Page 67 of Risk It All
“Always the gentleman.” Gran hooked her arm with Cooper’s and patted his hand.
I gave them both a final wave before walking down the block to start my shift—and drop off some food.
22
LEO
Testingout new dishes made me feel like a mad scientist—and I loved every second of it.
No matter how many times I created a menu from scratch, adrenaline coursed through my veins. Would the food turn out how I intended it to? Would my vision come to life?
As I moved through the Lake Ridge kitchen, working in unison with Ray, ingredients, plates, and tasting spoons were spread out everywhere. My notepad, filled with scribbles and crossed out ideas, was on the counter, and I had a pen behind my ear for easy access in case anything came to mind.
We had a few dishes to test out before we finalized what the summer menu would be, but we’d nailed the burger.
After talking to Wes earlier this week, I knew I wanted to add some dishes to the menu that played on the food that his family enjoyed. Hearing about how Wes’s dad Mark was known in the community for his grilling and summer barbecues confirmed that there needed to be a damn good burger on the menu. I wanted to keep it simple with a beef patty, American cheese, pickles, and brioche bun, but also wanted to add in something that made it stand out—which was where the aioli and slawcame in. We were going to swap it in for the maple bacon cheeseburger currently on the menu.
The hot honey sriracha cauliflower wings and flash-fried brussels sprouts had been a hit, so those were both staying.
I was switching out the salad, but I’d yet to figure out exactly what I wanted to replace it with, and we were going to add chipotle chicken tacos and coconut shrimp lettuce wraps.
“Behind!” I heard a familiar voice call, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Eliza coming through. She smiled when our eyes locked, and my gaze dipped to her mouth immediately.
It’d been a few days since we’d agreed to our arrangement, and while I’d seen her since, this was the first shift we were working together. We had about an hour or so that overlapped, most of which was the staff meeting.
“You keep staring at me like that and you’re going to make it obvious,” she murmured once she was close enough, setting down a paper bag that had Pasta Fresca written across it in cursive.
“Make what obvious?” I asked, leaning in and catching a scent of her perfume. I was tempted to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her into my chest. I was in so much fucking trouble, but I pushed that thought away deeper into my mind.
“How much you want me.” She fluttered her dark lashes, and her lips spread into a sultry smile.
“I thought that was obvious by what I’d texted you earlier.”
Her smile widened into a grin. “It’ll be late when I finish up at Lake Ridge tonight, but do you want to come over?”
“I wish,” I sighed. “Tomorrow, maybe? I’m heading up to Maple Bluffs after work to have dinner with my mom and grab a few boxes from her house.” I hadn’t been up there in a couple of weeks, so I also want to make sure the house repairs were coming along.
“Tomorrow works great. We can walk hometogether again.”
Home. While I know Eliza didn’t mean it like that, her words stirred something within me that I hadn’t felt in a long time. But I liked that we’d gotten into a routine of walking back to our apartments together when we ended our shifts at the same time.
“Yeah, we can,” I agreed then turned to continue cleaning before the staff meeting. “Want me to make you a burger before I put everything away?”
She shook her head. “I ate before coming here. Gran, Cooper, and I went to Pasta Fresca.”
“You ate before coming here?” I asked with raised brows. “Is the sky falling or…”
Eliza tipped her head back with a laugh. “Okay, see, Icantake care of myself every now and then.” She ran her tongue along her bottom lip. “I, uh, I actually brought you something.”
I stopped what I was doing and turned toward her, surprised. “What’d you bring?”
She pushed the paper bag toward me, and I nearly missed the faintest hint of pink on her cheeks.
I peeked inside, eyebrows lifting.
“Two of my favorites. Margherita pizza and spaghetti bolognese. But you might not want to eat it tonight since you’re going?—”
Her words cut off as I glanced back at her, something warm settling low in my chest. She’d been out, doing her own thing with her family, and still thought of me. Had gone out of her way to share something she loved…something she thought I’d enjoy.
