Zane (Halversons #8)

CHAPTER ONE

A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)

As his shift ended, Zane Halverson took a moment to speak with the two people who had come into the restaurant to clean it now that it had closed for the day.

“I’ve left food for you in the warmer drawer,” he told Carlos, the man who worked there with his wife.

“What did you make for us today?” the man asked, his words heavily accented.

The food the restaurant served was high-end cuisine, which often meant smaller serving sizes, immaculate presentation, and ingredients that not everyone enjoyed. The first few times he’d left meals for the couple, when he’d asked how they’d enjoyed the food, they’d exchanged a glance, then confessed that it wasn’t quite what they were used to.

From that point on, Zane took the time at the end of his day to make a simpler, more substantial meal for Carlos and his wife. It was a nice way to unwind while he waited for the kitchen staff to finish their cleanup and sometimes their prep for the next day.

He made the meals with the blessing of the head chef—and restaurant owner—which made him appreciate the man even more. And it was like cooking for his family, all of whom—except for maybe Kayleigh and Hudson—preferred simpler fare.

“Roasted chicken and rice pilaf with some vegetables.”

“ Gracias, ” Carlos said with a smile and a bob of his head.

After removing his chef jacket and saying goodbye, Zane left the restaurant and stepped out into the warm, late Florida night air. He quickly crossed the parking lot to where he’d left his car earlier, when he’d arrived for his shift as sous chef at the one Michelin star restaurant.

He was eager to get home to the apartment he shared with his wife.

His wife…

Even after six weeks, the word was still new to him. But every time he thought about Kelsey, he smiled.

The late-night traffic was lighter than when he’d driven to work earlier that afternoon, which meant it didn’t take him long to get to the building where he and Kelsey were currently renting an apartment.

After parking his car in its assigned spot, Zane made his way inside the building to the elevator. Though it was nearly one in the morning, Kelsey would still be up. They’d adjusted their schedules so that even though he worked late, they still had time together at the end of the workday.

He’d no sooner stepped into the apartment than Kelsey appeared from the kitchen. Smiling, she approached him and stepped into his embrace. After sharing a kiss, she drew back enough to gaze up at him. Her eyes, which were a lovely blue-green shade, shone with love.

“I missed you,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers. “I wish we still worked at the same place.”

“Me, too,” Kelsey replied.

Stepping apart, Zane took her hand and together they walked to their bedroom, then through to the attached bathroom which sported a rainfall shower. When they’d been looking at apartments, this shower had weighed heavily in their ultimate decision to rent this particular unit. The shower was large, with multiple showerheads, and they both loved it.

Since they’d only been married six weeks, they were still in the honeymoon stage and enjoyed the times they were able to spend together, which had ended up including taking a shower together. It was the perfect way to unwind and reconnect after being apart for most of the day, which was kind of new for them.

They’d met when Kelsey had been hired as a hostess at the restaurant where Zane had been working as a chef. So, most days, they’d seen each other at work, even before they’d started dating.

When they moved to Tampa, there hadn’t been a position available for Kelsey where Zane had been hired so she had had to find work at a different restaurant. Still, he wasn’t going to complain about it because at least he had her there with him.

There had definitely been adjustments in the move from Chicago to Tampa, but having Kelsey with him had made it so much more enjoyable. More like an adventure. A new start to the new chapter in their lives.

Zane had never thought he’d find a connection that rivaled what he’d had with Sarah, his most serious relationship. The end of that relationship had left him devastated, and he’d been convinced that Sarah had been his one and only shot at a deep and meaningful love in his life.

He hadn’t been looking for love—in fact, he’d been actively avoiding any opportunity for it—when he’d first met Kelsey. Becoming friends first had made the transition to a romantic relationship fairly easy when it had happened.

His feelings for Kelsey had snuck up on him, and the realization that he loved her had been such a subtle thing that he hadn’t had time to reject it or distance himself from her. She’d been so sweet, and she had a very steady personality, which he really appreciated since life could be so chaotic in the kitchens where he worked.

The way their lives fit together so well had been just one more thing that had made their relationship work. His hope for his personal future was so much brighter than it had been in a very long time, and a lot of that was because of Kelsey’s presence in his life and the way she loved him.

After their shower, they dressed in pajamas, then went to the kitchen. Sometimes, Zane was in the mood to cook, even after he got home from work. But that day, they’d both eaten their main meals at the restaurants where they worked.

“Sandwich, love?” Zane asked as he pulled some artisan grain bread from the bread box on the counter.

“That would be nice.” Kelsey opened the fridge and removed the turkey breast deli meat, cheese, and tomatoes they’d picked up earlier in the week.

