by Jaci Burton
They found a place to park and got out.
"This looks like a fabulous area," Harmony said.
Flynn nodded. "I looked at a lot of places. I ate at a lot of places, talked to quite a few people who lived in those areas. This one was just it for me. Plus it's close to where I live. It has an old-city charm to it, yet modern and fresh. It just felt . . . right."
She could tell Flynn loved this area. Who wouldn't, with its tree-lined sidewalks and people milling about, wandering up and down the street and stopping in the shops. She was kind of envious of Flynn being able to live in such a beautiful city.
He took them into a restaurant called The Grove, very atmospheric with a woodsy decor. They were seated and presented with the menu.
Harmony perused it, her stomach grumbling.
"Well," she said, as she laid the menu down, "I want everything."
Flynn laughed. "I've had just about everything on the menu. Trust me, it's all good."
Since they served breakfast all day, and it was her favorite meal, she settled for the salmon omelet. Barrett decided on a turkey club and Flynn the tuna melt. They ordered drinks, which their waitress brought over right away.
"Tell me about the chef you're interviewing today," Barrett asked.
"She's from Oregon," Flynn said. "Comes highly recommended by the manager I hired. She's looking for a fresh start. Recently divorced and has no attachments in the state she lives in, so she's free to move. Her credentials are really damn good, and if she's as good as my new manager, Ken, says she is, then I think she might fit what I'm looking for."
"You gonna make her cook for you?" Barrett asked.
"I dunno."
"You should. I would."
"I don't know if that's necessary."
Barrett shrugged. "Why not? No better way to find out if someone is as good as they say they are on paper than to put them to the test. You should invite her to the house for dinner. Have her prepare a meal for us. I mean for you."
Harmony laughed. "Nothing like putting pressure on someone, Barrett."
"It's not a horrible idea," Flynn said. "I'll talk to her this afternoon. If I feel like she could work out, I might suggest dinner."
"If that happens, be sure to text your brother," Harmony said. "I wouldn't want to miss it."
"Plus, we like food," Barrett said.
Flynn smirked. "Yeah, yeah."
The subject shifted from Flynn's restaurant to football, so Harmony sipped the tea she'd ordered and listened in as Barrett and Flynn argued various defensive strategies until their food arrived.
She not only ogled her plate, but Barrett's and Flynn's as well. "Wow."
"I told you how great it was, didn't I?" Flynn said.
Harmony dug into her salmon omelet, savoring every bite of goodness. "This is amazing. In fact, it's so good, I want to eat it twice."
All Barrett did was grunt, which she assumed meant he agreed. They all ate and made very little conversation, and when they were finished, she told Flynn he'd taken them to the best restaurant ever.
"At least until mine opens," he said with a grin.
"True. I hope to come back and have dinner at your restaurant when it opens."
"You have an invitation for opening night. Have Barrett bring you."
She shifted her glance to Barrett, figuring he'd be uncomfortable with that. But he only leveled a knowing smile at her.
Hmm.
After lunch they walked a short way to the restaurant. It was just a shell right now, but Harmony loved the location.
"It's perfect, Flynn," she said. "I can see why you chose this area."
He smiled. "Thanks. It'll be even better when there's something inside."
"That'll happen soon enough," Barrett said.
Flynn took them on a tour of the inside of the restaurant, then they parted ways and Flynn took off to run some errands before his meeting, leaving her and Barrett alone.
"What do you want to do first?" Barrett asked.
"I have no idea. I've never been here, so I'm going to rely on you to be tour guide for me."
"Okay. Let's roll on out of here."
Harmony couldn't wait to see everything--or as much of everything--that San Francisco had to offer.
Twenty-Two
After running some errands, Flynn came back to the restaurant and met with his new manager, Ken, prior to the interview with the proposed chef. And since Ken had a lot of years of restaurant management experience, they discussed some inventory items and went back and forth on the layout. Since the place was gutted right now and no walls were up, he had some time to decide on placement before he met with the architect and contractors.
Right now they had a folding table and four chairs situated in the middle of the concrete floor. All he had was a vision.
"The windows out front afford a lot of light," Ken said, "which will be great for your daytime crowd. You'll have to decide what kind of ambience you want for evenings."
"Cozy. Inviting. And we have the space out back that will provide ample seating. I'd like to do garden seating. Since we're on the corner, I think that'll attract people walking by."
Ken nodded. "Agree, and it's a good idea. Our weather permits almost year-long outside eating, and if you put heat lamps out there during cooler weather, the diehards won't mind eating out there at all."
"That's a great suggestion." He plugged that into the notes feature on his tablet so he wouldn't forget.
"When's the meeting with the architect?" Ken asked.
"Monday."
"I think you have a good idea of what you want. And he's done the walk-through with you, right?"
"Yes. We've talked at length, so he knows what I'm looking for in terms of seating space and cooking area. He said he'd have some mock-ups."
"I'm already looking forward to this place opening. And you know you didn't need to start paying me, since it's going to be at least four to six months until you're operational. I could have kept my old job."
Flynn smiled. "Trust me, I'm going to need you around, especially once football season starts gearing up and I'm on the road and busy with my job. I'm going to need you on the scene to manage the day to day, work on staffing issues and inventory, plus keep me updated."
