Eliza #2
My jaw nearly dropped at the sight of Leo in his black chef’s coat.
The fabric stretched across his chest, and the rolled-up sleeves showed off his forearms. My eyes immediately dropped to the tattoo of a mountain landscape with evergreen trees on his left arm.
I wanted to reach out and trace my fingertips over the sun’s rays and the mountain peaks.
“You okay?” Leo asked.
When I looked up, his piercing blue eyes were already on me.
I nodded, my gaze shifting back down. Against my better judgment, I reached out. My thumb traced the edge of the mountain.
“Is this new?” I asked, and I took his grunt as a yes.
When I looked back up at him, his jaw was clenched, and his eyes were as dark as the ocean.
Not the ocean with calm waves you’d wish for on a beach vacation—but the type of water that would swallow you whole and you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
“I got it last year. One of the best views I’d ever seen. Figured if I was ever going to leave Oregon, I might as well get it tattooed, so I’d never forget it.”
“I doubt you’d forget something like this,” I whispered, in awe of the detail.
I loved tattoos, but I especially loved ones of nature. I had flowers, plants, vines, leaves, and stars on my body. They were all pretty small, with my right arm being more filled than my left. I had a few on my fingers and torso, too.
“I suppose,” Leo murmured. “Some things are hard to forget.”
He was right about that.
“What was so interesting that you couldn’t look up?” Leo asked with a hint of teasing in his tone as he nodded toward my phone.
At the same time my screen lit up with a call.
Colin.
Who knew a name could have the same effect as a bucket of ice water.
It was like we’d both been drenched.
Reminded exactly why we had this familiarity between us. Not because we’d met and lost touch. Or because he’d walked into the bar during my shift.
Because I’d dated his brother.
Leo cleared his throat and let go of my arm and hip, taking what felt like a million steps back to create distance between us. The same way he’d done three years ago.
His face was stoic when he said, “Staff meeting starts in five.” Any teasing or joking was long gone. He turned around and walked through the swinging door into the main bar area.
“Right,” I sighed.
I declined the call and texted Colin back.
Me
At work. Can’t talk.
I twisted my lips to the side. Colin never called me out of the blue.
Me
Everything okay?
He quickly typed back.
Colin
Yeah. Just wanted to see how you’re doing.
Did you ever just want to see how an ex was doing?
That was a conversation I didn’t want to touch with a ten-foot pole.
I slipped my phone into my bag, where it should’ve been from the beginning, and dropped it off in one of the cubbies along with my coat before following Leo out into the main area for the staff meeting.
For our weekly meeting, we usually pushed a couple of tables together to make one big one. Then Wes ran through the plans for the week. He’d told us last week that meetings going forward would include updates from Leo, too.
I took the empty seat next to Louise and huffed when I realized I’d left my granola bar in the yoga studio. I could run over to grab it, but it’d have to be after the meeting. And I was starving. I remembered to eat in the morning before teaching, but the afternoon often got away from me.
I leaned over toward Louise. “Did you bring a snack today?”
“No need, hon.” She gestured toward Ray and Leo walking toward us…with plates of food, likely what I’d smelled when I walked in. “Leo created the first menu of the season, and we’re doing a tasting today.”
“What? We are? How’d you know that?”
She shrugged. “Ray told me.”
As the food was set out in front of us, my stomach rumbled. I usually partially listened to Wes during these meetings—I made sure to catch the important details—but today all I could pay attention to was the food laid out in front of us.
Before I knew it, Wes had passed it over to Leo.
“Ray and I have been hard at work over the last couple of days getting Lake Ridge’s first menu prepared,” Leo explained.
“We wanted to test it with you all first—both so you can give us your thoughts and feedback, but also so you know how to explain it to guests. If you have any questions or thoughts, let us know.”
Leo uncrossed his arms and gestured toward the food.
“We’ll start with the hot honey sriracha cauliflower wings and the flash-fried brussels sprouts.
Then we’ll have the kale and grilled tofu salad.
Tomorrow, you’ll try the braised mojo pork sandwich and the maple bacon cheeseburger.
