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"Scarlett, hi. I didn't realize it was so late," Chad said.
"Oh, it's not. Don't worry. I just like to come early on Mondays."
"Dad and I always come here on Monday," Bella said proudly. "We eat all the pie that's left from bunch," she said.
I started to laugh because she'd clearly meant to saybrunch.
"And then the staff wonders where it is," Chad said with a wink.
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," I assured them. "So, what are you having?"
"Pecan pie."
"I heard that’s delicious." It was the weekend specialty.
"Do you want to eat with us?" she asked. And then she hesitantly added, "There’s a slice left."
Chad laughed, kissing the top of her head. "I'm very proud of you for sharing." Then he turned those molten blue eyes on me. "By the way, it means she likes you. She's very protective of pie."
“Thanks for the offer.” I walked right up to them and shook her hand. “I’m Scarlett, the new chef.”
Her eyes widened. "I'm Bella."
“And I’d love some pie.”
Chad gave me a plate, and our fingers brushed as I took it from him. I had to steel myself not to react to the sudden burst of warmth traveling through me. He clearly didn't miss it, because he fixed his eyes on the plate for a bit before looking up at me.
"How was your weekend?" he asked.
"It was great," I replied.
"What did you do?"
"Oh, I did a few more walking tours, and then I bought one of those racks to put my clothes on, since I’m short on storage space. I've been desperately meaning to do that since I moved in, but time got away from me.”
"Dad, I think one of my pigtails is coming undone." It was adorable how she held on to thea, sounding like “Daaaad.”
Chad immediately straightened up, looking at his daughter's hair. "Yep, it is. Let me redo it for you."
I watched in fascination as he pulled off the elastic band, then expertly undid the pigtail and redid it perfectly. Howadorable was that? A full-grown man focusing on his daughter's pigtails. I sighed and tried to pass it off as a reaction to the delicious pecan pie.
"I knew there was a reason I didn't go to pastry school. I would just bake and eat the entire time. Now I understand why your brunches are so popular."
"Daddy said you just moved to New Orleans," Bella said, and I nearly dropped my plate.He mentioned me to his daughter?"And Gran Celine said she liked you, and she never really likes people."
Chad started to laugh. "She does like people. She was just afraid the restaurant’s reputation would suffer.”
"She loves this place, doesn’t she?" I asked.
Chad nodded. "Yeah. I think she'd still be in the kitchen, running it full-time if she could."
"I see."
So I was a topic of conversation in their home, huh? I was curious to know what was being said, but I didn't think it was appropriate to ask. Not when Bella was here. And even if she wasn't, I had to find some way to function professionally around Chad.
"What kind of pies do you like, Bella?" I asked.
"All sorts of pies. All of them. Everything that's sweet."