Ken nodded. "You got it. And speaking of staffing, Amelia should be here soon."
"I'm looking forward to meeting her."
"I think you'll really like her. She impressed me during our initial interview in Portland."
A car pulled up out front and a woman got out. She was tall, slender, with long blond hair pulled into a high ponytail. She was wearing jeans that fit tight to her body, killer high heels that made her legs look miles long, and a silk blouse that ruffled in the wind outside.
Flynn couldn't believe that was Amelia, but when she pulled the door open, it couldn't be anyone but her. He supposed he had a different picture in his mind of this accomplished chef. He figured she'd be older, though he had no idea why. This cool beautiful woman was about his age.
He and Ken stood.
"Amelia," Ken said, walking over to shake her hand. "Great to see you again."
She gave him a generous smile. "It's good to see you, too, Ken."
"And this is Flynn Cassidy."
She turned to him, giving him more of a polite smile as she held out her hand. "Amelia Lawrence."
"Nice to meet you, Amelia."
"Same here. Thank you for inviting me to interview."
"I've heard good things about you. You have an impressive resume."
"Thank you."
They went through her background as a chef, from her education to her work experience. Flynn had already read that on her resume, and Ken had discussed it extensively with him, but it was good to hear it from Amelia.
"Beyond the education and work experience, I've been cooking since I was a child. My mother was an avid cook and allowed me to be in the kitchen with her. Much of my love of cooking came from her. She allowed me to experiment from an early
age, to try my hand at creating different dishes. It was that freedom of culinary expression that gave me my love of food and the desire to become a chef."
Flynn smiled. "I cooked a lot with my mom, too."
She arched a brow. "Really."
Not the first time he'd been met with an incredulous look like that. "You think football players spend all their time either on the field, in a club or playing football video games. But you'd be wrong. Which isn't surprising given that the media plays up that aspect of players. As far as it relates to me, the reason I'm opening up this restaurant has a lot to do with my love for food."
"I'll be honest with you. I thought you were just in it for the money and the name aspect."
"And I appreciate your honesty. But you're wrong about me."
"I wouldn't have come to work for Flynn if he was some dumb jock only in it to stick his name on a restaurant," Ken said. "That's not what I'm about, either."
Amelia nodded. "Okay. I'm glad to know that."
He got the idea she was still withholding her opinion about him. Not that he much cared. She didn't need to like him. She just needed to be a kick-ass chef.
They talked for a while about Flynn's planned setup for the restaurant, but didn't get into too many details about the menu. He wanted to wait to see if Amelia would be a good fit before they started planning it out.
"What would you think about cooking for me tonight?"
She looked around. "I wouldn't mind it, but you're not exactly set up here for a demonstration, are you?"
His lips curved. "Not yet. I was thinking about you cooking dinner at my place. My brother and his girlfriend are in town for the weekend. I was going to cook for them tonight, but since you're here, and if you're available tonight, you could come over."
"I'd be happy to."
"Great." Flynn looked over at Ken. "Ken? Are you available?"
"Sorry. Adam's brother's engagement party is tonight, so we have to go to that."
"Oh, that's right, I forgot about that. You two have a great time."
"Thanks, we will." Ken turned to Amelia. "But I have no doubt whatever you cook up will be fantastic."
They talked awhile longer about Ken's husband, Adam, whom Amelia had met when Ken and Adam had flown up to Portland so Ken could do Amelia's initial interview.
Amelia gave Flynn her phone number and she got his along with his address. She told him she'd bring the food for tonight.
"If you text me a grocery list, I'll have the food at the house," Flynn said.
She shook her head. "If you don't mind, I'll do the shopping. It's important that I choose the ingredients myself. Plus, I need to prepare a few things in advance. So I'll bring it with me."
"Isn't that kind of inconvenient, with you staying at a hotel?"
"I'm actually staying with some people I know, so there will be a kitchen for me to do advance prep."
Flynn finally shrugged. "Up to you. You're the chef."
"Thanks."
They said their good-byes and she called for a car and left.
"What do you think?" Ken asked.
"Not sure yet. She's a little quiet. Seems . . . I don't know." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know what to think about her."
"Trust me, Flynn. She's competent, she's not temperamental and she doesn't throw pots and pans around."
Flynn laughed. "You only see those types of chefs on TV."
Ken slid him a look. "You'd like to think so, but I've worked in this business a long time and those kinds of chefs do exist."
"Really."
"Yeah. And Amelia is very animated once she gets going on the subject of food. She's very particular in her kitchen and knows what she wants and how she wants things done. Which is exactly what you need in a head chef. I think once you see her cook you'll be happy."
"I hope so. We'll see what happens tonight."
"Listen, I gotta run, but I want a full report on Monday."
"I'll see you then. You and Adam have a great time tonight."
Ken grinned. "We will."
Flynn locked up the restaurant, then walked outside to stare at it. He could already envision the name, the people inside, the kind of food he wanted to serve.
He hoped like hell Amelia Lawrence was the answer to what he was looking for.
