and I’m still
working on dessert.”
“ August, please—”
“ Possibly a spring fruit
tart and some kind of cheesecake. A chocolate dish as well,
naturally.”
“ August,” she
whispered.
He shoved his hands through
his hair and then squeezed his eyes shut. Without warning, he
strode to the door and then walked through it, leaving Saffron
alone on the bed.
Never before now had she
ever felt more vulnerable.
Was it really so bad? Could
she really have disappointed him so deeply by her confession?
Reviewing food was her job! It wasn’t like she tortured baby
animals or threw rocks at orphaned children. She ate food and
reported back what she thought of it.
Just because he avoided all
attention like the plague and just because she betrayed his trust a
little…
Oh damn .
How was she going to fix
it?
August stalked back into the
room. Fully dressed.
“ Why don’t you put your
clothes on?” he asked. His voice remained flat and
lifeless.
“ Wait. Shouldn’t we
talk—”
“ Get dressed, Saffron,” he
said with more force. Bitter words. “I’ll take you back to your
car.”
Chapter Nine
“ Scatter!” August overheard
Vicky hiss.
The few servers standing by
the bar hustled to different corners of the restaurant, none of
them looking in his direction.
Which was just fine by
him.
He couldn’t stand the
curious stares or the pitying glances. For Christ’s sake, even
Edmond threw him out of the kitchen, shouting to know why he was in
such a foul mood.
Just because August had
butchered over three dozen chicken carcasses mindlessly, trying to
get the taste of her from his lips and just because he’d ordered a
complete scrub down of the kitchen from top to bottom, handling the
more grueling tasks himself to erase the memory of how she’d felt
beneath him, and just because he’d give his right nut to no longer
hear the sweet echoes of her coming undone…
None of that meant he’d been
in a bad mood for the past week.
One week. Seven days since
he’d had one of the most incredible nights of his life to hours
later have it shattered into a billion fragments. Fuck .
He couldn’t stop thinking
about her. Couldn’t stop seeing her everywhere he
looked.
Saffron consumed his
thoughts. Every single moment of solitude and even the ones when he
was busy, yet found his mind drifting, brought him back to her. In
his mind, they’d made it. They’d found a way to make it
work.
He shook loose the
thought.
Shit. Maybe the walk-in
refrigerator needed to be reorganized. Better head over there now
to check it out. Walking through the dining room got him in this
mess in the first place. He’d simply cut it short tonight and get
back behind the line or go somewhere more useful.
Edmond could come out here
and schmooze the guests. He was done.
“ Somehow I drew the short
straw.”
Startled, he looked down at
Vicky. “What?”
“ For some reason, everyone
thinks you like me. Personally, I think you just tolerate me, but
whatever. They think you like me.”
“ I do like you.”
“ Yeah and that’s why you
assigned me to clean the grease traps?”
He grunted. Fair enough. “I
knew you’d do it right.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay,
whatever.” From side to side she shifted on her feet before blowing
out a sigh. “Regardless, I was sent over here.”
“ By whom? And for
what?”
“ To show you
this.”
She held out a piece of
newsprint and August reached for it without thinking. The moment
his fingers touched the page, however, he recognized it for what it
would be.
Internal tremors rocketed
through him.
Fingers still clasping the
paper, he stared at her. “What is this?”
“ Read it.”
“ Vicky, I’m not in the
mood.” For some reason, he couldn’t let go of the page. He knew
what it would say. He knew what it represented, but he couldn’t get
his hand to let go of the goddamned page.
“ This wasn’t my idea. But
you’ve got half the staff tip-toeing around you and
working on dessert.”
“ August, please—”
“ Possibly a spring fruit
tart and some kind of cheesecake. A chocolate dish as well,
naturally.”
“ August,” she
whispered.
He shoved his hands through
his hair and then squeezed his eyes shut. Without warning, he
strode to the door and then walked through it, leaving Saffron
alone on the bed.
Never before now had she
ever felt more vulnerable.
Was it really so bad? Could
she really have disappointed him so deeply by her confession?
Reviewing food was her job! It wasn’t like she tortured baby
animals or threw rocks at orphaned children. She ate food and
reported back what she thought of it.
Just because he avoided all
attention like the plague and just because she betrayed his trust a
little…
Oh damn .
How was she going to fix
it?
August stalked back into the
room. Fully dressed.
“ Why don’t you put your
clothes on?” he asked. His voice remained flat and
lifeless.
“ Wait. Shouldn’t we
talk—”
“ Get dressed, Saffron,” he
said with more force. Bitter words. “I’ll take you back to your
car.”
Chapter Nine
“ Scatter!” August overheard
Vicky hiss.
The few servers standing by
the bar hustled to different corners of the restaurant, none of
them looking in his direction.
Which was just fine by
him.
He couldn’t stand the
curious stares or the pitying glances. For Christ’s sake, even
Edmond threw him out of the kitchen, shouting to know why he was in
such a foul mood.
Just because August had
butchered over three dozen chicken carcasses mindlessly, trying to
get the taste of her from his lips and just because he’d ordered a
complete scrub down of the kitchen from top to bottom, handling the
more grueling tasks himself to erase the memory of how she’d felt
beneath him, and just because he’d give his right nut to no longer
hear the sweet echoes of her coming undone…
None of that meant he’d been
in a bad mood for the past week.
One week. Seven days since
he’d had one of the most incredible nights of his life to hours
later have it shattered into a billion fragments. Fuck .
He couldn’t stop thinking
about her. Couldn’t stop seeing her everywhere he
looked.
Saffron consumed his
thoughts. Every single moment of solitude and even the ones when he
was busy, yet found his mind drifting, brought him back to her. In
his mind, they’d made it. They’d found a way to make it
work.
He shook loose the
thought.
Shit. Maybe the walk-in
refrigerator needed to be reorganized. Better head over there now
to check it out. Walking through the dining room got him in this
mess in the first place. He’d simply cut it short tonight and get
back behind the line or go somewhere more useful.
Edmond could come out here
and schmooze the guests. He was done.
“ Somehow I drew the short
straw.”
Startled, he looked down at
Vicky. “What?”
“ For some reason, everyone
thinks you like me. Personally, I think you just tolerate me, but
whatever. They think you like me.”
“ I do like you.”
“ Yeah and that’s why you
assigned me to clean the grease traps?”
He grunted. Fair enough. “I
knew you’d do it right.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay,
whatever.” From side to side she shifted on her feet before blowing
out a sigh. “Regardless, I was sent over here.”
“ By whom? And for
what?”
“ To show you
this.”
She held out a piece of
newsprint and August reached for it without thinking. The moment
his fingers touched the page, however, he recognized it for what it
would be.
Internal tremors rocketed
through him.
Fingers still clasping the
paper, he stared at her. “What is this?”
“ Read it.”
“ Vicky, I’m not in the
mood.” For some reason, he couldn’t let go of the page. He knew
what it would say. He knew what it represented, but he couldn’t get
his hand to let go of the goddamned page.
“ This wasn’t my idea. But
you’ve got half the staff tip-toeing around you and
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