Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
What Zach really needed was a plan. He paced the length of Ollie’s apartment and back again. From the chair in the corner to the two front windows overlooking Main Street, he could walk ten steps.
After his dismal second-place showing at the competition, he needed to win Anne Green over. The upcoming charity competition wouldn’t be enough. He needed face time.
Just in case the possibility of working with Paul Hawkeye fell through. Which it definitely would after Paul had a chance to speak with his good buddy Louie Andrews.
He’d have to track down Anne and plead his case in person.
He opened his phone and thumbed in a message to Dani.
Zach
Are you at the Grand?
Dani
I’m in the contest tent. Why?
Zach
Perfect. I’ll meet you up there in 5.
He ignored his jacket. Surely his jeans and polo shirt were warm enough for a June morning. Snatching up his keys, he dashed out of Ollie’s apartment. As he pushed through the exterior door, a blast of wind raised goosebumps along his arms. So much for not needing that jacket.
He headed up to the Grand at a jog, dodging tourists and locals the whole way.
A flash of blonde hair under the canopy of the contest tent told Zach where to go.
He made a beeline for his sister and caught up with her with a minute to spare.
In her light jacket, jeans, and Jonathon Island Flavor Fest T-shirt, Dani was better dressed for the weather than he was.
She made a few marks on the clipboard in her hands as he approached.
“Dani,” Zach said. “Can you tell me where to find Anne Green?”
“Hello to you too, big brother.” Dani grinned at him.
“Hello. Now can you tell me where to find her?”
“What? Why?” Dani’s brow crinkled.
“I need to talk to her.” Zach’s pulse pounded.
“You know I can’t let you do that.” Dani put her arm out and grabbed his bicep. “You’re still in another contest. I can’t let you speak to the judges for that contest.”
Right. Dani would be a stickler for the rules. Best not to tell her about Paul seeking him out earlier. Her reputation was at stake. Well, so was his. Just not in the same way.
“I don’t really care about that.” Liar. He knew how much the Silver Platter could use the money. “Okay, I care, but I care more about landing a new job after this thing is over.”
“And you think a one-on-one with Anne Green will do that for you?” A strand of her long blonde hair blew into Dani’s eyes, and she released her hold on his arm to brush it away. “I can guarantee you that it won’t work. She’s not going to respect you for breaking the rules.”
Her words punctured the hope that had filled his lungs, and he let out a long sigh. “You’re right, of course. I just think talking directly to her is the best way to win her over.”
“So do that. But not until you’ve completed your obligations.” She glanced at her phone, then back at him. “Have you and Ava made a plan for the competition yet?”
He looked around the tent. Was she here? He didn’t see her blonde head anywhere. “Um. No. Not really. I told her I would come up with the recipes. She just needs to be my helper.”
Dani raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a little…arrogant?”
Was it? He thought back over their conversation.
Okay, yes. A little arrogant. But he hadn’t meant it that way.
It was just that he had the experience, and he knew Ava’s secret lack of skills.
He rubbed a hand through his hair. “You’re right.
I’ll apologize. But we did come up with the menu together.
” Their evening spent chatting and planning had been the best part of his trip here so far.
Ava’s soft voice filtered through his mind. G’night, Golden Boy. A warmth spread through his chest and up his neck. The wind flapping the edges of the canopy did nothing to cool him.
Dani eyed him carefully. “Wait. Do you like Ava? Ollie filled me in on your history with the review and everything from back in Seattle.”
“Of course I like Ava.” Zach attempted a laugh.
“No, I mean like like.”
“I, ah. I don’t know.” Zach’s stomach somersaulted. “I spent so long hating her, blaming her for losing my restaurant, that I forgot that she was a real person. These past few weeks since she first came to my class in Chicago have been…eye-opening. She’s fun to be around.”
“I think my big brother has a crush.” Dani elbowed him.
“Stop.” His fingers tingled. “It’s not a crush. I’m just trying to give her a second chance. That’s all.”
“What’s up, sibs?” Ollie appeared at Dani’s side, Eliza next to him. They wore matching Island Bookstore T-shirts. Zach noted they had also checked the weather, Ollie in a brown cardigan and Eliza, a head shorter, in a jacket.
“Zach here has been telling me that he definitely doesn’t have a crush on Ava Harper. Even though he’s blushing.”
“I’m not blushing!” But his sister and brother must not have heard him.
