Page 37 of Slow Simmer

“Good luck with B-Rex and Myst,” Carlo said as the two of them parted outside Suzannah’s cabin. “I’ll come down after lunch is finished and see how things are going. Don’t stress aboutLa Sirène. I’ll look after your baby.”

“I know you will.” Suzannah kissed him, and set off to collect a golf cart, her mind already on the day ahead. She’d never worked with a film crew before and had no idea what to expect; even though she wouldn’t be on camera, she’d still be jumping to the director’s cues.

Luke was at Jace’s house when Suzannah arrived, greeting her warmly. “They’ve already started next door,” he told her as she headed for the kitchen. “The director will call me when they’re ready for us. You’ll get half an hour to walk B-Rex through what he has to do to complete the dishes.”

“It won’t take that long,” Suzannah said, and then rethought. She could show a trainee chef in about five minutes, but B-Rex had seemed pretty clueless.

“This is Myst’s partner, George Dennis,” Luke said, gesturing as a tall man unfolded himself from a chair at the kitchen table. “Like us, he’s rather in the way next door so Jace invited him over here.”

“Hey,” George said with an awkward wave. Suzannah tried not to gape at him, because she knew exactly who he was. Captain of the Australian international rugby union team, she’d had no idea he was dating the pop star. “Uh, Myst and I aren’t publicly together yet…”

“My lips are sealed.” She mimed locking them and throwing away the key, making George smile. Waving him to sit down again, Suzannah opened the refrigerator. “All right, I’m going to get started on making the pasta. I made lots of the sauce, I’ve lost the ability to cater for small parties, I’m afraid, so we’ll all have to have some for lunch. Use it up and make sure it’s okay for Myst to eat, hm?”

George nodded enthusiastically at that. Suzannah smiled to herself as she set up the kitchen machine and started weighing her ingredients. She’d fed plenty of sports stars in the restaurant, and they all enjoyed their food. Keeping George happy would be simple, and hopefully his appreciation would influence Myst too.

“Where are Nessa and Jace?” she asked Luke quietly as George returned his attention to a tablet on the table in front of him.

“Gone on an all-day dive trip,” Luke said. “They figured you didn’t need them underfoot as well.”

That was incredibly thoughtful of Nessa and Jace, and Suzannah felt a surge of affection for the pair. She would make sure to leave some special treats in the fridge for them, she thought.

“I don’t need you hovering, either,” she said teasingly to Luke. “Go sit down with your laptop or something. I don’t need any extra hands, trust me. I can still cook without an entire kitchen full of assistants!”

“I wouldn’t doubt it for a moment.” Luke grinned broadly. “But I did plan to offer to do your washing-up.”

“Oh stop it, you’re being adorable.” She waved him off, and he left her with a grin, going to join George at the table and opening his laptop.

Suzannah got to work, tuning out the two men as she set the mixer going on the pasta and pulled out the ingredients for the fresh pesto sauce she intended to make. Although she’d considered preparing it the day before, she did prefer to have everything as fresh as possible. Julie’s boyfriend had delivered a box of fresh herbs to Jace’s that morning by special request, and Suzannah hummed happily as she washed the fragrant basil, parsley and oregano.

It wasn’t until George started humming along with her that Suzannah realised she was singing Ricky Martin. Laughing to herself even as she never stilled the movements of her hands, she mused on just how easily Carlo had slotted into her life. It was just so darn comfortable having him around; from knowing she had someone in her corner she could trust absolutely and confide in, to the way he made her take time out to relax and enjoy herself outside of work.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, but only briefly, indicating the arrival of a text message. In no hurry to answer it, she finished what she was doing and washed her hands before fishing it out.

Everything under control here. Love you.

“That’s a seriously goofy grin,” Luke commented, making Suzannah look up with a start. She blushed and shoved her phone back into her pocket. Luke smiled, not unkindly. “Suits you.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled a bit sheepishly, and then jumped as a phone rang. It wasn’t hers, though. Luke snatched his phone up off the table, frowned as he glanced at the display, then answered it.

“Luke speaking. Okay… yes, put him through.” He glanced at Suzannah with a slight frown, then turned his back and strode over to the huge sliding doors leading out to the pool area, opening one of them slightly to step outside. “Go ahead,” Suzannah heard him say before he closed the door again.

Shrugging, she returned to work. Less than a minute later, though, Luke came back inside, looking a little pale under his tan.

“Something urgent’s come up,” he said hurriedly. “I have to get back to the resort for a while. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

“Don’t worry,” Suzannah told him. “I’ve got everything under control here.” He looked concerned, she thought, if not a little shocked; obviously he desperately needed to be somewhere else. She waved a hand towards the front door. “Go, Luke. I’ve got this.”

Luke nodded and was gone without another word.

“Sounds like a crisis,” George observed from his seat at the table. “I suppose you get a lot of that in this industry. Difficult customers and stuff?”

“I could tell you some stories,” Suzannah said with a laugh, hoping to distract him from wondering what was bothering Luke. “Anonymously, of course!”

“I bet.” The big rugby player grinned wryly. “I’m getting a fascinating insight into the entertainment industry dating Myst, I can tell you. Did you know B-Rex’s real name is Brian?”

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