Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I placed a kiss on Luca’s forehead. “You did it.”
“Wedid,” he corrected, taking a strand of my hair between his fingers.
“Luca, I think you’re about to blow up,” Grace said, and I could practically hear her smile through the phone. “Cash does too. I sent him the video from last night, and he predicted this before the internet started losing its mind over you. I hope you’re ready for the storm that’s coming because I’d be willing to bet that by the end of next week, you won’t be able to go online or heck,anywhere,without seeing your name.”
He cleared his throat. “So, what’s next? What do we need to do?”
“Wedon’t need to do anything,” she replied. “You take the weekend to enjoy this. I’ll start compiling a list of everyone who wants to chat with you, and we can meet Monday and take it from there.”
“Are you sure?” Luca asked. “I thought you were heading back to LA to see Sam for a few days?”
“I’m pushing my trip back a couple weeks,” she said. “I want to hang around a little longer while we plan our next steps. I think it may be time we start thinking about a tour. Hope you haven’t gotten too used to being in one place because that’s all about to change, my friend.”
I gulped. A tour? It wasn’t like I hadn’t known that was part of the deal, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon. I thought we’d have more time to solidify our relationship before he left for weeks or months at a time.
Luca chuckled, turning his attention to the phone. “The road is basically home for me, so I’m ready. You just say the word.”
I thoughtIwas his home? I mentally kicked myself for allowing my mind to even go there. This wasn’t about me. This was about Luca. He’d worked hard for this, and it wasn’t like I didn’t want him to have it. But I’d been so caught up in the journey that I hadn’t let myself consider what would happen when we reached the destination.
Grace said her goodbyes, and Luca folded me in his arms.
“Can you fucking believe it?” he asked as we fell back against the mattress.
“I know,” I said, burying my face in his neck so he wouldn’t see the emotions warring inside me.
I was happy for Luca and what this meant for him, but I couldn’t shake the dread over what it might mean for us.
It was barely8 a.m. on Friday, and I was about to lose my shit. It had been two weeks since the show, and work was hell. Katie’s MS was flaring up, so she’d been out for several days, which meant Dallas had been scarce too. I was always happy to take over when Katie couldn’t be there, but it became challenging when the other employees weren’t there to help. Car trouble, illness, family emergencies, even jury duty had everyone calling out left and right for the past week.
It was the day before a catering gig—one that was especially important to me. Kia’s boutique was having a twentieth anniversary party, and I was in charge of the event. Which wouldn’t have been an issue if I didn’t have to also run the restaurant.
“Hey, McKenzie.” Bella, one of our new hires, poked her head in the kitchen looking like a mouse standing in front of a boa constrictor.
“Yeah?” I asked, continuing to swirl icing over the cupcakes in front of me.
“Sydney just called out,” she answered softly, as though the volume of her statement would be the thing to set me off.
My blood turned to ice. “What?”
Bella swallowed hard. “She has the flu.”
“Fuck,” I said through gritted teeth. I couldn’t say I hadn’t seen it coming, since she and Grant had started dating, andhe’dcalled in with it two days before. “She was supposed to be running the kitchen today. Grant and Jacob are out, and I’m swamped. I’m behind on what I need to prep for the party tomorrow night, and I can’t run the entire kitchen and get it done.”
“I know. I’m sorry. What can I do?” The poor thing looked so terrified that if I’d made any sudden movements, I’m fairly sure she would’ve screamed.
I dropped the pastry bag on the counter and pressed my wrists to my skull in a vague attempt to relieve the pressure mounting behind my eyes.
What could I do? Call Dallas and tell him I had a DEFCON 1 level emergency on my hands and beg him to come in? I hated the idea of him leaving Katie when she wasn’t well, though I knew she’d likely insist on it. Maybe I could call the two new hires who hadn’t started yet and plead with them to come in a couple days earlier than planned. They hadn’t gone through orientation yet, but they at least had some kitchen experience, whereas Bella had none. Or perhaps I could just disappear like Homer Simpson backing into the bush, flee the country, and change my name. That option was looking better and better.
“How many servers do we have up front today?” I asked.
“Just Abbey and Tiffany.”
I scrubbed my hands over my face. Abbey had some kitchen experience, but I couldn’t leave Tiffany on the floor alone. She’d started at the same time as Bella and was still learning the ropes.
“Okay,” I said. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. Call Tyler and Fallon and see if they’d be willing to come in. They’re not supposed to start till Monday, but it’s worth a shot.”
She nodded. “You got it. Do you want me to call Dallas?”
