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“I get it,” I murmured as she followed me to the kitchen. “I really do. Food makes me happy, too.” I filled her bowl with cat kibble and she meowed gratefully in my direction before turning her focus to the task in front of her.
Before I could do anything else, my cell rang, causing me to jump out of my skin. I grabbed it quickly and swiped to answer without looking at the caller ID. “Hello?”
“Hi! Oh, I’m so glad I got you. Are you sitting down?”
“Mom?” I wasn’t sure why I asked. Of course it was my mom. I’d have known her voice anywhere.
“Of course, Ollie, who else would it be?”
“Mo-om.” She knew I hated being called Ollie. I always had.
“Sorry, baby. Oliver. Is that better?”
“I’m not sure ‘baby’ is, but I’ll take it.”
“Good. What are you doing answering your phone at this hour? Isn’t it dinner service?”
I rolled my eyes, but I grinned in spite of myself. I didn’t have it in me to be grouchy with Mom. I never would. “Yes, it is. What are you doing calling at this hour?”
“Oh, right! I called with news. You’re sitting down?”
I flopped onto the couch in my living room. “Yeah, I’m sitting down. What’s up, Mom?” I tried not to be impatient, but my mom had a way of dragging things out and with the mood I was in I didn’t want to risk taking it out on her.
“Your sister’s pregnant!”
I coughed and sputtered, my eyebrows shooting up. “Seriously?”
“Of course! Can you believe it?”
“Mom, why are you telling me this? Why isn’t Nikki calling me?” I’d known Nikki and her husband Steven were hoping for kids, but I didn’t realize how hopeful they’d been, apparently.
“She’s going to call you tomorrow. She didn’t want to interrupt dinner, but I just couldn’t stand the idea of waiting one more second.”
“Mom. You’re spilling her secrets. That’s hardly fair,” I admonished.
“Sorry, honey, I just get so excited when either of you has news to share. Pretend to be surprised when she calls you, okay?”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. But if she guesses I already know, I’m confessing everything.” Tenderloin jumped into my lap and bumped her head against my chin, chirruping for attention. I gave her a scritch and let myself smile a little. “Mom, I’m going to run, okay? It’s been a long day and I need a shower and a good night’s sleep.”
“Sure thing, honey. I’ll talk to you soon. Love you!”
When I hung up with Mom, I turned on the TV, switched to my favorite streaming app, and scrolled through the movie choices. Nothing looked particularly appealing. I rarely had time to watch new movies, considering how much time I spent in the restaurant. Eventually, I clicked the button to randomize a movie choice and settled in to let whatever it picked for me play in the background.
In the meantime, I grabbed my laptop and opened it up. When the screen came to life, it displayed what I’d been on last, which was research about the hottest cities to open a new restaurant in. I checked out commercial real estate while the movie played, not really paying attention to either the movie or the computer. Eventually, I closed the laptop and tossed it aside, shifting my attention to the movie at last.
The actors on the screen looked vaguely familiar and I quickly realized the movie that had been selected was a romantic comedy. I sighed deeply and watched as the hero—a chef, ironically enough—attempted to win over his love interest, the owner of a rival restaurant. I managed to get sucked in and by the time they were exchanging “I love yous” I was frowning deeply, a heavy sense of disappointment in my gut. It wasn’t the movie that was getting me down as I looked around my living room. It was the fact that I was alone, as usual.
Being the head chef and owner of a popular restaurant on the Las Vegas strip wasn’t exactly easy on the schedule. I barely had time to myself, much less time to date. Add to that the fact that I was looking to relocate somewhere soon to open a second location of Hidden Cove and my chances of finding a romantic match plummeted to nearly zero. Once I found a city to settle in, maybe I’d start dating again. That said, I’d probably be too busy with the new restaurant to even consider dating.
I absently reached over and rubbed Tenderloin’s belly. She immediately yowled and bit my hand before leaping off the couch and scurrying away.
“Ow, damn it,” I yelped. I peered at my fingers to investigate for blood. Luckily she hadn’t broken the skin. On the TV, the movie was ending, the couple smiling happily at one another as the woman walked down the aisle. I let out another sigh, this one heavy with loneliness, turned off the TV, and headed for bed.
Chapter Two
Cam
Thealarmwentoffon my phone and I realized with a start that it was one in the afternoon already. My day had flown by, which I was grateful for, and I was also grateful I’d set the alarm so I hadn’t forgotten to call Chef Oliver at Hidden Cove promptly at ten in the morning his time, just as he’d instructed. I turned off the ringer to my work phone and set my computer to “busy” so nobody would interrupt me. Then I stood up and left my home office, walking into the living room to sit on the couch while I called.
