“I’m sorry, Brenna, really I am,” he said, already feeling lighter with the admission. “I’m just … not in any place to keep doing this to either of us.”
“It’s that new girl at work, isn’t it? Natalie?” Brenna asked, giving him a knowing look. “She’s the ex.”
Seth’s eyebrows drew together. “What are you talking about?”
Brenna shrugged. “It’s not hard to figure out. You’ve been acting weirder than usual since she started working there, and you could barely take your eyes off her the other night. I thought you were gonna punch Hunter when she agreed to a date with him.”
“What makes you think she’s my ex-girlfriend?” Seth looked down at his hands on the table as he asked, staring hard at a fresh burn across his right thumb.
“The way you two bicker and then shoot long, sad looks at each other when you think the other isn’t looking,” Brenna said with a snort. “Look, I might not be a great bartender, but I’m not stupid. And if you want to stop ‘hanging out,’ that’s fine with me.”
“It is?”
“What, you thought I was gonna run and cry in my room?” Brenna cocked an eyebrow at him. “Surely you know me better than that.”
Seth couldn’t help but laugh. “Listen, you’re great–”
“Oh no, don’t you dare use that line,” Brenna cut him off. “We’re not ‘breaking up’ because we weren’t together, so no need for some big speech, all right? It was fun while it lasted, blah blah blah. End of discussion.”
“You’re making this so easy, I’m wondering if there’s a catch.”
“No catch. I know my worth, and I deserve better than some fling with a guy who’s in love with someone else.”
“I’m not–”
She smirked, flipping her long, red hair over her shoulder. “I’ll see you at the next neighborhood party, Seth.”
She hopped up from her seat, turning at the last second to address him again. “One word of advice? If you’ve been that crazy for her ever since you two broke up, then tell her how you feel. Pretty sure it’s mutual.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that–” Seth started, but she cut him off.
“We all noticed, believe me. Hunter won’t stand a chance if you actually try and be nice to her.” She softened a bit. “You are a nice guy, Seth. And you deserve happiness as much as I do.”
And with that, she turned on her heel and sashayed away, the doorbell ringing with her departure.
Seth stared after her, knowing that couldn’t have worked out better. Why couldn’t all women be that uncomplicated?
Because there are no feelings involved with Brenna. The little voice in the back of his head was right, of course, much as Seth hated it. Natalie was complicated because his entire heart had been wrapped up in her for months, years, really.
Now Seth had to choose whether to face it all over again.
Natalie didn’t work again until Friday, showing up for dinner shift to prep. She greeted Adam and Aubrey with a smile, glad to be at work for the distraction. Her father’s health had significantly decreased over the last two days, and with no way to help, sitting around to watch it happen had nearly torn her apart.
“Where the heck is Hunter?” Aubrey muttered. She handed Natalie a list. “Can you please grab this stuff from the fridge?”
“Sure thing.”
Natalie headed out back to grab the requested ingredients, making sure to leave the door open. She shivered inside the enormous refrigerator, quickly grabbing what the bar needed. With her arms full of lemons, she backed out of the door. As she turned to go back in, however, the sounds of giggling followed by a crash stopped her. Unable to resist, she tiptoed around the corner, unsure of what to expect to find in the alleyway.
Instead, she found Hunter leaned against the brick wall, his tongue halfway down some blond woman’s throat as she practically climbed up his waist. Her perky ponytail bounced with her movements.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Natalie exclaimed. “Really, right here in the alley where you work?”
At the outburst, Hunter saw her and stopped his lady friend. He pushed her away as she straightened out her shirt. That’s when Natalie noticed the logo on the upper corner of her top. She was a server from a restaurant two blocks over.
“And you can’t even go to her alley for your makeout session?” Natalie’s eyes rolled so far back into her head she was sure she could see her brain. She whirled around and stomped off, arms still full of fruits and vegetables.
“Nat, wait!” Hunter called after her.
Natalie paid him no attention, making her way back into our kitchen. She stomped past the kitchen and service station, back to the bar.
After a glance at her, Aubrey cocked an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m an idiot, that’s all.” Produce fell from Natalie’s arms onto the waist-high fridge. She ignored Adam and Rachel, who’d paused their table setting to watch her with wide eyes.
Hunter reappeared from the hallway, clearly panning the room to search for her. When he found her behind his bar, he paled. He came over, keeping his urgent tone low.
“Nat–”
“Don’t you Nat me,” she interrupted, hating how hurt she felt about the whole thing.
“Natalie, it wasn’t what you think.”
Natalie actually laughed, making no attempt to whisper. “I’m pretty sure it’s exactly what it looked like. Unless she was sucking venom out of your suddenly-snake-bitten mouth, in which case, you have a whole other story to explain.”
Adam guffawed over by the door. Aubrey snorted, quickly pretending to go back to cutting lemons and limes when Hunter shot her a dirty look.
“Oh no, don’t give her that look,” Natalie said, holding up a hand. “She tried to warn me. I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”
She shrugged good-naturedly. “Next time you will.”
“You better believe it,” Natalie muttered. She turned back to Hunter. “Lose my number, will ya?”
