Page 37 of The Last Date

She was clearly shocked that I kissed her in front of strangers. I’d kept my darling girl in the shadows for too long, and hoped she didn’t think that I had been hiding her.

Standing up straight, I kept my hand on her shoulder. “Friends, you’re all VIPs here, obviously, but here is someone incredibly important. I’d like you all to meet my beautiful girlfriend, Sasha. This is her very first tasting at an Eastman restaurant.”

The crowd smiled and clapped a little and I saw the people closest to Sasha introducing themselves as I left her table.

For the next hour and a half, my staff ran plates to the guests, while I described the dishes as each course came out.

First there was a salad made from three kinds of microgreens grown in our rooftop garden, with buttery rye croutons. A sweet potato and black bean soup, served with lightly toasted cumin bread with hints of garlic cut into points, was next. They loved the whiskey and apple smoked pulled pork mini sliders. The Piri Piri chicken skewers with two dipping sauces went over well. And the three bite shredded steak burritos with a chimichurri sauce instead of guacamole were a huge hit.

After a round of papaya infused sparkling water, the guests went wild for the apple pie tarts, French vanilla and salted caramel ice cream, and a fudge brownie with a raspberry, blueberry, and red wine sauce that made several people’s eyes roll back in their heads.

Everything was a twist on home food, comfort food, but light enough that people wouldn't’ be falling asleep an hour later.

The staff was absolutely perfect, and made things run smoothly. The guests all seemed delighted, and were already asking questions about catering specific events, both personal and corporate. It was going even better than I had expected.

My energy was torn in two directions. Talking up each new dish, I had to gently suggest what sort of event it would be perfect for. But I also needed to watch Sasha closely, making sure she was comfortable.

Luckily, the people at her table were very friendly now that they knew she was someone important. She’d likely been to enough weddings and events that she knew how to fake small talk.

Every chance I got, I walked behind Sasha to ruffle her hair, or kiss the top of her head on the way by. She was obviously enjoying the food, but was clearly a bit confused and out of place. I would make everything up to her as soon as I could.

By the time the dessert plates had been cleared and the tasting had dissolved into endless glasses of wine, water, and coffee, I took Sasha’s hand and led her to a quiet corner.

“What did you think?” I asked.

“Oakley, your food is incredible,” she said, reaching up to run her thumb along the edge of my jaw.

Staring into her gray blue eyes, there was no sign of distress or anger. “Your restaurant is absolutely beautiful,” she said. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“I actually have six restaurants, and two catering businesses, among other things,” I said.

Sasha blinked twice, then cocked her head. “You have your own food empire? That explains why you can ...um... drop so much money on art so quickly.”

“I’m so relieved you’re not upset, angel,” I grinned. “To be fair, all I did was suggest that Michael come to speak to you when he mentioned he needed artwork. The two of you arranged the number of paintings needed. I approved it at one glance because he seemed so excited about it.”

Taking both of her hands, I lifted them to gently kiss her palms, making her giggle. “Then I took another look and was incredibly impressed. You have such a talent for blending shapes and colors in other people’s work, Sasha. I can’t wait to see what you start painting someday.”

Those pretty pink lips curled into an odd smile. “Thank you for that list of studios. I was looking through it, and might actually rent one in a few months.”

“That’s amazing. We can talk more about it soon. I’m sorry, but I have to go schmooze some of these people. You’re welcome to hang out, but I won’t be able to leave for a few hours. Can I call you a cab?”

“It’s fine, I’ll take the subway,” she said, stretching up to give me a tiny kiss. “I’m glad I know more about your world,” she whispered.

“Text me that you got home safely,” I said automatically.

“Will do.”

It was tricky not to be distracted by attempting to analyze Sasha’s eyes and body language. Although she’d found out my last name, and my restaurant, I couldn’t tell if she’d found out my whole story.

She seemed fine with the new information that I was a chef. Could she forgive my past if she found out what I used to be?

CHAPTER NINETEEN

* Sasha *

The subway ride home gave me a little time to think, zipping underground with my headphones in. I was so relieved to have found out more about my boyfriend’s life, but I was beyond puzzled why he would have been keeping that a secret.

Could he have thought that I wouldn’t respect a chef? From what I’d heard, it’s a grueling industry, with insane working conditions and crazy amounts of stress. Maybe he thought I would be upset that he worked long hours.

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