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God, his smile was dazzling and cryptic. “It’s in the dining room. Follow me.”
It took everything to stand my ground and shake my head. “I can’t right now. I need to finish cleaning my station. Maybe when I’m done, you can—”
His face skewed. He hadn’t expected any push back. Then, his expression shifted, and he shrugged, as if saying fuck it. “Some of the guests want to meet the chef.”
“Oh.” I straightened as excitement and nerves mixed in my stomach. Were they wanting to give me a compliment . . . or a critique? I folded my washrag, set it on the side table, and wiped my damp hands down the sides of my jacket, before following Preston out through the door.
The dining room was dramatically different from when I’d walked through before service. The lights were low and soft music played, but it was barely discernible over the conversations of dozens of people seated at the tables and booths. Some stopped talking and turned their curious gazes toward me, but when the tall blonde woman pushed back in her seat and stood, everyone else in the room disappeared.
“Oh, my god,” I uttered.
When Colin said he couldn’t tell me who the client was, I hadn’t given it much thought. I’d figured it was someone who wanted their privacy. It had crossed my mind they could be a celebrity, but certainly not someone as freaking huge as Stella.
Her ruby red lips peeled back into a warm smile as she strolled toward me. “Sydney?”
Holy shit, she knew my name.
“Yes. I’m such a huge fan,” I gushed before she’d even reached me. “I tried to get tickets to your Heartsick tour, but by the time I made it through the queue they were sold out.”
She genuinely looked disappointed on my behalf. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. But it turns out I’m a huge fan of you, too.”
“You are?” My brain no longer worked, and I couldn’t process what she meant. “Why?”
Her laugh was bright and infectious. “Your food was delicious, and when Preston told me the chef was a young woman, I wanted to meet you.”
“You ate my food?” My eyes went so wide, they had to be the same size as the dessert plates.
Beside me, Preston chuckled.
It was a stupid question, but thankfully she pretended it wasn’t. “I hosted this dinner tonight for my friends and family to celebrate the end of the tour. A ‘welcome home’ of sorts.” Her voice was like honey as she leaned closer, acting like we were old friends and not strangers. “I’m going to be here in Nashville while I’m working on my next album, which means I’m in the market for a personal chef.” Her gaze shifted to Preston before returning to me. “He mentioned that was your dream job.”
I went breathless. He'd talked me up to her? I worried I was going to melt, or spontaneously combust, or do both at the same time.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“When I was starting out,” she said, “someone gave me my first big break. Since then, I’m always trying to pay that forward. And I’ve discovered I love helping folks make their dreams come true.” Her eyes sparkled. “How would you like to cook for me for a week and audition for the job?”
“Audition to be your personal chef?” I blinked, and finally my brain started to function again. “Yes. Absolutely yes. That would be amazing.”
“Great.” She turned and gestured to the woman who’d been seated beside her at the table. “That’s Shanice, my assistant. If you give her your info, she’ll get things started for us.”
“Thank you so much.” I did my best to sound chill and professional, even as I was screaming inside.
Stella nodded and flashed an easy smile. “Thank you for dinner, and for being able to do it last minute.”
“Right.” I was riding such an emotional high, I felt invincible. “Although, between us, I’m not sorry the other chef had to cancel.”
She exchanged a confused look with Preston. “Other chef? I thought Sydney was your first choice?”
He smiled, and it was so convincing, she probably didn’t see the panic in his eyes. But I knew him better, so I saw it all.
“She was,” he said quickly. “I’m not sure what she’s talking about.”
“Oh. Okay.” She accepted his attempt to brush it off. “Well, I’m glad Troy pitched this dinner to me, and thanks to y’all for helping pull it together.”
I nodded, too stunned to speak and my mind went on overload as it tried to piece together this information.
Troy had pitched this to Stella.