“He denies it’s a crush, eh?” Ollie pretended to think this over, hand stroking his chin. “Do you look for her in crowds?”
That didn’t mean anything, right?
“Do you try to find ways to brush her hand?” Dani put in.
Once or twice, but those were accidents.
“Do you find yourself wondering ‘what would Ava think?’” Back to Ollie that time.
“Do you get sweaty palms when you think about her?”
“Does your heart race?”
They were going so fast now, Zach didn’t even bother to reply.
“Or skip a beat?”
“Would you rather be with her than with anyone else?” At Eliza’s quiet question, they all fell silent and looked at him.
“Ha ha, guys.” Zach ran his hands down his pant legs. “Of course I have sweaty palms and a racing heart. You’re giving me the third degree.”
“Shakespeare would say you doth protest too much.” Ollie punched his shoulder, then smiled down at Eliza. “I tried denying it too, but Eliza won me over in the end. I know you two have a rocky history, but it’s obvious you like her. Life’s too short to hold grudges.”
Enough of this. “Did you come over here just to make fun of me, or did you have something else in mind?”
“Making fun of my big brother is always a positive bonus, but yes, I did have something else.” Ollie turned to Dani. “Can I ask you a few questions?” The two of them moved away a couple of steps.
“Ollie likes having you around,” Eliza said.
“He just likes to have someone to tease.”
“That too. But for real. Your family loves you.” Her face brightened in a wide smile, and then she stepped away to grab Ollie’s arm. “All set, Ollie?” They walked away.
“Now, where were we?” Dani glanced at her watch. “I only have a couple more minutes before I need to go.”
“It’s fine. You’ve teased me and put me in my place. Feel free to go.”
“I did have one other thing to talk to you about. I can spare another minute.” Dani clutched her clipboard to her chest. “I wasn’t going to ask until later, but then I thought you might want to have time to think about it.”
“Think about what?”
“I need a chef for the restaurant at the Grand.”
His heart rate picked up. Was she—
“I know you don’t want to do it, you’ve turned me down before.
I won’t ask you again. But do you know anyone I could ask?
” Dani rushed on. “I’ve been having a hard time finding anyone willing to move on island for the rate the hotel can pay them.
They all say that with tourism being too slow, they can’t trust that the restaurant will even last.”
His heart stilled. He had told her no a few months ago. But now…“Someone would be lucky to run that place. It used to be the best place to eat on island.”
“I know! We even had island people as regulars, not just tourists. I’d love for it to be restored to that, now that the hotel is almost back to normal.”
“I have so many happy memories there. Like the time Kate and I made Mom that cake for her birthday.”
Dani laughed. “I didn’t know there was that much flour in the world. You guys made a royal mess.” She paused. “Really good cake, though.”
He smiled. “Worth it. But wait. Shouldn’t James be the one to hire hotel staff?” Dani had finally convinced their older brother to move home and manage the hotel. “That doesn’t seem like it would be up to you.”
Dani brushed a hair out of her eye again.
“I know it’s not totally my job, but I just feel so responsible to make everything run smoothly.
The Grand wouldn’t even need a chef if it weren’t for the revitalization efforts.
It would still be a burned-out husk. I want to see every aspect of it succeed.
We all need to work together to make Jonathon Island amazing again.
I’d like to have some good options to present to James and his assistant, Josh.
And soon. Everyone I’ve tried to recruit hasn’t worked out. ”
Someone to run the restaurant at the Grand? Only the job he’d dreamed about for years when he was younger. But he had new dreams now, right? Between Chefs Anne and Paul, he hoped to land a major position. Plus, Dani wasn’t asking him to do it, merely to suggest someone who could.
“I might know a few people.” Saying the words felt like tearing out his heart.
“You don’t have to answer me right now. But if you could give me a list of possibles before you leave for home?
” Dani wrote something on her clipboard.
“Oh, and if you have any more ideas for how to set things up in there so it’s ready for service, I’d appreciate that too.
” She spun on her heel, but after two steps she turned back.
“Notice I’m not saying anything more about Ava?
We all like her.” She grinned and spun again before he could reply.
Sure. He could help her get things ready to go. He could even suggest a few people who might be interested in a change of scenery and a life on an island in Michigan.
The harder part would be to figure out what to do about the things he was realizing about himself. Things like where was home? And what to do about these feelings for Ava that were definitely, absolutely, beyond any doubt, not a crush.