Page 87 of Small Town Firsts
“Arrogant idiots,” I muttered as I took another bite. I wanted a bowl of the grilled pineapple all on its own. Maybe to even dip it in something spicy as its own appetizer. “Dammit,” I whispered and picked out another pineapple.
“Excuse me? Is this where I go for the interview?” A bright-eyed blond stood by the edge of the bar. Her hair was in a high ponytail and she wore black shorts and a black T-shirt as if maybe she had already come from a job. I knew the uniform well.
Crap. My interview.
“I didn’t plan that.” Ronan’s voice came from behind me.
“Evidently planning isn’t any part of your life right now, pal,” I said out of the side of my mouth.
A rumbled growl came out of his chest.
I smiled at the girl. “Have a seat at the bar, I’ll be right with you.”
She nodded with a smile. “Great, thanks.”
I pushed Ronan out the back doors and down the stairs. “I cannot believe you. All this talk about how I can count on you and first you’re drunk in your workshop?—”
“I’m not drunk.”
“Really? It sure smells like moonshine is still coming out of your pores.” I pointed toward the taproom in the general direction of the kitchen. “And now you’re taking over the kitchen. Just like all the other men in my damn life.”
His eyebrows snapped down. “What men?”
“Oh, don’t even start with that.” I had to try and keep my voice down.
He stepped closer and the heat of his skin tried to scramble my brain. His earthy ginger scent was wrapped in the staleness, but it was still there, which just pissed me off. I put my hand on his chest to stop him from coming closer. This stupid jealousy kick was getting annoying. As if there had been anyone like him in my life before.
That alone scared the crap out of me. I shouldn’t be this wound up about him after a few weeks, for God’s sake. Not to mention that the hum under my skin just wouldn’t go away no matter how angry I was. Or that I longed to lean into him even now when I was pissed at him.
He didn’t come closer, but it still seemed like he was crowding me. “This is why we shouldn’t have gotten involved. No part of this is proper.”
“What the hell do we have to be proper about?”
“This! It’s my responsibility to be a goddamn professional, and you come out like a hungover frat boy with your friend who’s even worse.” The fact that he didn’t understand that made me want to rip one of his braids out.
“You don’t even know Kain or what’s going on with him.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see the applicant was craning her neck to see what was going on. Yeah, she was definitely someone who was used to food service. Most were gossipy as hell. I’d been on the receiving end of gossip for long enough that I didn’t want to create it here too. I bunched his shirt in my hand and dragged him further out of earshot. “I don’t really care.”
“Nice, Kira.”
I let him go and folded my arms. “I don’t have time to care. I have eight people coming in for interviews today. And you were supposed to help with that. And now I’ve got Beckett making gooey eyes at him because Kain’s a dude’s dude type. Next, he’ll club the animal himself before cooking it, for God’s sake.”
Ronan folded his arms to mirror me and tipped his head, giving me a bland stare.
“Okay, so that’s maybe a slight exaggeration, but I don’t think it’s by much.”
He rolled his eyes. “Beckett is the one we want to impress, right? What does it matter if it’s my friend or some person we interview?”
“That’s not the point. I have gone through the applicants to find people who actually are, I don’t know, chefs maybe. So what if your friend can make delicious eggs.” Best eggs I’d ever tasted, but that wasn’t important at the moment. “Go get him a job at the café if he needs one. I’m sure Laverne would love him. Especially if he’s a project.”
“First of all, I didn’t know he was going to do that. Secondly, Kain has an eclectic set of skills. And you should give him a chance.”
It seemed like he wanted to say more, but he tightened his jaw and just gave me a hard stare.
“I need someone I can count on to work their butt off for me for the next few months. I’m sure Mr. N’ai?—”
“Jesus, Sunshine. It’s just Kain. He’s one of my oldest friends. And isn’t this taproom about taking chances?”
