“For sure. You mentioned that you wanted to run something by me.”
“We have a open house scheduled for next week. Can you make it? We’re charging an entrance fee, and I’m hoping to have a large crowd.”
Stephanie nodded. “I saw the ad, and I’m glad you’re doing this. I have heard some talk around town that they didn’t think it would take so long to develop a new menu.”
Gabi felt her stomach sink. She blew out a breath. The cliché of being a day late and a dollar short came to mind. “Here I am worried about making too many changes, and now you’re telling me there are people complaining? Well, crap! Then I’m glad we’re trying out lots of new things now. As soon as this open house is over, I’ll get that new menu going. If I choose the most popular new dishes from the open house and add more of my own, and hopefully some from the staff, we can advertise the launch of the new menu as our grand opening. But I wish you’d mentioned this sooner.”
“I’m sorry. I meant to call you, but something always came up, and it slipped my mind. You know how that is.”
Gabi nodded. “Oh yeah, I know. So can you come?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it. I think I’ll bring Trevor with me. I really think you’ve made a huge impression on him. He was just talking about going to culinary school.” She chuckled. “I think he’s got a crush on you, Gab.”
“That’s cute. If I’ve made an impression on him about going to culinary school, then I’m glad. You being hostess will be good training for when he buys his own business.”
“Yeah, right,” she snickered. “Anyway, so your ad was timely. He figured being a waiter would give him a first-hand view to see whether or not it is something he wants. And you know he’s used to hard work, so you won’t have to worry about him being a slacker.”
“I’m not in the least. Bring him. I’d love to get him in earlier this week, though, for an interview with Dan. The sooner I find someone, the better.” Gabi leaned back and sighed, wishing for more hours in the day. “I’m really glad you’re coming. I don’t have many RSVPs yet.”
“You’re kidding yourself if you think they won’t show up.” Stephanie sipped her coffee. “They’ll probably all call at the last minute.”
Gabi’s nervous stomach told her to relax. Tonight, instead of wearing chef’s attire, she wore a simple long dress with a V neckline and long sleeves. She told herself having the open house was no different than catering a wedding. Nevertheless, she was anxious and hoped she would get the results she wanted. She sucked in a deep breath and told Dan to open the doors for several visitors headed directly for the patio.
“Gorgeous setting out here, Gabi. It reminds me of a tropical island with all the flowery plants and potted palm trees,” one guest remarked. “It’s a welcome sight after the winter we’ve just had.”
She placed her hand on his arm. “Thank you. I was hoping to get everyone thinking about the warmer weather. This patio is my favorite spot, too.” She walked them over to the makeshift bar set up by the babbling brook so she could offer them a glass of wine. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to welcome our other guests. Thank you for coming, and have a wonderful time. We have some terrific offerings tonight from our very talented staff.”
Making her way back inside, she sensed someone was watching her. She turned to look and found Corey raking his eyes over her. The expression on his face made her stomach do a flip-flop and sent her pulse on a triathlon. She gave him a dose of his own medicine and winked at him. She thought he blushed.
Stephanie spotted her and pulled her aside. “I told you they’d come,” she said, gesturing toward the crowd. “I’ve heard an awful lot of complimentary things tonight. A few even suggested you might consider getting someone to play the piano on the weekends during dinner.”
“I hadn’t thought about a piano player. That’s a good idea. Do you know of anyone… reasonable?”
“As a matter of fact, I do know of someone who plays. His name is William,” she said, handing her his business card.
Gabi chuckled. “You’re so good with this stuff.”
“Thank you. But I knew you’d ask, so I went to see him.”
“But I don’t have a piano, and I don’t have the money right now to buy one or the space for a full-size one.”
“He brings his keyboard with him.”
Gabi jerked her head back in surprise. “That’s even better! By the way, did Trevor get a chance to talk to Dan again tonight?”
“I saw them talking, but I don’t know what happened.” Stephanie stopped talking and frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, I have a feeling I’m going to be out of a job soon.”