Working side by side, they built their sandwiches. Zane also added onions to his, but Kelsey wasn’t a fan of them.

At one point, he wrapped his arm around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Yum. You smell like a cookie.”

Kelsey laughed as she leaned against him. “I’m that sweet, am I?”

“Oh, you know you are.” He took the time to kiss her and show her how much he appreciated her sweetness.

Finally, they returned to the task at hand and finished putting their sandwiches together. Zane carried the plates with their sandwiches over to the small table set in front of the window that looked out over the city. Kelsey followed with their drinks.

As Kelsey gazed out the window at the dark night, Zane gazed at her. She hadn’t bothered to do more than towel dry her hair with his help, so it was darker than normal, and curled slightly in damp strands on her shoulders.

Her face was bare of the makeup she usually wore in her role as hostess, but to him, she was more beautiful that way. She didn’t wear much makeup when she wasn’t working, and none when they were at home.

Looking away from the window, her eyes widened briefly when she realized he was watching her, then a shy smile curved her lips. When he winked at her, a blush filled her cheeks.

“You look beautiful.”

Kelsey’s gaze dropped to her sandwich, but the smile didn’t leave her face. “Thank you.” She looked back up at him. “You’re rather handsome yourself.”

“Do tell,” he said, leaning forward a bit.

Their flirty banter lasted the duration of the meal, and Zane felt any lingering stress of the day drop away as he and Kelsey enjoyed being in their own little world without phone calls or text messages to draw their attention away from each other.

It was one of the things he liked most about these late-night hours when it was just the two of them awake. Even though his family was a couple of hours behind them, pretty much none of them were awake at this point, so there were no interruptions to their time together.

It wasn’t until they’d finished their meal that Kelsey asked, “Did you hear from your parents today?”

Zane grimaced. “No. Nothing. Wilder did text me, though.”

“What did he have to say?” Kelsey’s voice was low, like she was afraid to ask.

“He said that he thought it was his role in the family to make out-of-the-blue decisions.”

Kelsey gave a soft huff of laughter. “From what you’ve said, he gave up that role when he and Lexi started dating.”

“That’s true,” Zane agreed. “He even proposed in a pretty conventional way, and their wedding was fairly traditional.”

When he’d gotten the job in Tampa, Zane had known he didn’t want to leave Kelsey behind in Chicago or have to juggle a long-distance relationship. But getting her to move to a new city, only to live on her own, hadn’t seemed right.

And even though he hadn’t been active with his faith in recent years, he hadn’t been comfortable asking her to move there and live with him without being married.

So in the end, he’d proposed, and when she’d said yes, he’d proposed something else… that they elope.

Unfortunately, his parents hadn’t been happy with his decision to get engaged and then elope, especially since he hadn’t told them until after it had happened. In fact, they’d been married for a month before Zane had let his family know. It hadn’t gone over well at all.

Zane didn’t think it was because they disliked Kelsey, but he couldn’t say that with one hundred percent certainty since he hadn’t had a long conversation with any of them about her. They’d warmed up to Sarah really quickly, so he’d hoped they’d do the same with Kelsey once they had the chance to spend more time with her.

They’d all met her since he’d taken her to Serenity the previous Christmas. That should have been an indication to them of how seriously Zane felt about her. And following that visit, no one had shared any concerns they had about them dating.

If they were unhappy about the situation now, there wasn’t anything Zane could do about it. And even there was, he wouldn’t do anything. He and Kelsey had made a decision that worked for them, and he didn’t regret it.

“They’ll come around,” Zane said, trying to reassure Kelsey. “We just have to give them some time.”

Kelsey nodded, then gathered up their plates and took them into the kitchen. Zane followed her, helping her clean up before they went to the living room with mugs of decaf coffee and some chocolate chip cookies they’d picked up from a nearby bakery they’d discovered.

Over the course of their dating, Kelsey had revealed that she wasn’t close with her family, so it was no surprise that she hadn’t been worried about their reaction to an elopement. If only he could have said the same about his family. The tense situation with them was the only thing marring these first few weeks of their married life.

“So, have you come up with what we’re going to do on our days off this week?” Zane asked.

They hadn’t really had a honeymoon, unless he counted the three days following their elopement when they’d come to Tampa to find an apartment before returning to Chicago to pack up all their belongings. Which he didn’t because it had been a super stressful and busy time.

Even during the drive down almost four weeks ago, they hadn’t had a lot of time together. They’d had to travel in separate vehicles, since Kelsey had driven Zane’s car, while Zane drove the moving van they’d packed with their personal belongings and used to tow Kelsey’s smaller car. So they’d only had a few hours together at the hotels where they’d overnighted during the trip.

