Holly
Holly’s heart beat a little faster in her chest when Frederick walked through the restaurant door. He not only looked handsome, but there was a confident air about him that made others stop and look at him, and he was here for her. She still couldn’t believe it, but the bruise on her arm, developing from pinching herself so often, reminded her it was true. Her lips pulled into a smile as he approached.
“Ashley, are you good to handle the rest of the night?” Holly asked.
“You bet, boss. Go have fun.”
Ashley’s date with Colton the night before hadn’t been fireworks, but Holly was sure hoping hers would be tonight. She’d replayed the kiss over and over in her mind, and she was hoping for an encore performance tonight — to make sure it hadn’t been a fluke, of course.
“Nice place you’ve got here,” Frederick said as he scanned the room. “Can I see the kitchen?”
Holly felt a twinge of disappointment that Frederick’s first words to her were about the restaurant and not about her, but she supposed she could understand his interest. She was always curious about what other restaurants looked like too. “Sure, come on back.”
She led the way back to the kitchen and pointed out her favorite features, making sure to keep them both out of the chefs’ way.
“It looks like a great set up. How long have you been in business here?”
“Almost six years.” Holly could still remember the day she’d moved to Courage and gotten a job with the original owner. She’d worked her way up until she’d had enough money to buy the restaurant from him when he retired. It had been an old diner then, but she managed to update it and bring it into the modern age.
“Six years?” He rubbed his chin, his eyes still focused on the kitchen. “You in the black yet?”
Holly blinked at him, wondering where he was going with this. “I do all right. Why do you ask?”
Finally, he pulled his gaze from the chefs and to her. “I was just curious. The last restaurant I worked at never hit the black, even after eight years. Of course, I wasn’t there that long, but that’s what the manager told me. It’s not an easy business owning a restaurant.”
“No, I suppose not, but Courage is a nice place because not only is it a tourist town, but there aren’t a lot of other restaurants in town.”
He nodded again. “So you pretty much have a corner on the market.”
“I guess you could say that. Let me just grab my purse and I’ll be ready to go.” Interest was one thing, but this conversation was odd, and she was ready to return to the date and the possibility of another kiss.
“Sure, sure.” He waved a hand at her as his eyes returned to scanning the room.
Shaking her head, she hurried into the office and grabbed her purse and her coat and then returned, taking his arm and leading him out the back door. “Well? What is the plan for tonight?” She hoped a dinner of some sort was involved because she hadn’t eaten much at all.
“I wasn’t sure what you might like to do, and since we both work in the restaurant industry, I thought a dinner out would be too boring and might leave us critiquing more than enjoying, so I planned something else.”
“Oh, okay. Well I’m game for anything.” The rumbling in her stomach would just have to wait, but surely she could eat after. “So, tell me about the last place you worked,” she said as they began walking down the main street.
Frederick shrugged. “It was a nice place, up north, but like I said they couldn’t manage to get in the black even with the suggestions and changes to the menu I made. Before that, I worked at a place in Italy with Natalia, remember her?”
The beautiful Italian that he’d been obsessed with in cooking school? How could she forget? “I do; so you went to Italy with her after school?” She tamped down the feeling of jealousy sprouting in her stomach. There was no reason to be jealous. Whatever had happened with Frederick and Natalia meant nothing because he wasn’t with her now.
He shook his head. “No, not at first. Right after school, I worked at a place in New Jersey. That’s where I’m from, you know.”
“Really? I’m from New York. How did I not know you were from New Jersey? And what happened to your accent? Mine has softened since I’ve been here, but I don’t remember you having one even in school.”
“Theater in high school. I did a lot of plays and had to adopt many accents. I’ve done so many, I hardly remember which was my original now.”
Theater. For a moment, the word made Holly wonder if he was playing a part with her now. Was he just pretending to like her for some reason? If he’d done as much theater as he claimed, she doubted it would be hard for him to be convincing, but what would be the purpose? No, she was letting old insecurities take over and that wasn’t who she was anymore. “How fun, so how did you end up going to Italy after New Jersey?”
“Oh, Natalia and I kept in touch. We dated for a time, but nothing serious. When an opening at a nearby restaurant occurred, she invited me to come apply. I’d never been to Italy and since nothing was tying me down, I figured it would be a good time to go. It was amazing, and I learned a lot, so I’d say it was worth it.”
“I’d love to know what you learned there,” Holly said, once again swallowing the jealousy crawling up her throat. They’d dated? What in the world would he see in Holly after dating someone as exotic as Natalia?
He grabbed her hand, pulling her to a stop and flashed her a charming smile that melted her fears away. “I’d love to teach you. In fact, I was thinking. Since I plan to stick around for a little while, maybe you could let me help out in the restaurant some? You don’t have to pay me a wage. I’ll work for tips.”
Holly bit the inside of her lip. She liked Frederick, but working with someone changed the dynamic and she always ran background checks on her employees. Her first year, she hadn’t known to do that, and she’d hired a few people who, while not crooks, stayed just long enough to learn from her and then took off. She would never fault anyone who left for an opportunity, but she didn’t want anyone using her like that in her restaurant again. Still, this was Frederick. He was an old… acquaintance — she supposed she couldn’t really call him a friend, at least not then — and he was basically offering to work for free. Plus, it would mean more time she would get to spend with him. “Yeah, maybe.”
He tilted his head and she could almost see the wrestle going on in his mind. Obviously, he wanted to say more, but would he? Finally, he nodded. “Well, here we are. I heard there was a chocolate making demonstration going on here tonight, and I don’t know about you, but I love chocolate.”
“Sounds fun.” Holly didn’t mind baking though she’d always loved the freedom of cooking more. With cooking, you could experiment and measurements didn’t have to be precise. She found that rarely worked with baking. Recipes were created for a reason and skimping on certain ingredients could cause a dessert to fail fantastically. But she did love chocolate and it was certainly romantic.
Frederick pulled open the door, and they stepped inside. Nettie’s Chocolate Shop, which had been an ice cream shop once upon a time, was smaller than her restaurant, but since people didn’t usually sit to eat chocolates, it worked for her space. Tonight, however, she had set up a few tables and Holly was surprised to see Dougie and Becca at one. Beside her, she felt Frederick stiffen. Evidently he was surprised as well.
“I suppose I should have known this would be a popular event,” he said as they claimed the last free table. “We can go elsewhere if you’d prefer.”
Holly shook her head at him. “Nonsense. Dougie and Becca are my friends. It will be fun doing this with them. In fact, I’d love to set up a time for you to meet all of my friends. Maybe we can plan a fun dinner at the restaurant and invite everyone.” She didn’t know how long he planned to stay, but if he was going to be a part of her future for any amount of time, she wanted him to meet the most important people in her life.
He paled slightly before smiling. “Sure, that would be fun.”
Nettie began speaking then, introducing everyone to the group, and explaining what they would be doing. As Holly pulled out the mold they would be using, she glanced over at Dougie and Becca. She liked Becca though she didn’t know her that well, but she could not see them as a couple. Maybe it was just the sheer size difference. Dougie towered over the petite bakery owner. Or maybe it was the age difference; she was sure that Becca was much younger. Then she caught herself. Why did size or age matter? She should be happy for her friends if they found love together, so why did she feel this nagging sensation that it wasn’t right?
“Are you sure we shouldn’t go somewhere else?” Frederick asked, grabbing her attention again.
She shook her head and smiled softly. “No, it’s fine. I’m here and I’m focused.”
He looked over her head at Dougie and then back at her, and his eyebrow lifted slightly. “If you’re sure.”
“I am,” she said, determined to focus on him and the task at hand. “Let’s make some chocolate.”