The appetizers Ray has been preparing will be available on the menu, too. ”
I grabbed a stack of appetizer plates, taking one for myself and then passing the stack around. “This looks amazing. I’m going to need a nap after this,” I said to Louise.
She nodded with a laugh. “And that’s just the spring menu. Wait until you hear their other ideas.”
“Wait, you know already?” My eyes widened. “Ray told you?”
She zipped her lips closed with her fingers and smiled mischievously.
I rolled my eyes playfully. Ray and Louise had been friends for as long as I could remember, so it didn’t surprise me that he’d told her. I’d find a way to get the information out of her.
I scooped a serving of cauliflower wings and brussels sprouts onto my plate and wasted no time taking my first bite.
“Oh my god,” I groaned, the words coming out garbled, and my eyes nearly rolled to the back of my head as I chewed. The sweet flavors from the honey mixed perfectly with the heat from the sriracha. Each piece of cauliflower was coated perfectly, too.
Apart from the compliments to Leo and Ray over the food, I don’t think we’d ever been this quiet during a staff meeting.
Just the clatter of forks and content hums. I looked over at Wes, who had a grin on his face instead of his usual scowl, although I supposed he’d been smiling a lot more since Jules came into his life.
I’d put up with his grumpy ass for my whole life, and who knew he just needed Jules and some good food to cheer him up.
Leo stood next to Wes, arms crossed over his chest as he looked on. I wondered what he felt when people tasted his food. Had it gotten old by now? Did it give him a rush?
I couldn’t read his expression. His lips were pressed in a thin line, and there was a slight crease between his brows. He didn’t seem angry or upset. He almost looked…confused. Like he didn’t know what to feel.
I took another bite, watching him. When his eyes met mine, I swallowed my food along with the lump in my throat, but I didn’t look away.
Why was he here? I couldn’t escape that question, no matter how hard I tried to not think about it. About him.
He finally looked away when one of the servers asked him a question. I let out a sigh, spearing a cauliflower with my fork and taking another bite.
As delicious as the food was, I knew something that would make it even better.
“I’m going to go get us some ranch,” I whispered to Louise before pushing my chair back and walking past the swinging door into the kitchen.
I pulled open the door to the walk-in fridge.
Not only was this where majority of the ingredients were stored, but it was perfect to step inside to cool off on a hot summer day.
I scanned the shelves, grabbed the container of house-made ranch, and made my way back out. I stopped when I saw Leo at the counter finalizing what looked like the salads.
“Need any help?” I asked.
He glanced over his shoulder, doing a double take. “What’re you holding?”
I lifted the container. “Ranch. For the wings.”
Displeased, he shook his head. “My food doesn’t need that.”
I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing at the way his lip curled in disgust. “Uh, well, you better get used to it, because our ranch is the best. I’d put it on everything if I could, not just the wings. I’ll probably put it on the salad. The burger tomorrow,” I taunted playfully.
He set the knife down and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please tell me you’re exaggerating.”
When I stayed silent, he ran a hand over his face with a groan, smoothing his mustache. “I hate the stuff. I’ve never liked it. I don’t understand the hype.”
My jaw dropped. He hated the best dipping sauce known to mankind.
“So, you do have flaws,” I joked. “Actually, I don’t know if you can recover from that one.”
“Does it make it better or worse if I say I like blue cheese?” Leo asked as he squeezed a lemon wedge over each salad.
My eyes widened. “Worse. Way worse.” I crossed the distance to him, still holding my ranch but using my free hand to grab one of the salad plates. He took the other three, two in one hand and one in the other. He made it look so easy with his large hands.
“You coming?” Leo asked, making me realize I’d been frozen in place and lost in thought.
I fucking wished.
“Yes, chef.” The two words effortlessly left my mouth as I followed behind him, and I nearly smacked into his back with how abruptly he stopped. Now, it was his turn to be frozen.
He glanced at me over his shoulder, a muscle in his jaw fluttering, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. Heat flared in his blue gaze. It was the same look as earlier today when he’d kept me from falling. When there’d only been inches between us.
Should I add those two words to the things we shouldn’t talk about?
We walked back to the table and stayed on opposite ends, making minimal conversation the rest of the evening.
Yet, I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before we were drawn together. I had zero control over it.
And that wasn’t a good sign.