by Robyn Amos
Chapter 21
As Ronnie started work the next night, she felt as though she were under a microscope. Was everyone she knew monitoring her moods?
With that in mind, she went out of her way to put on a happy face. But inside she’d never been more confused. Part of her wondered if talking to Ace would help her sort out her feelings. But they weren’t going to casually run into each other. They lived four hours apart in separate states. She’d have to make a very deliberate and long trip if she decided she wanted to talk to him again. Talking on the telephone wasn’t likely to help her answer any questions for herself.
Dinner service at Crave was going even better than usual, so Ronnie felt good that at least one area of her life was starting to come together. Since the airing of her Food Fight win, there had been several write-ups on her restaurant in local papers.
Just as she was in the midst of reverie, her host, Callie, came to the back and whispered to Ronnie. “There’s a special diner who’s asked to give her compliments to the chef.”
Immediately, Ronnie’s nerves kicked in. “Special diner? Who is it?”
“Sharon Vincent. She’s a writer for Taste magazine.”
Wiping her hands on her kitchen towel, Ronnie followed Callie into the dining room.
“Ms. Vincent, this is our executive chef and the owner of Crave, Veronica Howard.”
Ronnie shook hands with the woman. “Welcome to Crave. I hope you enjoyed your dinner.”
Sharon Vincent was a lovely brown-skinned woman with a round face and a slightly plump figure. She was dressed in expensive designer clothes “It’s an honor to meet you, Chef Howard. Everything I tried was mouthwatering and delicious, but hands down the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth was your chocolate kiss dessert. I wish I didn’t live so far away because I’d be back every night for that one.”
“Thank you so much. That dessert is our signature dish. I’m so glad you liked it. Where are you from, Ms. Vincent?”
“Please, call me Sharon. I’m from New York City. Any chance you’ll be opening a restaurant in the Big Apple?”
Ace flashed in Ronnie’s mind. That’s where he lived. If she opened a restaurant there, she’d have an excuse to see him all the time. Pushing those crazy thoughts aside, she smiled at Sharon.
“I do plan to open up another restaurant, but I haven’t decided on a location yet.”
“Oh! I thought for sure you’d come to New York to be close to your boyfriend.”
Ronnie blanched. “My boyfriend?”
“Ace Brown, the Sexy Chef. I followed your romance in the tabloids. You’ll never find a better guy. I shouldn’t have let him get away.”
“Get away? Did you date him?”
“You don’t have to worry. It’s been over for a long time. I’m a married woman now. But, yes, we dated awhile back before he left for his world tour. He left a man who didn’t want to settle down and came back looking for a commitment. Of course, I’d moved on by then. But we’re still friends. I think you two make a wonderful couple.”
Ronnie’s mind reeled as she took in Sharon’s words. It was highly unlikely that Sharon had put on the extra pounds she carried in the time that she and Ace had been apart. That meant that Ace had dated a woman who was a bit overweight much the same way she had been.
Clearly, Sharon misread Ronnie’s stunned expression for jealousy, because the woman was bending over backwards to reassure her. “Seriously, it never would have worked out with Ace and me. The only thing he and I really had in common was a love of food.”
“Um, Ace and I aren’t together right now.”
Sharon’s face fell. “That’s a shame. I thought I saw a real spark between you when you were on camera together. It didn’t work out? Girl, what am I thinking trying to mind your business like this. Don’t mind me.”
“Actually, we may get back together. I’m hoping we do.”
“That’s right. Go get your man. You don’t want to let that one get away. He’s built to last, you know what I mean?”
Ronnie spent some more time speaking with Sharon and walked away from her table that night with more than just the promise of some good publicity for her restaurant. She now had hope for her future with Ace.
She felt like a fool as it dawned on her that she’d almost let her ex-boyfriend ruin her life once again. He’d gotten in her head and found just the right button to push to amplify her insecurities with Ace.
Now she had to find out if there was any chance that he’d still want her. It was possible that she’d already ruined things between them. Or worse yet, maybe he’d already moved on to someone else.
Heading back into the kitchen, Ronnie made a decision. She couldn’t afford to waste any more time. Tomorrow was her day off. She had to go see Ace.
Sunday morning Ace had trouble getting out of bed. For the past couple of weeks he’d been putting on a brave face, but today, his false bravado was starting to wear thin.
Maybe he’d been wrong and Ronnie really didn’t love him. Perhaps he shouldn’t have made it so easy for her to walk away. He’d been able to do it because he’d been so confident that she’d come to her senses. But now he was starting to have doubts.
