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That was the last thing he wanted her to think. “Thanks for that. I’m trying. This is all so new to me.”
“You’ve been here almost a month at this point. You’re doing great.”
“I appreciate you telling me that.”
“What is it you are making as your brunch special dessert?” he asked.
“Strawberry shortcake. I know it’s simple and all, but I do the biscuits from scratch. I’m going to get them all made and the strawberries macerated, then I’ll have the whipping cream all done for the other desserts anyway. I just thought it was a nice light dessert to have after brunch.”
“That sounds perfect,” he said, watching her as she was mixing the dough. “Smells like you’ve been cooking already.”
“I have been. I’ve got one batch in as a tester that will be done in a minute.” The buzzer went off on her phone and she laughed. “Time to try them. I made a small batch and wanted to taste it to see if I need to tweak it.”
“Let’s give it a try,” he said.
She pulled them out of the oven and they looked about perfect to him. Smelled it too.
The minute she had them out of the pan, he was reaching for one and popping it back and forth in his hand to cool it off. “You should wait a few minutes.”
“Nope,” he said. “Biscuits taste the best right out of the oven piping hot.” He took a bite and closed his eyes. “These are great.”
“Thank you.”
She was smiling and he walked over to get the butter and slathered it on. “I mean it. Not as good as mine.” She laughed at him. “But a close second.”
“I didn’t expect to be as good as yours.”
He winked at her. “I’m only busting. They are close to mine. Mine are a tad bit bigger and not as crumbly.”
“Are they too dry?” she asked.
He hated that he put the worried look on her face. “No. They are perfect for strawberry shortcakes. They really are. These are going to be a big hit and it might be a nice summer dessert to have on the menu too. I bet you get close to selling out by the end of the day.”
“We’ll see,” she said. “I hope so. Since you are going to keep it on the menu all day there is a good chance.”
“I think today is going to be a very busy day,” he said, getting to prepping himself.
Zeke would be in any minute since he’d told him to get here by nine. He’d already shown Zeke how to make the menu items and the same with the line cooks. He had no worries that it wasn’t going to go well.
“I hope so,” she said. “I tried to blast out as many posts as I could. It helped that you took so many pictures of what you were serving today and sent them to me. Did you see some of the comments people were leaving?”
“I did,” he said. He wasn’t one to check social media often. He left Hadley to monitor that and she did. He’d scan through at the end of the night if he thought of it, but otherwise let it go. Who the hell had time for it? That was why it wasn’t getting done before now.
But this past week he had paid more attention to everything and not only was Southside packed Friday and yesterday but Duke’s also had the longest wait for a table both days too.
Normally he didn’t like to keep people waiting that long, but in his eyes it was a sign of success and not failure as he’d told her about the desserts.
He turned over tables fast. They got people in and out as politely and quickly as they could. The nice weather definitely played a part in it too.
“There are so many people that were excited. I just have to try to not sneak one of the brunch burgers in the back on my break.”
“I’ll make one for you to eat before the lunch crowd starts,” he said, winking at her. What the hell? He’d never winked at a woman before in his life.
“I’m just picking on you,” she said. “I’m fine and won’t have time for one anyway if it’s going to be as busy as we hope. Good for the pockets too with all those tips.”
“You’ll earn them today,” he said.
“My parents are thrilled at how well everything is going,” she said. They were both working now and not that far from each other.