Since arriving in Tampa, Zane had jumped right into his job, while Kelsey had spent the first week going to interviews and finally landing a new job. Thankfully, Kelsey’s new place of employment had been willing to work with her so that she and Zane had the same days off each week.

So far, their days off had been filled with unpacking and buying the things they needed to set up their new home together. They hadn’t had a lot of time to explore their new city, though they had gone to the beach one day because they’d really just needed a break. But now that they were more settled, they were hoping to do more sight-seeing.

After a brief discussion, they decided that on their days off that week, they had better take care of a few other necessities—like switching over their driver’s licenses before the thirty days were up—and then spend some time just relaxing and seeing what else Tampa had to offer.

They’d both decided that one visit to the beach was probably going to be enough for now, so they had to figure out what else was of interest to them around the area.

Zane was glad to leave the touchy subject of his family behind, and from the appearance of Kelsey’s dimples as they talked about something more enjoyable, so was she.

Once they’d finished their coffee and cookies, they cleaned up together, then made their way to the bedroom. He’d always had a fairly practical décor aesthetic, but Kelsey had brought warmth and coziness to their apartment.

Their bedroom was dominated by the queen size bed, but Kelsey had picked colors and styles that made it feel like their own private oasis. Which it really was. They made a practice of not discussing difficult things once they were in bed, unless it pertained to their relationship. So far, that hadn’t been necessary.

Kelsey went into the bathroom to do her nighttime skin routine and brush her teeth, while Zane got his clothes ready for the next day. Once she was done, Zane took his turn in the bathroom, then he crawled into bed next to Kelsey.

He was so grateful for Kelsey’s presence in his life, and though things might seem a little rough with his family at the moment, he was confident it would smooth out. His parents had only ever wanted what was best for their children, and Zane was sure that in time, they’d see that his marriage to Kelsey was what was best for him.

“Want to read a chapter?” he asked, holding up the paperback they’d been reading together at night before going to sleep.

Though he wasn’t sure that Dean Koontz was the best before sleep reading. This particular book had some vivid descriptions of some scary situations. Still, he and Kelsey had had fun reading it. She was better at reading out loud, and after a long day at work, it was a relaxing way to end their day.

Nodding, Kelsey moved over next to him. She leaned back against him, her head resting on his shoulder. Zane slipped his arm around her waist and listened as she started the next chapter.

When his relationship with Sarah had ended, he’d really struggled. He’d also been convinced that he’d never feel about anyone else, the way he’d felt about Sarah.

He’d been filled with so much hurt and anger, with cooking being the only thing that brought him any sort of joy. To fill the empty hours, he’d cooked. At work and at home, he’d cooked.

He’d made huge advances in his recipe development, though he’d abandoned his original plan to create dishes that might appeal to children or people who were intimidated by the idea of fine dining. That change had garnered him a better position at a better restaurant, which had eventually led him to the job at the one Michelin star restaurant in Tampa.

Eventually, though, he’d come out of his fog of hurt and anger and once again began to socialize, mostly with his co-workers at the restaurant where he’d gotten a job a year or so after his breakup with Sarah. One of those co-workers had been Kelsey, and the rest was history.

Not wanting to ever revisit that time before meeting Kelsey, he had initially closed the door firmly on Sarah and had refused to talk about her, their relationship, or the breakup with anyone. Even to Kelsey. He hadn’t wanted his future with Kelsey to be tainted by the knowledge of the emotional wreck he’d been following that breakup.

But three months ago, he’d reached out to Sarah once again, wanting to apologize for his behavior following the breakup. He’d even met up with her and her husband, and his plan was to tell Kelsey about Sarah and to hopefully introduce them.

However, that plan had changed with the job offer in Tampa, plus Sarah and her husband had moved to Washington state. Zane had put off telling Kelsey about Sarah for so long, he now wasn’t sure how to broach the subject with her. Especially since they’d had a discussion about previous relationships, and he hadn’t mentioned Sarah.

It was hard for him to share with Kelsey just how off the rails he’d gone when faced with Sarah’s rejection of him and the future they’d planned together. That was his pride, really. He needed to get over it and be transparent with Kelsey, telling her about everything that had happened with Sarah.

Because as difficult a time as that had been, he’d learned and grown from it, and he believed it had prepared him for this next phase of his life with Kelsey and as a sous-chef at a one Michelin star restaurant.

But that could wait for another time. The sanctuary of their bedroom wasn’t the place to have that conversation.