Passionate Chef, Ice Queen Boss by Jennie Adams

Author:Jennie Adams [Adams, Jennie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cooks, Man-Woman Relationships, Italy, Travel, Contemporary, General, Romance, Adult, Fiction, Restaurants
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2010-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

‘You’re frowning, little sister.’ Jackie’s voice sounded beside Scarlett.

It was one hour and fifty-three minutes later, not that Scarlett had been counting or compulsively checking her watch.

There was no need now. Their MC for the evening had commenced a verbal countdown for the final ten minutes and was asking questions of Lorenzo and the other chef as they put the finishing touches to their dishes and prepared to serve them.

The crowd was enthralled. Everyone wanted to know which dishes would be the winners. The whole event was on show on large screens erected inside and outside both restaurants so that all the diners could see.

‘I’ve asked a lot of Lorenzo.’ Scarlett uttered the words to Jackie.

Scarlett had settled down somewhat from her earlier state of feeling totally nerve-racked. But those nerves were back and fluttering about inside her again now.

For tonight Scarlett had dressed in a plain black sleeveless dress with black pumps on her feet. Her only concession to colour was a cream ribbon in her hair to match the pearl drop earrings and necklace she wore with the dress.

She’d wanted to blend in if she felt like blending, but still look professional. Scarlett’s hand rose to the pearl drop necklace. It was a step up from fiddling with her hair ribbon, she supposed. And tonight she had used mousse. Enough to keep her hair in place no matter what! ‘He looks so calm, but cooking in this kind of environment under the eagle eye of so many diners, let alone the dignitaries who’ll do the judging, has to be really stressful.’

Jackie cast a thoughtful glance her way. ‘I suppose you’d have spent a considerable amount of time with Lorenzo since you started working at Rosa, but you sound almost—’

Half in love with him? Overprotective? Too interested? ‘Stressed? Yes. Yes, I have been. It’s been a big week.’

Scarlett would have blabbed on further, but her sister didn’t let her.

Instead she gave Scarlett a very direct look. ‘I hope you aren’t falling for him or anything, Scarlett. He keeps to himself, but you do know—’

‘And we’re into the final few seconds now, people, so let’s count them down.’ The MC began a backwards count, and whatever else Jackie might have planned to say gave way to the surge of excitement through the crowd as they counted down the final seconds of the two-hour block of time.

Scarlett felt she had been saved by the bell. She had to be more careful about what showed on her face. It would be mortifying for people to start to see that…

What? That she was half in love with Lorenzo again?

Not that. Of course not that. But…attracted to him. She didn’t want people to notice that she was attracted to him. Work needed to be work and only that. Business and personal, those two things shouldn’t be mixed.

Maybe she should have thought of that before kissing him so thoroughly that day. It was only luck that they hadn’t been seen at that time.

The other chef

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