The Chef's Choice: The Chef's Choice. Kristin Hardy

before the man.

      “What about my wife? Her dinner’s stone-cold by now.”

      “Walter, it’s not a problem,” the woman began.

      “I thought that might happen,” Damon said, even as the runner whisked her plate away and set down another.

      Cady gaped.

      “What is this?” The man poked at the meat on his plate.

      “Beef tenderloin with a truffled fois gras sauce I whipped up,” Damon told him. “It’s got a bit of wine, some caramelized shallots."

      The man took a bite and chewed. “Huh.” He chewed some more. “It’s good.” Swiftly, he cut another piece. “Really good. Isabel, you’ve got to try this."

      But Isabel wasn’t listening. She was staring at Damon. “Damon Hurst,” she said slowly as though just registering the words. “You’re that chef, aren’t you? The one on TV?"

      “Now and then,” he said.

      “Oh, I love your show. I can’t believe we’ve had your food. The girls in my bridge club will be so jealous."

      “I’m here Tuesday through Saturday. Tell them to come in. What’s your name?"

      “Isabel Cottler,” she supplied. “This is my husband, Walter.”

      “Isabel, tell your friends to give the waiter your name when they come. I’ll take special care of them."

      “Oh!” She pinkened. “I will, you can be sure. Thank you so much."

      “No, thank you.”

      Stunned, Cady watched as he sketched a small bow and left them to their dinners.

      “What happened to the guy who used to throw customers out into the street?” she asked as she followed him back to the kitchen.

      “Who wants to be predictable?” He stopped in the vestibule and turned to her. “Besides, I got something out of it."

      Her pulse bumped. “What I said doesn’t count. You plated new entrées. You were never planning to kick them out."

      “We made a bargain.”

      “I have to go check my tables,” she retorted.

      But before she could escape, he leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. “You do that. I’ll see you when service is through.” And he stepped through the doors into the kitchen, leaving her standing there.

      The final hours of dinner service passed by in a blur of taking orders, delivering plates, opening wine. When Cady saw the last customers rise to leave, she should have felt relief at the prospect of release. Instead, she just felt disoriented.

      Damon. She didn’t know what to think. Nothing about him was as she’d expected. Instead of partying into the wee hours and showing up at work in the late afternoon, he was in the kitchen at the crack of dawn every morning. Instead of shouting at his staff, he presided over a kitchen that was positively serene. Instead of kicking out rude customers, he charmed them.

      And somehow, when she hadn’t been paying attention, he’d charmed her.

      She’d agreed to something in those desperate moments in the dining room, though she wasn’t sure what. And she wasn’t at all sure how she felt about it. Nerves, yes. Anticipation, yes. And confusion. She didn’t like confusion, she never had, and so she took her time with her after-hours duties, changing tablecloths, refilling salt cellars, putting off heading to the kitchen to the last possible moment.

      She couldn’t say whether it was relief or disappointment that hit when she finally walked through the sliding doors only to find the kitchen cleared out. The rest of the floor staff was long gone, the line cooks had finished cleaning up and headed to the locker room to change. Only Denny, the kitchen porter, remained for the thankless job of washing the mountain of dishes and pans, taking out the rubbish, mopping the floors and counters for the new day.

      Damon was nowhere to be found.

      Which was good news. Definitely good news, she thought as she retrieved her keys and jacket from the now-empty locker room and slammed bad-temperedly out the back door. A woman would be out of her mind to take the risk of getting involved with Damon Hurst, with that mind-melting stare that could make her think she really wanted his kisses, wanted his touch, wanted his—

      “It’s about time.”

      Cady froze.

      “I was beginning to wonder whether you were moving in.” Damon stepped out of the shadows into the pool of light outside the door. He wore jeans and an open-collared paisley shirt under his leather jacket. With his hair loose, his jaw dark with a full day’s growth, he looked like an artist who’d escaped his garret. The naked bulb overhead threw his eyes into shadow.

      Nerves, anticipation, confusion. Cady swallowed. “I had things to do."

      “We still do.”

      “You can’t hold me to that. That was extortion.”

      “Hardly. You were free to say no.”

      Nerves, anticipation, confusion.

      “You knew I thought you were going to kick them out.”

      “Maybe I meant to.” “After you’d already made up plates?” “It doesn’t matter,” he said, watching her with that unwavering stare. “I think we have some unfinished business.” Nerves, anticipation, confusion. Nerves won.

      “It’s twelve-thirty in the morning. I think the business can wait.” And a part of her wasn’t at all sure she could handle what that business might be. She started toward the parking area, tucked in pockets among the stands of pines that surrounded them.

      And Damon walked beside her, through the shadows. “I didn’t have you picked for the type who’d go back on her word."

      She snapped her head around to stare at him in the dimness. “I’m not."

      “So?”

      “So this isn’t the place to have some big talk. We both know there are too many people around."

      “Fewer all the time,” Damon observed as the last stragglers headed for the exit. “And who said I wanted to talk?"

      The thick pines loomed around them, breaking the wash of illumination from the arc lamps into stripes of bright and dark. Their feet crunched on the pine needles underfoot. Then, with a flash of taillights, the final car drove away and they were alone.

      Cady stopped at the side of her truck and turned to face him. Against her will, anticipation began to thrum inside her.

      He fingered her bow tie. “You stopped me in my tracks tonight when I saw you."

      “It’s just the tuxedo.”

      When he looked her up and down, she felt his gaze as surely as any touch. “No,” he said simply. “I’m pretty confident it’s got nothing to do with the tux."

      Her mouth went dry. He watched her with the same intensity as when he was at work, creating, but now it was all focused on her.

      “Why didn’t you make a scene with that diner tonight?” she asked. Abruptly, it seemed vital to know. “He was obnoxious. Why didn’t you kick him out? It’s what you would have done in New York."

      Damon moved his shoulders. “This isn’t New York.”

      “Is that why you don’t party all night anymore?”

      He reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear. “I can think of other things I’d rather do."

      His fingers lingered against her cheek and Cady felt a flip in her stomach. It was only a light touch and yet she was trembling.

      Nerves, anticipation, confusion.

      “Why