“Natalie, please—”
“Nope. I’ve learned my lesson: Listen to Aubrey and don’t date arrogant jerks.”
“Rule number three in my life lessons handbook,” Aubrey said solemnly, laying a hand over her chest.
“Shut up, Aubrey,” Hunter snapped.
“Hey, don’t yell at her for your stupidity,” Natalie shot back. “Although I guess I’m pretty dumb too, falling for your stupid lines about wanting a ‘real shot at love’ and ‘being the person you wish you could be.’”
Hunter leaned in, anguish on his face. “I meant those things, Nat.”
“Sure you did, Stone. That’s why you were getting your rocks off in a back alley, right?” Natalie rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I’m not even mad at you. I’m mad at myself for not trusting my gut.”
“I really am sorry,” Hunter tried again. “I didn’t think–”
“Darn right, you didn’t.” Natalie’s hand went palm up to stop him. “Save it for the next gullible server. We’re done here. I’ve got silverware to polish.”
Her curls bounced around her face as she turned on her heel and stormed off to the service station. She realized that pretty much everyone had heard everything, with the kitchen poised at their stations as they’d watched it all go down. At her movement, everyone scurried back into the places as if they hadn’t been blatantly eavesdropping.
Her cheeks flamed, even more so when she thought about Seth within earshot. He’d surely heard the whole exchange, which didn’t help Natalie’s wounded ego.
“He’s probably laughing it up at his station right now,” she muttered to herself as she grabbed a rag off a wall hook. “Thinking about how he told me so and I was too stubborn to listen.”
Adam swooped into the service station. “That was amazing.”
“Glad to give you a show,” Natalie muttered, and Adam’s face fell.
“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” he said, placing a gentle hand on her upper arm. “I’ve never s
een someone rip into Hunter like that, is all.”
Tears stung Natalie’s eyes. “I feel so stupid.”
“You are not stupid,” Adam said firmly. “Hunter’s a jerk who finds it impossible to think with anything but his lower brain.”
“Thank god I didn’t hook up with him.” Natalie tossed a polished spoon into its container with a harsh clink. “I’ve been so busy with things at home this week that I didn’t return the couple of texts he sent. Guess he thought I wasn’t interested anymore.”
“This is not your fault,” Adam said, sternly pointing an unpolished spoon at her. “Hunter’s a womanizer. I doubt he ever changes his ways and besides, he doesn’t deserve you.”
Natalie offered him a watery smile of appreciation. “Thanks, Adam.”
She sniffled, steeling herself again. She wouldn’t waste tears over Hunter Stone. Just call it a lesson learned and move on.
Hunter tried a few more times to get her attention throughout the night, but Natalie ignored him. She only went near the bar when she had to, and Adam and Rachel even ran her drinks a few times to help out. At least there was one giant takeaway from the situation: Natalie had really nice friends.
Seth would’ve been lying if he said he didn’t poke his head out to overhear Natalie tearing Hunter a new one. Apparently she’d seen the dude getting serviced out back from a waitress at a neighboring restaurant. Seth snickered at Hunter’s stupidity. The other servers clearly eavesdropped from around the corner, and Seth caught Katie watching him.
“What?” he said to her.
She shrugged. “Nothing. Just didn’t take you for the gossiping kind.”
“I’m not,” Seth said, taking a step back into the kitchen. “I was just curious.”
“About Natalie and Hunter,” Katie said with a knowing look. It got under his skin, and he tried to misdirect.
“And the guy didn’t even have the courtesy to go to her restaurant?” He turned and went back to his station, shaking his head.
It’d gone down just like he’d known it would. Guys like Hunter didn’t do serious relationships. And Natalie … well, she had plans.
All the same, the tiny bit of glee unsettled Seth. He didn’t want to be happy about Natalie’s single status. He didn’t want to care. He wasn’t part of her plans, and he had his own to follow through on, so why should he care? And yet he couldn’t stifle that feeling—not revenge or happiness because she was unhappy, but because he might have an opportunity. One he’d promised himself never to want again.
“Hey,” Tom said, nudging him. “Focus up.”
Seth shook his thoughts off. “Yeah, yeah, man, I’m here.”
“What’s up?”
Seth groaned. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Me either, but if it affects your work, I guess I’ll suck it up and play therapist,” Tom replied. “Now, what’s bothering you? Let me guess—it has something to do with LUSH’s newest, beautiful server.” Seth’s silence spoke volumes and he nodded. “Thought so. What’s on your mind?”
“Things didn’t work out between her and Hunter.”
He arched an eyebrow at Seth. “And that pleases you?”
“It shouldn’t.”
Tom went back to his work, not looking at Seth as he laid it all out on the table. “If you’re still in love with her, it should.”
“I am not still—” Seth caught himself, forcing a deep breath to maintain control. “I told you man, she broke up with me and that’s all there is to it.”
“Uh huh. That’s fine. Keep lying to yourself if it makes you feel better.” Tom said nothing else, but Seth felt his disapproval even over the heat of the kitchen.
Dinner shift began, the night flying by as the kitchen focused on orders. Digging his heels in, Seth followed Tom’s lead and kept his eyes on plating, the beautiful dishes coming together like magic beneath their fingers.
