Page 111 of Stirring Up Love
“What he means is he’d love that.” Darius was across the room, or else he probably would’ve elbowed Finn in the ribs.
“Yes, I would,” Finn lied. He had no good reason for turning down the offer, at least not one Ms.Rivera would understand. Was she here to demand an explanation? Serve some sort of legal notice for backing out of the deal? He gulped. “Let me just get changed.”
“There’s no hurry; you can take your time. Shower, maybe.” Constance somehow managed to make this request sound gracious, not like a desperate plea not to force her to be trapped in a confined space with him in his current state.
He glanced down at the splotch of marinara on his hoodie. A fresh wave of heat crept into his cheeks. “A shower. Yeah.” Avoiding Darius’s eyes, he slunk to the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, droplets from his wet hair dampening the starched collar of the button-down shirt he’d changed his mind about, Finn sat in the back of a sedan next to Ms.Rivera, having flashbacks to his dripping car ride with Simone in Sedona.
At least he had pants on this time—wrinkle-free khakis, thanks to Darius’s speed ironing, a skill that Finn had always teased him for. He made a mental note to cut that out.
“You know,” said Constance, “I was taken aback when both of you declined our offer.”
Both of them? Did that mean Simone had pulled a no-show too? He imagined the team fromThe Executiveswaiting. And waiting ... but if so, why hadn’t they reached out?
“But when Simone filled us in on the reason for your absence ...”
That he was in love with her, and terrified she didn’t feel the same?
“Let’s just say I take some part of the responsibility. We created a volatile situation, and it’s not surprising how things turned out. It’s something I’ve spoken to our producers about, prioritizing drama over dignity.”
She offered a tight smile. “I know it’s poor consolation, but it’s something I hope won’t happen again in the future. As for you”—here came the reckoning—“what disappoints me more than your no-show is that you kept your dream to yourself.”
How did she know about his dream?
“Sharing big goals can be scary. I get that. But in my experience, the hardest dreams to share are the very ones that need our voice behind them.”
The car pulled to a halt, and he looked out the window, cognizant of their surroundings for the first time. They’d arrived at the street entrance of Bellaire. Constance climbed out, and he followed, at a loss.
The dining room was dim and empty, when it should’ve been ramping up toward the dinner rush. The door to the kitchen swung open, and Bella emerged in a navy dress, her auburn hair loose and tumbling over her shoulders, and he did a double take. He never saw her without it knotted atop her head or pulled back in a braid. And the dress? Even when they met up for drinks after work, she wore jeans and a T-shirt.
But shock eclipsed surprise when Keith Donovan followed her out of the kitchen. Had he dozed off duringTop Chefand fallen into some kind of bizarre stress dream? The former NFL pro, current high-profile entrepreneur, stood in the Bellaire dining room wearing chef’s whites.
“Finn, glad you could make it.” Keith thrust out his hand, and Finn shook it, the contact proving this wasn’t a figment of his imagination. “I’m sure you’re wondering what’s going on, but we asked Ms.Blake to keep you in the dark. After all, you blindsided us by changing your mind about our generous offer.”
Jeez, they weren’t going to let him off easy.
“And with stakes this high, we prefer to see how you perform without preparation.”
They’d succeeded in catching him on an off day. An off week. He’d spent more time in bed than in the kitchen lately, and his mental state? Unfocused at best. And now he was about to be thrown into some trial by fire? He swallowed, grateful for the shower and fresh deodorant.
Mr.Donovan smiled at Bella. “Your boss was graciously giving me a tour of the kitchen when you arrived.” Constance and Keith must’ve rented out the whole place, and knowing her, it hadn’t come cheap. She valued her skills and the reputation of her establishment, as she should. “Excellent establishment you have here, and the dishes you made for me to taste? Phenomenal.”
“Thank you.” Used to Bella barking out orders or bestowing no-nonsense compliments, seeing her subdued kicked his nerves up a notch. They were, after all, in the presence of two seriously heavy hitters. And he was still clueless as to why.
Voice softer than usual, Bella said, “Ms.Rivera, it’s a pleasure. Welcome to Bellaire.”
“Constance, please.” She shook Bella’s hand. “Thanks so much for agreeing to this.”
“How could I say no?” Bella smiled. “Finn is one of my best chefs, and I’ll be sad to lose him.” Her words reminded him of what she’d told him last week. How she’d fought to have him here. “But if you’re going to help launch his vision, I’d be a miser to stand in his way.” She raised a brow at him in a clearDon’t screw this uppose that matched the shade Darius had been throwing his way all week.
Gladly, if only he knew what exactly “this” was.
Keith smoothed a hand down the front of his stiff white jacket and grinned. “We’re not here for Finn’s Secret Sauce. We’re much more interested in your idea of a culinary institute that offers a second chance to people who need it most. In the spirit of that, we’d like to offeryoua second chance.”
A second chance. And he had Simone to thank.
“But there’s a catch,” Keith continued. “If you plan to head up a program like this, we want to know you’ve got the cooking chops.”