“Oh no. What happened?”
“I’m hearing that the motel has changed ownership. I haven’t been there that long. You know that old saying about last in, first out?”
Gabi nodded in agreement. “Does that mean you’ll be moving?”
“No. I thought I would be, but we just got word my dad isn’t doing well physically, and Mom can’t take care of him, so I can’t move. My brothers need to take care of the farm, and I need to take care of everything else.”
“Oh, Stephanie, I’m so sorry.” Gabi gave her a sympathetic pout.
“Thank you,” she said, raising her hand dismissively. “We all do what we have to do.”
“Yes, we do.” The chatter in the room increased. “Let’s talk a little later, okay? I need to circulate and talk to more guests.”
“Absolutely,” Stephanie said, and began chatting with someone she knew.
“Good job, Gab,” Corey said after everyone left. “Your idea worked.” He wished he could hold her in his arms to congratulate her, but he wasn’t quite sure where they stood. Sure, the two of them were having a flirtation marathon, but he couldn’t be sure it meant anything to her. He thought she might have liked it, but then she seemed to shut down the idea.
“I thought everyone enjoyed themselves, and I heard some pretty nice remarks,” he continued. “I don’t think I heard any complaints… well except for that heavy-set woman in the brown outfit. She didn’t like the soufflé bread pudding.” He chuckled and watched Gabi jerk her head back in surprise. “Maybe she was having a bad day or doesn’t like chocolate,” he said.
“I can’t imagine anyone not liking chocolate,” Gabi said.
“Me neither. It’s weird, I know.” He began to walk toward his station. “Oh, and you know that couple who moved here a couple of months ago?” He could see she was trying to remember. “They were the people who complained about Brian’s service, remember?”
“Oh, right. What about them?” she groaned.
“They went bonkers over the display of food we had in the chafing dishes. And they asked me to pass along that Brian took care of them the last time they were in, and they felt it was a big improvement over their first visit. They said it seemed as though he’d gone for training.” He released a low chuckle. “You’re knockin’ ’em dead.”
Gabi breathed with relief. “It’s an incredible feeling to know what I’ve been doing is working. Thank you for telling me. Did you tell Dan and Brian?”
“I did. They were happy.” He winked at her. “By the way, I meant to tell you how gorgeous you look tonight.” He released a wolf whistle. “Sophistication at its best, and very New York chic.”
Her eyes opened wide with surprise, and the heat of a blush made her cheeks rosy. “Thank you. I actually miss dressing up.”
“I can see why.” His voice took on a dreamy tone.
“You can?”
“Uh-huh.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but she didn’t say or do anything except to stare. She swallowed hard. “Thanks for noticing.”
He nodded. “I notice a helluva lot.”
“You do?” He gave another nod. “Like what?” she said, apparently egging him on.
“Like, how beautiful you are,” he said, rubbing the back of his finger over her cheek. Sh
e blushed again. “I notice a lot more than you know.” It was obvious she was feeling something because she took three deep breaths.
“Stephanie talked to a lot of her friends who were here tonight,” she said, changing the subject.
“Can we discuss this tomorrow?”
“Okay.”
“Do you want to dance?” he asked.
She laughed. “We don’t have any music.”
“Yes, we do,” he said, and pulled out his cell phone. With a few sweeps of his touch screen, soft music billowed through the air. He took her hand and led her out to the patio, where an amber glow flickered from the torches illuminating the fieldstone patio.
“I thought you snuffed the torches out.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I think you know why. We’ve been dancing around this issue for a few weeks now, and I don’t want to hide my feelings anymore.” She sighed when he pulled her into his arms and began swaying to the music. She didn’t resist. She melted into him.
“Should we be—”
Her words were cut short when he held her chin up to his lips and kissed her tenderly. “Gabi, I’m really starting to fall for you.” A chill skittered down his spine. He felt so free because for the first time in a year, he was finally over Victoria.
