Love at First Bite (Zaftig Dating Agency Book 2) by Jane Fox

Author:Jane Fox [Fox, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-13T16:00:00+00:00

3

Heath

I whistle on my way into Travers to pick up Alicia at the end of her shift. We decided to take a picnic to a local part and watch the sunset, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing her again. And possibly to kissing her as we watched the sun go down. So my mood is festive, right up until the point I walk into the foyer of the restaurant.

Someone with no experience in the restaurant industry wouldn’t have thought anything was wrong, but all the signs were glaringly obvious to me. The hostess is taking a drink order. There are unbussed dishes on the table. And Alicia has a very distinct wrinkle between her eyes.

“What’s going on?” I ask, walking with her as she makes her way across the dining room.

“We’re down a server, a sommelier, and a sous,” she says shortly.

I wince. The restaurant business can be like a well-oiled machine: all the parts smoothly working together towards the desired result. But if one of those parts breaks down, the entire machine is in peril. And Travers is lacking people in three different areas. It’s a recipe for disaster.

“I can’t leave,” Alicia says, her eyes locking with mine. I can see that she’s sorry, but I respect her willingness to be a team player when her restaurant needs it.

“Can you manage down a server?” I ask.

“Probably; our servers are excellent,” she says (and that confirms my impression from the last time I was at Travers). “But we’re booked full tonight, and we can’t work without a sous chef.”

“You’ve got one,” I say as I make my way into the kitchen.

The head chef, who I’ve known since we were both bussing tables as teenagers, notices me as soon as I enter. “What’s up, Heath?” he yells over the steak he’s searing.

“Came to give you a hand, Paul,” I say. “Point me towards a pair of chef’s whites and put me to work.”

It’s a long evening, but I’ve certainly worked longer and busier. It’s been a long time since I’ve taken orders in the kitchen, and it’s almost relaxing to let my mind go on autopilot and just follow Paul’s directions. By the time we’ve finished the dinner rush, I’m hot and tired, but satisfied with a job well done.

Paul comes over and claps a hand on my shoulder. “Heath, I can’t thank you enough,” he says. “I can’t think of another chef in the city who would have been able to put their ego aside to be a sous chef at a restaurant they’ve never worked at.”

“It was my pleasure, Paul,” I answer honestly. I’ve always liked him, and he had been easy to take directions from. “Glad I could help out.”

I look over to see Alicia watching us, a small smile on her face.

“Oh!” Paul says, clapping my shoulder again. “Now I see your angle.”

“So much for our picnic,” Alicia says, her smile faltering.

“Says who?” I reply. “There’s a full moon tonight, and you can’t tell me that you’re not hungry.

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