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“Yes, you can.”
“Gage, don’t. I can’t do this with you right now. I have people here and—”
“How much time do you have?”
She shrugged. “Twenty minutes maybe.”
“That’s plenty to cook these. You don’t have to forgive me yet, but these need to be made. Let’s go.”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. There was pain in her voice, and Gage wanted to make it better. The scary thing was, he didn’t know if this would work either. Didn’t know if she’d actually forgive him when this was all done. Didn’t know where they stood or if they had any kind of future at all.
All he knew how to do was to stick to the mission. But now the mission was more than going out into the field. It was about more than saving strangers. When it came to him and Chloe, it was about saving them.
He heated up the skillet in the restaurant’s industrial kitchen. For the moment, they were alone. The faint sounds of the bustling people wafted past them.
“Slow burn,” he said, putting the oil in the pan. “You just have to maintain the steady heat.”
She looked at him, and he saw something sad in her expression. Was this the look she’d described seeing in her mother’s eyes? It was soul shattering. And he’d put that look on her face. He had to fix it. Had to try.
“It’s ready,” he said, gesturing to the pan.
She tentatively reached for one of the crab cakes. He put his hand on top of hers, stilling her for a moment.
“Remember, Chloe. Don’t force it. Just love it.”
She looked at him, and for a moment he thought she was going to cry, but then she gently set the crab cake in the oil. Her eyes widened as she watched the appetizer slowly brown.
“Flip it,” he instructed.
She did.
The golden color was perfect and in a few moments, it was done.
She scooped it out and placed it on a serve tray.
“It looks perfect,” she said. She made the next, then the next, while Gage watched her. She was doing it. On her own. The question was, would Chloe want to be on her own in everything from here on out?
Before he could voice that one question, that one fear, Natalie stepped in and said it was time for Chloe’s speech.
With the last crab cake finished, Gage couldn’t give her a reason to delay going out there.
She sighed. “I have to go.”
“This time I’ll wait for you,” he said. “J
ust please tell me you’re coming back.”
She paused, then said, “I have to go.”
And then she walked out of the kitchen and toward the podium in the main room.
The event was going great. The grand reopening for the twentieth anniversary had brought in tons of people, and the refinished balcony was a hit. The band was playing smooth jazz on the small stage they’d set up in the corner, and everyone seemed to be having fun.
Except for her.
She’d been ready to live the rest of her days missing him. And then he was here, the last thing she’d expected, and all those feelings came back to the surface. The elation at seeing him and the fear that this would mean losing him all over again.
Her mother’s spirit was definitely around, but so was the pain of loss. And when it came to Gage, she only had herself to blame for pushing him away. But she wouldn’t repeat that mistake. Not now. Not ever.