Gabi locked the door behind her and released a deep sigh. Had this evening really happened? Now that he’d actually kissed her, what would happen tomorrow? Would he act as though nothing happened? She blocked it from her mind. She didn’t want to ruin the glow she was feeling. Not now. Right now, she was falling in love with Corey Edwards. She slipped out of her dress and hung it in her closet, then headed to the bathroom to wash her face, all the while humming the last song they’d danced to. A flutter flickered in her stomach when she relived his tender kiss and strong embrace. Seeing her reflection in the mirror, she touched her lips and all she could say was, “Wow.” She slipped into her nightgown and heaved a deep sigh, knowing no matter how hard she tried, this would be another sleepless night. Only this time, it wouldn’t be just a dream. He’d really kissed her.
Gabi sighed as she stared at the ceiling, her eyes watering from the intensity. She now knew where every crack, every popped nail, and every uneven spot existed on the ceiling. Abandoning her efforts to fall asleep, she sat upright and stared out the window. She smiled to herself, remembering her evening—the evening that hadn’t worn off yet, the evening that had kept her awake all night. One deep sigh, and she tossed her legs over the side of the bed, stood up, and sashayed to the bathroom. Even walking felt euphoric. A single glance at her face in the mirror made her smile—she was absolutely glowing, something she hadn’t felt in a long time. Just thinking about him made her pulse race. How was she going to work today without swooning over him and worrying about the staff noticing something was different? Would she feel nervous around him now? Would she be tongue-tied trying to talk to the staff? She brushed it off and told herself she was being silly. Once she was downstairs in work mode, she’d be fine.
Twenty minutes later, she locked the door of her suite and walked down the creaky stairs with trepidation. When she reached the last step, she took a deep breath and entered the kitchen. He was leaning against the door in the empty kitchen, a cup of coffee in one hand, a single rose in the other. Their eyes locked—he was watching her, every move she made. A private smile creased his handsome face and caused another sharp intake of air.
“Good morning,” he said, handing her the rose. “This is for you.”
Gabi returned his smile and swallowed hard, bringing the rose up to her nose and smelling it. “Thank you,” she said, wishing she could feel his lips on hers.
Noticing he hadn’t given her the coffee, he grinned and shook his head. “Here,” he said, handing her the mug. “This is for you too.” They giggled like teenagers.
“Thank you.”
“How did you sleep last night?”
“Sleep? What’s that?”
“I know. Me neither. Have you given…” she stopped talking because he was talking at the same time. They both stopped and laughed again. “Go ahead,” she said, “you first.”
“How do you want to handle today? I don’t know that we need to appear any differently than we have in the past, do you?”
“The staff is bound to sense something is different between us,” she said.
“Why? Because we’re not arguing?”
“Yeah, because we’re not arguing.” They stopped talking when they heard a loud knock on the kitchen door. She raised her shoulders and giggled. “You forgot to unlock the door?”
He rolled his eyes. “I guess I did. But wait, before you open it—” he pulled her into his arms one more time and kissed her with more passion than she expected. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to get through the day without feeling your lips on mine.” They heard Leslie’s voice calling out Gabi’s name. Corey began to unlock the door when Gabi quickly scooted across the kitchen into the dining room to collect herself before facing Leslie.
She heard him talking to her. “Sorry, Les, I didn’t realize the door was still locked.”
“That’s okay. Actually, I was thinking maybe we had the day off and I was confused.”
“Yeah, there’s a lot of that going around these days.”
“Huh?” she said.
He flung his hand in the air, “Nothing. Just a private joke.”
“Oh, okay. What a fantastic open house, huh? Wasn’t it great?”
“It was, and I think Gabi has some good feedback for us.” He spotted Gabi coming into the kitchen behind Leslie. “And here she is.”
Leslie frowned and gave a wave to Gabi. “You seem awfully happy today, Corey. Did I miss something?”
“No. I guess I just got a good night’s sleep,” he replied.
“Good morning,” Gabi said. “I’m getting a very slow start this morning.”
