“Amber is one person,” I counter. “And she’s going to be helping with service and cleanup. You’re going to be cooking. Eli’s going to be baking. I’m going to be prepping and running the pass. Who is going to set the tables? Who is going to arrange the flowers, coordinate the timing of the courses with the kitchen, make sure the wine glasses are spotless? Sarah can handle all of that. She can come in Friday afternoon, set everything up perfectly, and get out of our hair.”
Knox purses his lips. “Ben là!We can’t afford to hire a freelancer. We’re already eating into our margins with the extra ingredients for this menu.”
“She owes me a favor, Knox. She’ll do it for free. Or I’ll cover the cost myself. It’s worth it to keep our sanity.”
Knox hesitates. I can see him weighing the cost of his sanity against his tightfistedness. He looks at the list, then at me.
“Fine,” he says finally. “Call her. But if she gets in the way, she’s out.”
“Deal.”
We finish breakfast and load the dishwasher. The sun is starting to peek over the horizon, painting the snow in shades of pink and gold.
“Let’s hit it,” Knox says, grabbing his coat. “I want to be at the restaurant by seven.”
We drive over in silence, the roads still icy. When we pull up to Blade & Butter, the lights are already on in the kitchen.
We walk in the back door, shedding our coats. The kitchen is clean, spotless as always, but there is movement in the front.
I walk through the swinging doors and freeze.
Amber is there. She’s behind the counter, setting up the coffee station.
She’s wearing her uniform—black pants and the white shirt—but she’s got these massive headphones on, the kind that cover her whole ears. She’s humming to herself, moving her hips slightly to whatever rhythm is playing in her ears. Her chestnut hair is pulled back in a high ponytail.
She looks… happy. Radiant.
I feel a grin spread across my face. I lift a hand and wave.
I’m so glad we agreed to let her use the spare key. Seeing her first thing after walking into the restaurant is…totally worth it.
She spots me and jumps slightly, pulling the headphones down around her neck. She smiles back, and it makes her eyes crinkle at the corners.
“Hey, Fallon!” she calls out.
“Morning, Amber. You’re here early.”
“Couldn’t sleep,” she says, echoing my words from earlier. “Figured I’d get a head start on the coffee.”
Eli walks in behind me. His face lights up the second he sees her. He just walks right over to her, wraps an arm around her waist, and kisses her cheek.
It’s a sweet, domestic gesture. So easy.
I watch them for a second. Eli whispers something in her ear, and she laughs, swatting his arm playfully.
And then a thought hits me, unbidden and dangerous. I wonder what it would be like to kiss her.
Not a cheek kiss. A real kiss.
I wonder if her lips are as soft as they look. I wonder if she would taste like the vanilla frosting she’s always piping, or something darker, richer. I wonder if she would be gentle, or if she’s wild.
The thought is so vivid, so sudden, that it makes my chest tighten. I stare at her lips, then at her eyes.
She looks up, catching my gaze, and for a split second, gravity seems to shift. The world outside the kitchen goes quiet, leaving nothing but the sound of my own pulse thudding in my ears.
Then she smiles at me, that same friendly smile she gave me a second ago, and the spell breaks.
I push the thought away rapidly, shoving it down into the deep, dark recesses of my mind where I keep the things I don’t want to examine.
