Page 23 of Show Off

“I’ll work right alongside him when you’re out,” Ji-Hoon adds. “So will the rest of the team, so no balls get dropped.”

“Doesn’t seem fair,” I point out. “You not getting any time off.”

“Don’t worry about that.” My brother grins. “Sean knows a great temp agency. Said they can hook us up with a front-of-house sub whenever I need a break.”

Hell. They really have thought of everything. “I’ll have to think about it.”

My brother opens his mouth to argue, but Lana steps in. “Understandable.” She cuts a look at her own brothers, which I interpret as, “butt out, dickheads.”

Sliding a hand in her bag, she pulls out a big envelope. “Here’s the info packet and the permission forms. I also emailed you all the details so you could take your time reading at leisure. I can check back tonight to see if you have questions.”

I pick apart those sentences, searching for ways to say no. Dammit, there isn’t one. “Fine.”

“Great!” Cooper high-fives my brother, who smacks him back with equal enthusiasm. As Coop turns to me, I inwardly sigh.

“Thanks.” I should maybe say more. Look at the camera or shake Cooper’s hand or something, which I do. “It’s an honor.”

Lana catches my eye and grins.Liar, she mouths, but she still shakes my hand. “I’ll be in touch.”

As they troop to the door, I glare at my brother. The second they’re gone, I cross my arms. “Care to explain?”

“What?” He rolls to the table to finish his sandwich. “Your chowder kicks ass. I thought everyone should know it.”

“It’s a riff on Dad’s recipe.”

“So?” He shoves a hunk of sandwich in his mouth. “Isn’t every recipe a riff on another one?”

That’s not the point. “You know I don’t love the limelight.”

Ji-Hoon rolls his eyes. “Yet you live on the set of a TV show.”

“Whose idea was that?” Not that I fought him on it. It’s true I wanted a restaurant of my own. A chance to start over in a place not clouded with memories.

Also true? I might not hate the limelight that much.

“Look, just don’t enter me in contests without telling me.” I can grudgingly admit I’m proud of that chowder. “Thank you, though.”

Ji-Hoon beams. “You’re welcome.”

How is it possible to be pissed at someone you also love this much? Who you’d gratefully give both kidneys to, even if he didn’t need one?

My chest twists up tight, and I sigh. “I mean it.”

The gravity in his gaze says he knows I mean more than chowder. “I know.”

* * *

It doesn’t take longfor me to feel like a grade A prick.

And when I feel like a prick, I cook for people.

“I’m going out,” I call to Ji-Hoon, who’s in his room painting as he video chats with his girlfriend. “See you at four.”

“Don’t be late,” he yells back. “We’ve got a full house tonight.”

Typical. Not that I mind having a high demand for what I’m slinging in the restaurant. It’s the whole fucking point of this job. Lana wins people with sweet smiles and good cheer. I win them with sweet cream and honey.

That, plus a few more ingredients, went into this recipe I’m carrying like an offering from my kitchen to her office. It takes me a bit to walk across campus to the lodge where she works. To her door at the end of the hall. It’s just enough time to rehearse my apology.

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