Page 45 of One Sweet Match Up

“Good question.” His earlier conversation with Abby played in his mind. “I’d lost my drive.”

“Really? But you were so well known in Denver.”

Donovan cocked his head. How did she know? Maybe she’d heard the gossip. That had to be it. He shrugged. “Some people in this town may think all I want is a perfect life, including culinary fame, but that’s not true.” He reached for her empty plate off her lap to illustrate his point. “See this?”

“What?”

“Right here. This is what I want.”

Zoe knitted her eyebrows. “A plate.”

“Anemptyplate.”

“You want an empty plate?”

“Iwantwhat it represents. For a few minutes, I took you somewhere enjoyable. Maybe you were really hungry. Or maybe you had a bad day, or maybe this meal reminded you of something you once had with someone special.” He paused for a beat. “That’s what I want. Owning a famous restaurant doesn’t mean a damn if I’m not invested in the experience of every single customer.”

Zoe’s eyes watered, and a tear slid down her cheek.

Oh shit. He’d made her cry. “Zoe, I’m sorry. Dumb point. Maybe you just craved eggs.”

“It wasn’t dumb. My mom used to make me omelettes. Until she got sick. Your meal reminded me of being curled up on the sofa, enjoying breakfast for dinner with her.”

His heart squeezed for her loss. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t.” She turned her body to face him, nodding down to the plate. “Did you feel that you weren’t giving your patrons in Denver an experience?”

“Yeah. I mean, at first I was, but things were different over the last couple of years. I mean, I was still making the same great food that I’m known for, but I was going through the motions with no real purpose. The enjoyment was gone. I’d lost that spark.” He glanced out the window. “I didn’t know that then, but I got it back recently, and it felt amazing.”

“When?”

His eyes met hers for a brief second before he admitted, “At the Sweet Match Up.”

“Oh,” was all she said.

He quickly added, “Putting a smile on the faces of all those seniors who ate my soup and grilled cheese is what I meant.” He cast what he knew was an “I’m guilty” smile in her direction. “And, yeah, I did hope you’d say yes to my proposition to partner with you.”

Her lips turned up. He’d take that as a good sign that he was forgiven and continued, “I didn’t mean to railroad you. I truly wanted to help.” He paused. “I thought we’d be a good team. I help your business, and you give me a place to find my purpose.”

She didn’t say a word. Instead, she turned her head toward the window.

Terrific.He gave himself a mental head slap. Once again, he’d upset her. “I’m sorry, Zoe. Let’s forget that I even brought up the idea in the first place. It was a dumb idea. I’ll butt out of your business.”

She let out a sigh. “I completely understand the spark thing and wanting to give people an experience through food. I’ve been so worried about staying in business I’ve forgotten why I wanted to open my business.”

Donovan sat up. Was she changing her mind? “I meant what I said at the Sweet Match Up. We could work out a deal that gets you back in the black.”

“I do like the sound of that,” she admitted. “I don’t know . . . the Ice Heaven is a pretty tight space.”

“You have a sink and a stove.”

“Well, yes, but they’re both small.”

“I can make it work,” he said. That he was sure of.

“We’d be in each other’s way. What if we end up strangling each other?”

That would never happen. At least not on his end. He needed a week or two to show her how good their partnership could be.

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