Page 8 of One Sweet Match Up

“It was one of my signature dishes back in Colorado.” He paused, hoping to impress her. “I owned a five-star restaurant in Denver.”

She didn’t seem the least bit impressed. He continued, “It was touted as the best place to eat in the state by several culinary reviewers. A national cooking show even came out and taped a segment.” He paused, adding, “It was one of their highest rated episodes.”

He waited, but nope. Not a word. Not even a smile.

Oh, come on. Television. That was impressive. Damn. This woman was one tough cookie. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to dial up his charm. If there was one thing he could do just as well as whipping up a meal was impress the woman he made it for. “It so happens I have a huge pot in the refrigerator. I made a big batch for Abby earlier. I’ll go add some fresh ingredients and warm it up. There’s even some French bread in the back that I can toast with my homemade garlic seasoning.”

He moved from behind the counter, taking their two mugs and the bottle of wine with him, bringing them over to the nearest booth. “Why don’t you take a seat and enjoy the wine? I’ll be back with a dinner that’s going to knock your socks off.”

As Zoe slid off the stool and came over to the booth, he couldn’t resist checking out her figure, liking the view of her hourglass curves in her dark denim jeans.

She filled up her mug and took another long drink, mumbling to herself.

Yep, the verdict was still out if she was a bit off her rocker.

He headed into the kitchen. Crazy or not, with a body like that, he wouldn’t mind getting the chance to knock more than her socks off.

Ishould go.

Zoe grabbed her coat and mittens. It was wrong to be here alone with this man. Donovan clearly didn’t recognize her, but as the night went on, what if he did? Would he tell her off again like he did in Denver? Accuse her of nearly killing the governor.

She threw on her coat. No. Not going to happen because she was out of here. She could make her great escape while the renowned chef was in the kitchen warming up his five-star dinner.

She bit down on her lip, watching the snow fly from the sky. Walking two miles in a blizzard didn’t seem like the smartest plan.

But staying here and having dinner with Donovan didn’t seem safe either.

Not that she was scared of him. Sure, she knew of his reputation back in Denver of being a lady’s man, but she had to believe any friend of Abby’s and Adam’s probably made him a somewhat decent guy.

Yeah, a decent guy that called me a major idiot before kicking me out of his restaurant.

She glanced back toward the kitchen. How could he not recognize her?

Probably because he’d never uttered even a hello during her short time working there. Her memory easily returned to that horrible night when he came storming into the kitchen demanding to know who had garnished the governor’s plate with peanuts.

His sudden rant that evening had caused Zoe to spill all of the hot Bolognese sauce she’d been pouring over linguini onto her hand, scorching her arm. From her place on the line, she glanced over at Rosie Garcia—a single mother of three little ones under the age of five who had also started that week. Rosie’s panicked expression was all Zoe needed to see to realize what had happened.

It was an accident, but from his furious tirade, Donovan wasn’t going to listen to any excuses.

Rosie had confided in her over lunch that day that she was having a hard time making ends meet and desperately needed this job to help support her youngest son who was diagnosed with leukemia. His cancer treatments were to start soon.

In that moment, there was only one thing Zoe could think of to do because her co-worker and new friend couldn’t afford to lose her job.

She’d raised her hand.

“Stop thinking about it.” Zoe snapped back to the present and bolted for the front door. Now was not the time to relive the enormous humiliation of being fired so publicly. She’d go back to the Ice Heaven and curl up under her jacket in one of her booths and relive it there.

“Hey. Leaving so soon?”

She froze in place. Donovan’s deep, sexy voice sent tingles skittering up her back.

Damn him. “I was just . . .”

“From my experience, most customers in this town hightail it out after they’ve eaten not before, and they’re usually fourteen and trying to get out of paying their check.”

She smirked and turned slowly around.

Her breath caught as she stared at Donovan holding two plates piled high with linguini.

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