She sure was pretty. With mesmerizing, inquisitive hazel eyes that seemed to focus on him an awful lot.
Then again, maybe he was reading way too much into that.
He didn't need to focus on a pretty woman with gorgeous eyes. The last time that happened he got dumped.
He was always getting dumped.
Food? That he knew. Women? Not a damn clue.
He sure as hell didn't need a woman in his life right now.
All he needed was a talented chef.
Twenty-Three
Barrett had taken many trips to San Francisco before, and had pretty much seen everything the city had to offer.
But, he had to admit, seeing it through Harmony's eyes was fun. There was nothing like playing tour guide for someone who'd never been here before.
There was no doubt San Francisco was a beautiful city, so he'd enjoyed every second of taking her to see all the sights.
They stood at the railing at the edge of Pier 39. He breathed in the crisp sea air, making him wish he were out on his boat right now doing some fishing. A large group of sea lions sunbathed on the boat docks.
"This is amazing," Harmony said. "They're so cute."
She got out her phone to take pictures.
"Well, they're noisy. And they smell."
She laughed. "They're definitely noisy. All that barking. What do you think they're talking about?"
"Probably things like 'Move over, you're in my spot.' Or 'Hey, that's my woman you're hitting on.' "
She rolled her eyes. "You're such a guy."
"Come on. Look at those two big ones yelling at each other. There's a ton of sea lion testosterone flying around."
"If you say so. And in the meantime the lady sea lions are ignoring it all, sunning themselves on the deck, oblivious to all that male posturing."
"Imagine that. Just like human women, ignoring all our best moves."
She leaned against him. "We can't make it too easy for you."
Barrett's phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and read the text message.
"It's Flynn. The interview went well and he's bringing the chef--whose name is Amelia--over to the house to cook dinner for us."
"That's great news, right? He seemed eager to hire a head chef, and if he's bringing her to the house to cook dinner, he must really like what she could bring to his restaurant."
He typed a text message back to his brother, then shoved his phone back in his pocket. "I hope so. I guess we'll find out at dinner tonight."
She slipped her hand in his. "In the meantime, how about a ride on a cable car?"
Now that was something he hadn't done yet. "Sure."
They grabbed the cable car on Hyde Street and rode the entire line and back. Barrett had to admit it was pretty fun, especially since the cable car was crowded, so they had to stand, and he had his arm around Harmony the entire time. Her body was pressed to his and though she held on to a pole, the movements of the cable car shoved her into him.
He didn't mind that at all. Neither, it appeared, did Harmony, as after a while she turned to face him, wrapping her arm around him.
"You're missing the sights."
"I don't know about that. You're a pretty hot sight."
He bent and brushed his lips across hers, wishing he could deepen the kiss and take a full taste of her. But he was mindful of their audience on the cable car, which included children, so he tabled that thought for later.
Once they hopped off the cable car, he took her hand and they headed toward his car. It was getting late and they needed to head back to Flynn's house. He shoved the bag of souvenirs Harmony had bought into the backseat and drove off.
&nbs
p; Flynn's car was already in the driveway when he pulled in.
"I wonder if he brought Amelia with him?" Harmony asked, as they got out of the car.
"I guess we'll find out when we go inside."
She took the bag from his hand. "I'm going to stop in the cottage first to freshen up."
He tugged her against him. "You look pretty fresh to me already."
She laughed and pushed him away. "I'll be right in."
Barrett went in through the back door. Flynn wasn't in sight, so Barrett went to the fridge and grabbed a beer, went into the living room and grabbed the remote, turned on the television and scrolled through until he found the sports station, then settled in and took a couple of long swallows of beer.
"Making yourself at home, I see," Flynn said, as he came down the stairs.
"You know me."
"I do. Did you two have fun today?"
"We did. We did the whole touring thing, or at least as much as we could get done in an afternoon."
Flynn went to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer for himself, then came into the living room and took a seat on the recliner to watch sports with Barrett.
"When's Amelia coming?"
"About six."
"Great. What's she cooking?"
"No idea."
"Didn't you buy the food?"
"Nope. She said she wanted to."
"Huh. Interesting. So you're letting her foot the bill, then?"
Flynn shot him a glare. "Of course not. I'll reimburse her. What kind of an asshole do you think I am?"
Barrett's lips lifted. "You got time for me to make a list?"
"Fuck off, Barrett."
Flynn continued to stare at the TV. Barrett's lips lifted. He knew being insulted by his brother was like being given a compliment.
Harmony came through the back door. "I'm going to grab a glass of iced tea if that's okay, Flynn."
"Make yourself at home, Harmony."
"Thanks."
Barrett found himself watching Harmony as she reached up for a glass in the cabinet. He stared at her legs. She had great legs. He loved touching her, making him wish the two of them were alone so he could go into the kitchen, skim his hands over her thighs, lift her dress, bend her over . . .
Well, hell. Not the kinds of things he should be thinking when his brother was in the room.
Dammit. They should have stayed at a hotel.
When Barrett heard the word "Cassidy" on the television, he shifted his focus to the screen. "Hey, Tucker's on TV."
Flynn looked up from his phone to the TV. "He pitch another no-hitter?"