Dragging himself to the shower, he tried to plan his day. His best friends would be coming over later for dinner, but if he kept feeling the way he did now, he was tempted to cancel. There wasn’t anything he liked better than making good food for the people he cared most about. But without Ronnie among those people, he wasn’t really in the mood to do it.
Maybe it was time to stop waiting for her to come around and talk to her. Should he call? He wouldn’t be able to see her face over the phone. He needed to look in her eyes as well as hear her voice.
Perhaps the best thing to do was jump in the car and just show up on her doorstep. He didn’t care if it made him look needy. At this point that’s exactly how he was feeling.
He didn’t know if he could move on without trying to get through to her one more time.
With a new plan formulating in his brain, adrenaline began to pump through him. Suddenly highly motivated, he started getting dressed. He’d have to cancel his plans with his friends before he left, but at least this way he’d be doing more than sitting home waiting.
Ace had just finished tying his sneaker laces when his doorbell rang. He wasn’t expecting anyone, so he looked through the peephole of his door.
Ronnie was standing on the other side, looking decidedly nervous.
He felt as though his knees might give out, and sweat immediately began to bead on his upper lip as his heart rate picked up. Excited, he jerked open the door.
“Ronnie! What are you doing here?”
“Is this a bad time? If it’s a bad time I can—”
“What? Come back later? Ronnie, you live four hours away. It’s the perfect time. Come in.”
She looked amazing, wearing a pair of sexy dark jeans and a turquoise camisole top. Her hair was pretty and framed her face. All Ace wanted to do was pull her into his arms and give her a big kiss.
But he had to hear what she’d come to say first. He believed it was good news. She wouldn’t drive four hours to dump him a second time. But she had to say the words.
Ronnie walked into his apartment and took a seat on the sofa. He offered her a drink or a snack, but she was clearly too nervous for any of that.
“I’m sorry to barge in on you like this, but I think I owe you an apology.”
He frowned. “For what?”
“I didn’t give you a fair chance. I let a lot of things that didn’t have anything to do with you, but had everything todo with my own baggage, stand between us. Now I’m just hoping this isn’t too little, too late.”
“I’m listening,” Ace said.
“The first thing I want to tell you is that I do love you. I was lying in Paris when I said I didn’t.”
Ace laughed and Ronnie looked hurt.
“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. I’m laugh
ing because I knew you were lying.”
“You knew? Then why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because you clearly needed time to work things out for yourself. I was hoping that when you were ready you’d come to me.”
“Then I’m not too late? You haven’t found somebody else?”
“Somebody else? How could I find somebody else when all I can think about is you? I still love you.”
“Then there’s hope for us. You want to try to make this work between us?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Ronnie jumped up and threw her arms around Ace’s neck. “I’m so glad to hear you say that. I could barely sleep last night wondering if I’d permanently jinxed things with us.”
Ace answered by doing the thing he’d wanted to do the second she’d stepped into his apartment. He lowered his mouth to hers, giving her a long, deep kiss.
Suddenly Ronnie pulled her mouth away from his. “Wait a minute.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked, trying to kiss her again.
“How did you know I was lying in Paris?”
“Remember when you told me you couldn’t lie to Cara because you have a tell?”
“Yes?”
“Well, I figured out what that tell is.”
Her eyes widened. “What is it?”
“When you try to lie you twist the earring in your left ear.”
“Really? Ha! Cara would never tell me what it was.”
Ronnie laughed and he laughed along with her.
“So, you were confident that I’d come running back to you, huh?”
“I was at first. But to be honest with you, that confidence was fading fast. In fact, I was just about to get into my car and drive to D.C. to see you. If you’d shown up an hour later, I would have been there and you would have been here.”
Ronnie shook her head. “Then I got here just in the nick of time.”
Ace pulled her back into his arms.
“I just have one question for you,” Ronnie asked, tentatively.
“You can ask me anything,” Ace said, concerned.
“What do you think about opening a restaurant together here in New York?”
Ace smiled wide and leaned in to answer her question with a kiss.
* * *
Books by Robyn Amos
Kimani Romance
Enchanting Melody
Sex and the Single Braddock
Cosmic Rendezvous
Romancing the Chef
ISBN: 978-1-408-90570-8
Romancing the Chef
© Robyn Amos 2011
First Published in Great Britain in 2008
Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, including without limitation xerography, photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
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All characters in this work have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Excerpt
About the Author
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Ninteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Books by Robyn Amos
Copyright