Page 90 of A Perfect Match
“You guys should see how he runs his kitchen,” I add, trying to keep the conversation light and interesting.“He’s a trained chef, so it runs like clockwork.They even do the ‘yes, chef’ stuff.”
My brothers look mildly impressed.
“You guys should come eat sometime,” Kru says.“On the house.”
“That’s very generous of you,” Mom says.“With how expensive it is to run a restaurant, especially.”
“A restaurant you had to renovate half of the building for, too,” Asher adds before taking a bite of pork chop.
“It was expensive, but necessary,” Kru says with a smile.I wonder if he can feel the air crackling.My brothers are gearing up for an attack.“The building is older, and everything was outdated.The reno will get us another twenty years out of it, easily.So that's something to be happy about."
"So the restaurant’s going good, huh?”Griffin asks, sawing at his pork chop.
“Extremely well,” Kru confirms.
“You’re probably gonna need to expand your footprint.”Griff has a hard glint in his eye as he takes a sip of water.“Might want more tables, a bigger kitchen, stuff like that.Since it’s going so well.”
“I’m not ready to think about that,” Kru says with a laugh.“I’m just on week two.”
“Still, it might make sense someday to want to…grow the dining room,” Griffin goes on.I dip my chin, staring hard at him.I know where he’s going with this.
“I’m really happy with the size,” Kru says.“I think too many more tables would diminish the intimate environment I created.”
Griffin deflates slightly.
“So why’d you rope Piper into that reality TV stuff?”Dane asks before he sips at his water.“Are they gonna make her look bad when it airs?”
“You guys, I explained all of this already,” I mutter, immediately annoyed.
“I don’t think theycouldmake her look bad,” Kru says with a laugh.“Have you seen her shop?It’s like something out of a movie.Piper is the picture-perfect definition of cute neighborhood business owner.”
“You’re very sweet,” I inform Kru.To my brothers, I say, “And I can tell none of you learned listening comprehension skills at any point in your lives.”
“It’s a valid question,” Dane insists.“Reality TV shows hinge on drama.I just want to make sure there won’t be any pitchforks coming for you once it airs.”
“This was a really tame reality TV show,” Kru says affably.He tastes the mashed potatoes, then nods.“These are amazing, Piper.I can tell you did the cayenne trick.”
“Cayenne trick?”Jett arches a brow.
“Just chef secrets,” I say with a grin before scooping some mashed potatoes into my mouth.
“So you’ll be sticking around Bayshore for a while then,” Mom says, reaching out to pat Kru’s wrist.He smiles warmly at her.
“That’s the plan.Bayshore feels like home now,” he confirms.
“So you think you’re a pretty smart businessman then?”Asher asks.
I sigh, pressing two fingers to the middle of my forehead.“Asher.”
“I’m just curious about his business plan,” Asher says.“Solvency.Longevity.Things like that.”
“I don’t know if I’m the smartest one out there, but I think I have a pretty solid plan,” Kru says with a laugh, ripping off a piece of bread.“Honestly it’s been great to swap ideas with your sister.She’s really smart.”
“Yeah, I bet you used her smarts to get ahead of her in the Best of Bayshore competition,” Griffin mutters.
This time, I can’t keep my groan inside.“Griffin.”
“My sons are a bit, well…” Mom begins.
