‘Well, I’d better get going,’ he said, glancing at his watch. ‘I have a bus to catch.’
‘You could hang around to see Jack now, if you like. I’ll be picking him up from school at two.’
‘Sorry, but I have to get back for a shift this evening,’ he said, standing. ‘Some of us still have to work.’
‘I work. This just happens to be my day off.’
‘Right,’ he said, his tone making it clear he didn’t believe her.
‘We’re not rich, if that’s what you’re thinking,’ she said as she followed him to the door. ‘Dad had nothing, you know that. We were left this house, that’s it.’
‘Whatever. I’m hurt that you think I’m just doing this for money, Lou. But we can battle that out in court.’
Lou tried not to let Rob’s visit get to her, but she felt unsettled by it for the rest of the day, angry that it was preying on her mind and detracting from her happiness about starting her new job in Coast tomorrow. She went over and over it in her head that night in bed, convincing herself it was just an idle threat. She knew Rob and he was all about the easy win. There was no way he’d go to the trouble of bringing her to court when there was no guarantee of him succeeding or getting any money out of it even if he did.
The next day, her excitement about joining the kitchen team pushed thoughts of Rob aside. She was a little nervous too, worrying that the rest of the kitchen staff would feel she’d been promoted beyond her capabilities.
But they couldn’t have been more welcoming. It helped that Dmytro, the line cook who’d replaced Mark, was also relatively new, so she didn’t feel like she was the only one still finding their feet at Coast, even though he had considerably more kitchen experience than her. As the week went on, she settled into her new role quickly and she looked forward to going to work every day. It was more than just a job, a way to earn money to pay the bills. She was using her talents and developing her skills, and she felt like she was going somewhere instead of pounding the same treadmill day after day. She had a real sense of pride and achievement that she’d rarely had at work before.
Aidan was demanding, but generous with his knowledge and expertise, and seemed to enjoy teaching her as much as she liked learning from him. She was proud when he complimented her on getting a dish just right or showed that he felt he could rely on her. He wasn’t lavish with his praise, but he didn’t withhold iteither and he gave credit where it was due. His faith in her meant a lot and she worked hard to live up to it.
The rest of the kitchen staff were great too and she loved the way they worked together in harmony, like a well-oiled machine, gratified to find herself slotting smoothly into the mechanism. Shane had been particularly helpful and was always keen to show her techniques or ask her opinion of a dish he was working on.
And the food was amazing. She felt privileged to have the opportunity to work with such wonderful ingredients – fish still glistening with freshness and smelling brightly of the ocean, organic meat and luxurious seafood, the best quality fruit and vegetables. She got to taste it all too – tangy, crusty sourdough fresh from the oven, a pear ripened to perfection, poached in wine and fragranced with warm spices, creamy mushroom risotto with shavings of truffle… it was worlds away from the food she’d grown up with.
In fact, Lou loved everything about her new job apart from the whopping great crush she’d developed on her boss. It was a long time since she’d felt such a pull towards someone – probably not since Rob. What made it especially irksome was that she could tell Aidan was attracted to her too. She’d seen the way he looked at her sometimes; she’d felt the spark between them when their eyes met. She could have sworn it was mutual. But it was clear he didn’t intend to do anything about it. Whenever there was a moment between them, he looked away quickly and acted as if it hadn’t happened. And nothinghadhappened, in truth – nothing tangible or definable. But sometimes there seemed to be enough static electricity between them to power the entire Dingle Peninsula. Then again, maybe that was just her. Sometimes she did doubt herself and wonder if it was all in her head and she’d simply let her imagination run away with her.
Anyway, it didn’t matter. Even if Aidanwasattracted to her, he obviously wasn’t interested in dating her. She knew he was actively looking to be in a relationship. So evidently, she wasn’t girlfriend material as far as he was concerned – which was all to the good as she was determined not to get romantically involved with anyone, at least until Jack was older. In fact, the sooner Aidan found himself a girlfriend, the better, so she could stop thinking there was any possibility of something happening between them and shut down any feelings she might have for him once and for all.
