Page 111 of Holiday Star
My eyes fly wide and then narrow in puzzlement when I see the red brick and dark tinted windows of the building before me. “It’s your restaurant.”
Caleb had invested with Nick, the restaurateur who owns Adelaide. Together, they had opened three new restaurants: Mallory in Boston, Sophia in Los Angeles, and Amelia in Chicago. Now, with this one they’re opening in Tokyo, they own five restaurants.
“I’ve been to this place before, remember?” I say slowly to Caleb, not sure what’s going on. “You brought me to see it yesterday.”
He can’t have forgotten, can he?
His eyes twinkle merrily. “You saw the restaurant, but you didn’t see the sign.” He points over my shoulder. I draw the line from his fingertip to the building with my eyes.
When I was here before, yellow scaffolding had covered most of the windows. The new front door had been only half painted. Now, all the paint cans and toolboxes have been removed. The restaurant rises whole and shining before me.
Caleb jabs his finger, forcing me to lift my eyes to the rectangular wooden sign over the door, which readsGwendolen.
I gasp, my hand flying to my chest as I whip around to face him. “Me?” I question, my voice rising. “You named the restaurant after me?”
My special smile is on his lips, small and tender. He bows his head slightly, confirming, “You.”
I can’t see him anymore because my eyes are blurring with tears. “Caleb!” I throw myself into his arms, and he lifts me off my feet. He spins me around once, twice, before setting me back down. We’re both laughing.
“It’s wonderful! Thank you.”
He bends his head down to kiss me, causing my heart to trip over itself.
“That’s so cool!” exclaims Maddie from behind me.
“Wow. Now you’re famous too, Sissy,” Teddy jokes.
Even Brandon gives a begrudging, “Congratulations on the new restaurant.”
Mom and Seth take turns hugging Caleb and then me.
I don’t miss the way that Caleb’s eyes moisten when Seth grips his shoulder and tells him, “You did good, kid.”
I return my stare to the gleaming sign and can’t help but grin. “It’s going to be a huge success, like all the others,” I assure Caleb. “Especially with you as the special guest chef, it’ll sell out immediately.”
It had been Caleb’s idea when he and Nick started opening the other restaurants. Caleb had suggested setting aside a couple of nights a week when someone famous could come in and be the head chef. They could design the menu with their favorite foods, oversee the kitchen, and cook. Turns out, there are a lot of celebrities—athletes, authors, musicians, and actors like Caleb—who enjoy cooking.
Back in New York at the Adelaide, the evenings when Caleb will be the cook are so popular that they’re already sold out for the entire upcoming year.
I shake my head fondly. “Between working in the restaurants, being on Broadway, and finalizing the music for your second album, you’ll barely have time for me.”
“That’s why I’m not making any more movies,” he reminds me. “So I can focus on those three things and on you. Although you’re right. With the painting you made for my new album cover, it’s sure to be a hit.”
I smile, remembering how fun it had been to collaborate with him. Both of us had worked past midnight tweaking my artwork until it represented his new music perfectly. Luckily, the next day had been a night shift in the ER. Otherwise, I would have been too tired.
“You’re the busy one,” he says. “Practically running the art therapy program in addition to your residency. How long again until you get paid real money for those jobs?”
Even though I haven’t graduated from my residency yet, the hospital has already offered me a job in the ER and as the administrator of the art therapy program. It’s all of my career goals coming true.
“Just a few more years,” I answer. I pat his shoulder, appreciating how patient he’s been with my crazy work schedule.
I look again at my name emblazoned on the side of the building and curl my arm around his waist. Rising up onto my toes, I kiss Caleb’s cheek. “I’m proud of you.”
He turns his gaze to mine. “I’m proud of us.”
“Look at you,” I tighten my arm, squeezing him. “Actor, musician, songwriter, chef, not to mention amazing son and boyfriend. You’ve got it all going on, Caleb.”
He brushes my hair away from my face. “What about you? Doctor, artist, sister, daughter, friend, and kickass girlfriend. You’re a million kinds of wonderful, too.”