“You’re entitled. Okay, where do you want me to start?”
Corey responded. “The bread is in the proofing cabinet, so you could start by getting that baked.”
“You did that this morning?” Leslie asked. “What time did you get here?”
“Very early,” he groaned.
“Okay, thank you.”
“Did you have any feedback to share, Chef?” Steven asked, raising his voice to be heard above the noisy equipment roaring at full speed.
“Plenty!” Gabi said. “Stephanie spoke to several of the customers, and of the information she got, you know what the biggest complaint was?” Joey and Leslie stopped the machines to listen. “That it was taking us too long to create a new menu.” Gabi threw her hands in the air. “I can’t win for losing here. I thought they might be upset if I changed it too quickly. So a new menu is what they’ll get.”
“You know how it is when you deal with the public,” Corey offered. “So as we revise, we’ll give them more than they expect and we’ll be fine. Did Stephanie tell them some of the things you have planned?”
“She said she did, and they were very receptive. On the food question, they asked for more beef and pork dishes… and a few more pasta dishes.” She ran a hand through her hair. “So, it’s full speed ahead now. We have to get this done in record time. Are we still on for next Sunday?” she asked Corey. “I could really use your help.”
“Yes, we’re still on, but don’t go getting all panicky and rush through things. Slow and steady is the pace, and you also have to make sure you’re adding the right kinds of things on the menu,” he said. “Actually, I’ve already begun to mark some recipes in my personal cookbooks. And there were some terrific ones I used in my own restaurant that I wouldn’t mind giving you to use.”
“Are you sure about that?” She couldn’t believe her ears. Maybe he was beginning to let go of his past. “That’s awfully generous of you.”
“Well, it makes me really feel part of the restaurant by giving them to you, and it would warm my heart to see something I created on the me
nu.” His smile caused a swirl of emotion in her stomach. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, until she noticed Joey watching them. She quickly averted her eyes. Corey was saying all the right things. Gabi hadn’t had anyone compliment her in a long time—and the fact that it was coming from a tough cookie like Corey meant even more. But the magnetism of his smile bowled her over and made her heart race. Yeah, this romantic involvement was a whole lot better than fighting. She’d made the right choice by letting him get close to her. Or had she? What would happen when she didn’t like something he’d done and he had one of his usual flare-ups? Just because they were together, so to speak, didn’t mean all that nonsense was left behind. Corey was still working on his issues. A sharp pain stabbed at her stomach. She didn’t want to rain on her own parade, but maybe she needed to talk to the girls first. She would call Stephanie, but their friendship was too new. Stephanie didn’t know her well enough to give boyfriend advice. The fact that Stephanie was trying to get a romance going with one of her former classmates meant she’d probably be egging Gabi on without being objective.
Gabi excused herself and walked into her office. She wanted to call the girls to share her good news and talk about Corey.
Jamie answered Cassie’s phone on the second ring. “You have ESP,” she said. “Were your ears burning awhile ago? Cassie and I were just talking about you. Do you have any plans for tomorrow?”
“No. Just resting. Why?”
“Cass and I thought we’d come hang out with you tomorrow and leave on Monday morning. What do you say?”
Gabi squealed with delight. “Ohmigod, are you kidding? I’ve been missing you guys so much. I’m so excited.”
“Okay, we’re leaving here at seven thirty in the morning, so we have a full day to catch up on all the gossip and what’s been going on.”
Tears gathered in Gabi’s eyes. “Jamie, you have no idea how much I need this visit with you guys. I have so much to tell you.”
“Us too. So when she suggested a trip out to see you, I couldn’t wait to call. And you called instead. Now that’s good waves of mental telepathy.” She chuckled. “Everyone here is throwing kisses to you telephonically.” She paused briefly. “Cass is feeding Josh breakfast; otherwise I’d let you talk to her. Okay, I know you must be busy getting prepped for the day, so I’ll let you go. See you early tomorrow.”
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