethan shut the door behind them and took her other hand. “You aren’t due at the restaurant for another twenty minutes, so we thought we’d do a little Paris-by-night drive.”

She stopped and turned to face him, about to protest, when Ethan put a finger to her lips.

“No arguments. You’ve been preparing for this night for the last few weeks. You spent all day in the kitchen today. You can take twenty minutes to relax, have a glass of champagne, and take in the city you are about to win over.”

Her lips twitched as she stopped by the car door. “Is that an order?”

“It is.”

“In that case, yes, sir.”

Ethan’s eyes creased at the sides, and a smirk played at his lips. Then he opened the door for her and she climbed in. After Zayne and Ethan got in, she giggled and put a hand on both their thighs.

“This is nice. I like being in between my men.”

“And we like having you there.” Zayne interlaced their fingers and leaned in to press a kiss to her temple. “We weren’t about to pass up the opportunity to make your big night special.”

“Hmm, well, who’s going to complain about that?” She aimed a flirty wink his way. “Certainly not me.”

Ethan signaled to their driver they were ready to go, and as the car pulled out from the curb, he reached for the bottle of Dom that had been chilling.

Chloé’s smile widened. “Wow, you really are spoiling me. It’s not like I’m opening a brand-new restaurant.”

“You might as well have.” Ethan handed her and Zayne glasses. “Don’t underplay what you’ve accomplished over the last few months. Not only did you win over the Chicago scene, you’ve reimagined an entirely new menu for tonight, moved countries, taken on a new job—”

“And you taught me how to speak French.”

“‘Speak’ being a polite way to describe his pronunciation of things.”

“Hey, I try, and that’s what counts.” Zayne winked at her, and she had to laugh. His pronunciation really did have a long way to go. But like he said, he was trying.

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