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“Yes, chef,” I bit out tonelessly. I was just another foot soldier today. We were all hands on deck, and the mini cheesecakes were the hardest to fuck up, so that’s what she’d assigned me. All I had to do was scoop the prepared filling into the prepared two-inch pie crusts, and then bake them in the preheated oven. A monkey could do it. I was managing all right.
She wrapped the tray of pan-fried scallops with plastic wrap and then foil and set it beside the others.
“Okay, that should be everything,” she said, turning to Ronnie as the sous pulled a tray lined with asparagus out of the oven. “Mark and Jacob will be here in a few minutes to load it all into the van. I’ll meet you at the venue. I have to go get ready for the gala.” I turned my attention back to the mini cheesecakes, doing my best to ignore the jealous snake winding its way through my guts. Hope was coordinating our catering for the evening but she was also attending the event as a guest of her local-celebrity boyfriend.
I snuck a glance at her as she shrugged out of her chef’s jacket and immediately regretted it when I saw the thin white tank top she was wearing underneath. I flashed back to the way she’d pressed herself against me in the walk-in. I’d been icing my bad shoulder all week after lifting her, but I had zero regrets. The anguish was worth getting to kiss her, even if that was the only time I ever did.
“Call me if you haveanyproblems,” Hope said emphatically.
“I will,” Ronnie promised, but I knew she’d have to be on fire before she would call Hope for help. Ronnie worshipped the head chef and wanted to impress her. Plus, she wouldn’t do anything to put a damper on Hope’s big night if she could help it.
“Okay, then,” Hope said. I kept my back to her and my head down. I couldn’t face her. Every time I looked at her, I just saw her in the walk-in, looking up at me with those scared-doe eyes, even while she was grinding herself against me…
Stop it, I told myself firmly.Forget it.
“I’ll see you guys there,” she sighed and I held my breath, waiting for the sound of the heavy metal exit door swinging closed behind her. But instead, I jumped out of my skin when her voice came from right behind me. “Thacker?” I cringed, then reluctantly turned around. Her face was an impassive mask. It was the same way she’d been looking at me sincethe incident.
“Yes?” I couldn’t meet her gaze. I was ashamed of myself, and I was going fucking crazy wanting her. One taste just wasn’t enough. I needed more. But I also knew, now more than ever, that we couldn't be together. I didn’t care if Emily thought I could handle it. I knew better. I knew myself. I’d split my knuckles on many a jaw, in many a jealous, drunken brawl. I was possessive. Hope deserved so much better than me, and it seemed that she’d found better. I needed to butt out and let her be happy. I wasn’t part of her story. I was just the asshole who was trying to insert himself where he didn’t belong.
“Do you need anything else from me?” she asked. I blinked. My train of thought had led me into left field, and her question was jarring. The answer that sprang to mind was,YES!,I needed everything from her. I needed her to dump her boyfriends and move into my house so I could center my entire life around worshipping her and making her come.
“N-No, I don’t think so,” I said finally, remembering that I owned a restaurant, and we were catering a huge event tonight, and she was my chef, not my lover, no matter how badly I might want her.
She wasnotthe love of my life.
She nodded, watching me closely.
“Okay,” she said softly after a few seconds. “Well, if you do, you have my number.” I nodded and then turned back around without waiting for her to walk away. I was sweating as I carried the mini cheesecakes over to the oven.
71.
Rowan
“Hey, dude,” Jamie said in a mock whisper. “You’re drooling.”
I snapped my mouth shut, but I didn’t take my eyes off Hope. I didn’t want to miss a single second, didn’t even want to blink when she was standing in front of me.
She took my breath away on a regular day, first thing in the morning, fresh out of the shower, anywhere, anytime, a hundred percentwouldsmash. But tonight, she’d left me gasping for air. Her hair fell in a glossy waterfall down her back. She was wearing an absolutely sinful dress, cherry red silk that gathered in all the right places and plunged low, revealing the mouth-watering swells of her cleavage. But the real show-stopper was the slit that went all the way up, from the hem of the dress which floated around her feet, to her right hip. It stopped just below her panty line. Her muscled, tanned leg was on display as she walked down the stairs of her house. Jamie and I stood at the bottom, staring up. He’d had more time to get used to her, more opportunities to see her in full goddess mode. But Hope was still an enigma to me. I learned something new every day.
“Fuck, princess,” was all I managed to say as she came to a stop on the bottom step. She was closer to our height in her towering stilettos, but even standing a step above me, her eyes still weren’t quite level with mine. I looked her up and down, taking every inch of her in. I was hard as stone just looking at her in that dress. The thought that I’d be taking it off of her later was enough to make me marvel.
Hope flashed a smile and leaned up on her toes to kiss my cheek. But she wasn’t getting off that easy. I looped my arm around her waist and swept her off her feet, holding her against my chest. She pressed her lips hard to mine. The kiss deepened, our tongues swirling around each other, until Jamie cleared his throat.
“Rowan is going to ruin his pants,” he said drolly. “And we don’t have time for him to change.”
I sighed and placed her gently on her feet. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it as she leaned up to give Jamie a peck on his smirking lips.
“You both look very handsome,” she said.
“You look like Christmas morning,” I countered, tucking her under my arm as we followed Jamie out onto the porch. “And I can’t fucking wait to unwrap you.”
72.
Thacker
I stood in the ballroom of the Casper Convention Center with my hands in my pockets, eyeing the crowd. Or rather, one particular member of the crowd.
My professional dreams were realized. I’d had a full career in baseball and now I ran a successful restaurant and was a respected business owner in the community. I was catering the most important event of the year. I should have been happy. I wanted to be happy. But instead, I was in a deep, black pit of misery as I watched the woman I loved dance with another man.
