Yes, Chef (Sizzle & Burn Book 1)

by Linda Verji

  “It won’t even take a minute to go through them,” Greyson insisted. “I just want to make sure Michael has put in the correct data for supplies. Last month, we were short on flour.”

  “No. Stay,” she insisted, getting increasingly panicked by the second. “Weren’t you and Roman supposed to be doing something together today?”

  “We cancelled.” Curiosity glazed his eyes as he asked, “Why are you so intent on keeping me from coming to the restaurant. Are you hiding something?”

  “I’m not hiding anything?” she quickly protested. Oh jeez, where were good excuses when you needed them? She stammered, “I’m just… you know… it’ll end up as a wasted trip anyway because Michael won’t even be at the restaurant. He – he told me he wasn’t coming in today.”

  “Really?” Greyson’s eyebrows shot up. “And where will he be?”

  From the amusement dancing in his eyes, it was obvious that he knew she was lying. But determined to keep her secret, Snow persisted, “His great-great-grandaunt died so he needs to – you know – go to the funeral and stuff.”

  Greyson burst into laughter then. “Don’t ever commit a crime because everyone will instantly know that you’re guilty. You’re a terrible liar.”

  “No, I’m not.” She pouted. “And I’m not lying.”

  “Yes, you are.” Reaching for her fingers and interlacing them with his, he said, “Just say that you don’t want me to come to the restaurant because you don’t want me ruining the surprise party you’re planning.”

  Snow’s jaw dropped. “You knew?”

  “I knew.” He nodded with a chuckle.

  “How?”

  “Roman.”

  That bastard! She should’ve known that he would tattle. Though the party was set to happen in the evening, Lana wanted to make it a big event since she’d missed so many of Greyson’s birthdays. The woman had booked the restaurant for the whole day so they could set it up and decorate. Knowing that once Greyson stepped into the restaurant, he’d figure out something was going on, they’d planned to keep him out of the restaurant for the whole day. That’s where Roman came in; they’d recruited him to help keep Greyson busy and away from the restaurant.

  And look how he’d bungled it up! With one stroke, he’d ruined all of hers and Lana’s efforts to keep the party a secret.

  Snow kissed her teeth. “I’m going to kill him.”

  Greyson’s relationship with his mother was still awkward, but in the last few months it’d improved by leaps and bounds. These days, they regularly called each other and met up. In fact, the last time Lana was in town, she’d stayed at their place. Stranger still, Greyson and her father had developed an odd friendship. The two even played golf together sometimes. Weird. But not unwelcome. Though Snow didn’t need her father’s stamp of approval, it was cool to see him getting along with her boyfriend.

  “You know, this isn’t Roman’s fault,” Greyson said with a laugh. “Anyone who knows him knows that he’s terrible at keeping secrets, you might as well advertize in the dailies,”

  “So you’re saying this is my fault?” Snow asked. When all he did was grin, she kissed her teeth. “That’s it. You’re not getting your second present.”

  His eyes widened. “There’s a second present?”

  “Mm hmm.” She nodded as she clambered off the bed.

  “I’m sorry, Baby.” He grabbed her wrist to keep her from leaving. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have listened to Roman. Please give me my present.”

  She wanted to refuse, make him suffer a little more but then he unleashed his best puppy-eyes and she broke. “Okay, you can have your present.”

  She grabbed her silk nightie from the floor and put it on before crossing the room to her closet. His present was right at the back of the closet. After some strategic shoving and grabbing, she pulled out a rectangular package wrapped in a starry, blue wrapping-paper and brought it to him. More than a little nervous, she sat on the edge of the bed and watched him strip away the box’s wrapping. Would he like her present? Would he hate it? Would he find it too presumptuous?

  “Wow!” Greyson exclaimed as he revealed the brand new, high-resolution, diving camera inside the box. “This is so…”

  His words drifted into silence when he saw the other present in the box. An action figure.

  His story about how his father always got him an action figure for his birthday had touched her – especially because keeping up the tradition was his way of honoring and remembering his father. She wanted to do the same. Though she had never met the man, she knew he had to be a good man because of how much Greyson missed and loved him.

  But now that she thought about it, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Presenting Greyson with an action figure could also be misconstrued to mean that she was trying to usurp his father’s position in his memories. She worried her bottom lip, hopeful that Greyson would realize that there were only good intentions behind her gift.

  He gingerly picked up the figure, a blond man carrying an axe and dressed in a brown leather vest to match his britches and boots. He stared at it. “Who’s this?”

  “That’s the Huntsman,” Snow explained. It had taken her ages and lots of browsing to find the little guy. Apparently most companies were only interested in reproducing Snow White, her seven dwarves and Prince Charming. Her huntsman wasn’t glamorous enough for them.

  But to Snow, the Huntsman was all the man she needed and Greyson was his living embodiment. Sure he didn’t come with a trust-fund, castle and Ferrari, but he was brave, dependable and everything else between.

  “The Huntsman.” Greyson tested the name on his lips then smiled. “I love him.”

  So did she. She loved him very much, and planned to do so for a long time to come.

  │ THE END │

  It’s over. Pity, because I really loved writing this one. I hope you enjoy reading it. Let me know what you thought of Greyson and Snow’s love story by leaving a review at your favorite store/site (just click on your preferred link below). Thank you.

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  What’s Next?

  This is one of those spur of the moment novels that spun out of control. Initially I was planning for it to be a standalone, but Roman, April and Vina have my creative juices churning. I’ve started working on Roman’s story which will of course include updates on Greyson and Snow’s relationship. I can’t give a firm date as to when it will be published but you can be the first to know when I publish it by joining my Reading Group.