Page 47 of When You Were Mine

“For this opportunity, you bet I’ll take my traveling tasting show on the road.” Hákon grinned. “Now, you said no dessert because you’re looking to hire a pastry chef…” Both servers came out of the kitchen with platters loaded with treats. “But my wife trained at the Cordon Blue in Paris, and she threatened me with a month of sleeping on the futon if I didn’t offer you a taste of her magic.” He looked at Jess questioningly.Is this all right?

She smiled. “You should’ve mentioned she was a pastry chef when we talked. We’ll add her to our list.”

“Does she have her own bakery?” Chris asked, but his attention was on the array of pastries the servers set down in the middle of the table.

“Oh, wow.” Jess took in the Napoleons, lemon tarts sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar, slices of chocolate mousse cake, and colorful petit fours. “These look amazing.”

“No, she works with me.” The chef’s smile expressed how proud he was of his wife and how much he enjoyed sharing a space with her. “Our kitchen’s tiny, so she does her work at night and in the early mornings, and I do mine during the day. She’s the yin to my yang.”

Chris bit into a creamy éclair, and his eyes squeezed shut. “Unreal.”

“You like?” Chef asked.

Chris made sounds of pure delight, and everyone laughed.

“I’ll be sure to tell her.” When the two assistants came out of the kitchen, loaded with insulated bags, the chef swiveled around. “Now, I don’t mean to be rude, but we have to skedaddle. There’s a storm coming, and we need to make the ferry back to the island.”

Chris got up. “Let me walk you out. I’ve been so busy eating I haven’t had a chance to talk about my vision for this place.”

After the group left, Jasper said, “We should hire him.”

“He’s definitely got the attributes we’re looking for.”Notice how I didn’t address the quality of his food? That’s because I couldn’t taste anything.

I’m obsessed with Trevor Montgomery.

You couldn’t help but look at him. The combination of charisma and physical beauty… The man was magnificent.

He’d filled out so much over the years. Broad shoulders, muscular chest, arms, and thighs. Tattoos that made her want to pull up his sleeves and explore.

His greatest appeal, though, was his sincerity. Because that smile was not fake. Deep inside, this man was a well of happiness. He radiated all the goodness brimming over in his soul.

But he belonged with someone else. He hadn’t been hers in a very long time. “He’s the real deal. I talked to his staff.”

“You did?” Jasper asked.

She nodded. “You can’t hire someone until you get the dirt. References are curated, so they don’t carry much weight. We want to hear from people who’ve worked for him.”

“How do you find them if they don’t work there anymore?” Darby asked.

“You follow the trail. Putting his and his restaurant’s name in search engines always leads to conversations, reviews, and people who used to work there. And Hákon is beloved by everyone and produces outstanding food.”

“What about the pastry chef?” Trevor asked. “Do you trust a husband and wife working together?”

She knew he didn’t care about the answer. He just wanted her to acknowledge him. Which was unfair. Cruel, actually. “If they’ve done it successfully so far, I don’t see why not.” Because looking into his eyes unearthed so many damn memories.

When he’d smile at her from across the classroom. A look of anticipation for the fun adventure they had planned for that afternoon. Or, later, after they’d become physical, a promise of what his hands, mouth, and tongue would do to her.

Of him bracing his hands on either side of her head, watching her intently as he drove into her.

Oh, damn him. She had no choice but to look away. It was just too painful. “But I leave those decisions to Chris. All I can do is source options.”

“You’re good, you know that?” Jasper asked.

“Well, thank you. That’s very nice of you to say. Of course, I’ve had lots of experience. There’s nothing more important than who you hire. The wrong vibe can sink a resort.”

“How long have you been doing this?” Trevor asked.

And bingo. He’d asked just the right question to get the direct eye contact he wanted. “I got my first job in hospitality twenty-six years ago.” She watched him make the mental calculation.

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