Page 7 of Whisking It All

“Do you need anything?” Jamie asked.

“Not right now, thanks.”

“But you’ll let me know?”

“I will,” Ricky said with a smile.

“Guess I’ll need to find a new pastry chef for the festival,” Jamie said.

“’Fraid so. But Ethan said he’s got an idea, someone you haven’t considered yet, so maybe he’s already got you covered.”

“Maybe,” Jamie said. Though why his best friend had failed to mention this mysterious new pastry chef—or how he even knew one that Jamie didn’t—was beyond him.

If only I had Tessa’s number… He shook off the thought. It’s my own damn fault. This is exactly why I don’t have casual sex.

Once all the crates had been moved inside the restaurant and Ricky had gone on his way with a promise to send someone by with the rest of the order that afternoon, Jamie went in search of his chef de cuisine. He found Anabel in the small office at the end of the hall off the dining room, poring over the complicated scheduling sheet. She was a short Portuguese woman, but anyone who underestimated her based on her size was in for a rude awakening. Despite her diminutive stature, she was a force, and not just in the kitchen.

He knocked twice on the door frame and Anabel held up a finger to him as her eyes scanned the sheet and her mouth continued to move wordlessly. After a moment, she leaned back in the chair and looked up at Jamie, a wide smile spreading across her face.

“What’s up, Chef?” she asked.

“Produce delivery’s here. Ricky’s sending someone back later with the apricots.”

“Great. How’s Cheryl doing? I heard she’s on bed rest.”

“How does everyone know these things before me?” Jamie asked.

“I heard it from Natalia at yoga this morning, but I’m pretty sure she heard it from Carla over at the diner. Oh! That reminds me.” She shuffled through some papers on the desk before locating the one she wanted, holding it out to him. “The university wants to know if we’ll take on an apprentice again this semester.”

Jamie stepped back, refusing to take the paper. “No. I need to focus on the food and wine festival, which means I need you focused on the restaurant. I’m not going to be able to jump in as much for the next few months, so I can’t have you distracted with breaking in a new apprentice right now. Tell the university we’ll gladly take someone on in the spring. It’s bad enough that Brodie still has the training wheels on,” he said.

“He’s a good kid. He just…”

“Doesn’t like to work?” Jamie finished for her.

Anabel laughed. “Yeah. That about sums it up.”

“Come check out the haul,” he said, motioning for Anabel to follow him back into the kitchen. “Ricky sent a few crates of Brussels and leeks, but the arugula crop isn’t as abundant as I’d like. The beets, however…”

Jamie trailed off as Anabel took in the line of crates filled with the purple root vegetables.

“You aren’t kidding.” She planted her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the produce, as though she could intimidate it into being what she had originally wanted. Hell, if anyone could do it, it would be Anabel. “So what are you thinking? Cut the arugula with the—”

“Beet greens, yeah,” Jamie said, taking up a position beside her. “And change up the vinaigrette, to something with—”

“A bit more bite. Got it. What are you thinking for the beets themselves?”

“Gnocchi,” Jamie said, glancing at his chef de cuisine. She nodded, pressing her lips together as she considered the idea. “With a sage brown butter. Maybe some walnuts.”

“We got a nice delivery of scallops that would go great with that,” Anabel offered.

“Let’s get some of those beets roasting then. We’ll need to roast them off and purée them with enough time for it to cool before—”

“I got it,” Anabel said, cutting him off. “Now get out of here. You’re going to miss your meeting. Say hi to the guys for me!” Anabel called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the walk in.

Alone again, Jamie’s thoughts strayed back to Tessa. The idea of never seeing her again was a low simmering irritation, like a too-itchy tag on a sweater. Jamie didn’t do one-night stands, and he hated that the first time he strayed outside those bounds was with a woman he was certain he wanted more than one night with.

Jamie shifted a few crates of the beets, but Anabel was right—his friends were waiting. But he also knew he couldn’t show up there with a head full of thoughts of the night before. They knew him too well, especially Ethan. Ethan would take one look at Jamie and know immediately that he was thinking about a woman.

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