Page 77 of Chloé

“We do. But if you keep staring at us like that—”

“We’re going to start something that’ll last a whole lot longer than fifteen minutes,” Zayne said. “Take pity, Red. It’s already going to be a long night.”

He wasn’t wrong, but this had been the sexy little break she needed. “Fair enough. As long as I get to stare at you both all I likeafter.”

“Actually”—Ethan’s smile turned downright devilish—“that’s already been taken care of.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm.”

“Ethan… You can’t say things like that. How am I supposed to concentrate now?”

“By knowing you have a veryspecialkind of celebration to look forward to at the end of the night. Now eat up.” He pointed to the protein bar. “You have a dinner to kill, and I can’t wait to taste what is going be the most talked about dish in Chicago by tomorrow morning.”

A burst of nervous laughter escaped her. “No pressure.”

“None that you can’t handle,” Zayne said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and they followed Ethan toward the stairs. “You’ve been working on this for months—you’re ready. And if you weren’t, you wouldn’t have one of the most talented chefs in the world trusting you to represent his restaurant.”

Zayne was right. She knew that. Father or not, herpèrewould never hand over his restaurant and call every important name in the industry if he didn’t think she could do this. So it was time to get her head on straight and bring it.

It was time to introduce the world to Chef Chloé Thornton-Priestley.

* * *

ZAYNE HAD NO idea how Chloé seemed so calm as they headed into town, but after their little pep talk she seemed to have refocused and was now sitting quietly in the back seat going through the pages of notes she’d brought with her.

It had been a real learning curve watching her work on this over the last couple of months. He’d had no idea what went into creating a menu, especially not one of this caliber. But after months of research, taste tests, and full practice runs, it was finally time to showcase what she’d come up with for an audience full of her peers and industry heavyweights.

How she was so poised at such a young age, he had no clue. He would’ve been losing his shit. Hell, his own stomach was full of nervesforher, and all he had to do was eat the meal.

But that was Chloé. She was unlike anyone they’d ever met, and if she was this talented at this age, he couldn’t wait to see the woman she would blossom into throughout the years.

“So, Red, is there anyone in particular you want us to schmooze tonight? Or slip a mickey to?”

“As tempting as that offer is, I think it might be frowned upon to drug my toughest critics.”

“Okay, what about bribing? Is that frowned upon? I can be very persuasive…”

She chuckled. “I know exactly how persuasive you can be, and you better be talking money when it comes to bribing.”

“Of course I’m talking money.” Zayne shook his head but winked at her. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Well then, let me see…” She pursed her lips, and Zayne was thankful he was sitting in the front seat, because he would’ve been hard-pressed not to take her in a kiss that would no doubt end in an extremely frustrating night for him. “There’s Fiona McKenzie. She’s one of the top food critics in the nation.”

“She tough?”

“As nails. I’m both terrified and excited to have her try my food.”

“Think she’s into tall, tattooed charmers?”

“She better not be.”

“Agreed,” Ethan deadpanned as Zayne flashed a smile her way.

“I told you I wouldn’t use my body. But if she’s at least distracted by it, it’ll make it that much easier to bring up a cash bribe.”

Chloé snorted. “You’re ridiculous.”

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