Hunter popped into the kitchen to check on a particular order, a vegan concoction for a picky regular. Seth couldn’t help himself when he saw the bartender’s morose expression as he stared at the metal table.
“Oh, hey, Stone. Guess I should’ve taken that bet, huh?” Seth said, cracking a smile at the bartender.
“Shut it, Seth.” Hunter didn’t look at him as he said it, his tone sullen.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you actually feel bad about hurting Natalie’s feelings,” Seth continued.
“I said shut it.”
“Or what, you’ll continue creating drama for the entire restaurant because you can’t think with your actual brain?” The kitchen snickered, sending another rush of satisfaction through Seth.
Hunter glowered, grabbing the order and booking it out of the kitchen without another glance back. Seth couldn’t help but feel smug at Hunter finally getting what he deserved.
Tom gave him a look of wonder. “What has gotten into you, man?”
“Nothing.”
“You better hurry up and ask Natalie out before I throw you out of the kitchen myself,” Tom said. “Out of all the guys in here, I didn’t worry you’d be the one to set it on fire.”
“I’m not–”
“Don’t antagonize front of house,” Tom said firmly, turning back to his grill. “Especially the bartender who brings in customers on reputation alone.”
Seth resisted the urge to scowl at Tommy’s back. His roommate was right, of course, but he hadn’t been able to resist ragging on the guy. Hunter deserved to be knocked down a few pegs, and Seth felt a perverse sense of pleasure that Natalie had been the one to do it.
She’d never been one to take anyone’s crap, not even when they’d dated. One time she’d exploded on a new server who’d harassed her, handling the situation before Seth even had a chance to think about knocking the guy’s lights out. The guy quit before the night ended, knowing Natalie would follow through on reporting his behavior.
After work, Seth and Tommy declined the invite out. As they walked home, Tom gave him a sideways glance.
“So are you skipping tonight because Natalie wasn’t going out with everyone?” he asked.
“No,” Seth said, somewhat defensively. “I’d just prefer to hang at home tonight.”
“Yeah, I guess you should give it a few days before you ask her out, let her get over Hunter or whatever.” Even in the dark, Tommy’s smile was evident in his voice.
“I’m not gonna ask her out,” Seth said automatically. “I told you, I’m not interested.”
“Okay – then I guess you’d be okay with it if I asked her out?”
Seth stopped in his tracks, staring at his best friend’s back. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I don’t know, I mean, Natalie is really cute, and sweet.”
Seth’s hands curled into fists by his sides. “I’m sure you’re messing with me now. Besides, you’re in love with Aubrey.”
“You’re right,” Tommy replied, grinning, “but don’t you think that reaction is a little strong for someone who ‘isn’t interested?’”
Seth groaned, ignoring Tom’s laughter all the way back to the house.
Another week went by. Hunter had given up trying to win back Natalie’s favor, though the others noticed he didn’t immediately bounce back to another woman. Not that Natalie cared. It wasn’t like they’d been serious, and the more she thought about “having some fun,” the less appealing it seemed to her.
What did appeal to her, however, was Seth’s focus and determination. Every time she entered the kitchen, she found him hovering over his station. He and Chef Tom plated beautifully, every dish a small, edible work of art. Seth never so much as looked at her when she came in, which she suspected was on purpose, but all the same, seeing him squinty-eyed with concentration made something within her stir.
This was the Seth she’d known he could be all those years ago; not a different version, really, but someone who wanted more for himself. He’d always loved making food for others, and was a great cook, but he had never seeme
d to want to aim higher. Natalie hadn’t minded at first, but her goals and his lack thereof had always separated them. Their relationship had been mostly fun and laughs; seeing this new side of Seth made her wonder why on earth they weren’t together anymore.
The gang decided to go out after Saturday night’s shift. Natalie joined in, but the night had taken its toll. She paid out her tab, telling Adam and the others goodnight. When his voice called out to her, however, she froze.
“Hey, Natalie.”
She turned to find Seth perched on the table near her. She tried to ignore the way her stupid heart fluttered, or how her stomach flipped at how sexy he looked in dark jeans and a simple black t-shirt. The muscles in his arms shifted as he leaned back on his hands.
He ticked his head to the door. “I’m starving. I thought … well, would you want to get breakfast?”
Natalie’s mouth fell open in surprise and she avoided making eye contact with Adam, whose own mouth had also fallen open at the exchange. “R-really?”
“Yeah, really.” Seth shrugged. “I’m going either way, might as well have the company.”
“What about Brenna?” Natalie prayed she sounded casual.
“Brenna and I … uh, we aren’t seeing each other anymore.” Seth left it at that, as if careful not to reveal too much.
She blinked, trying to sound more casual than hopeful. “Sure, why not?”
She got up from the table and waved goodbye at a grinning Adam.
“Something amazing is happening right now,” Adam said under his breath. Natalie shot him a warning look, which he ignored. Instead, he hopped up and headed straight for Katie and the others, most definitely to tell them the gossip.
Seth held the door open for her as they left, seemingly careful not to touch her. She was glad about that, actually, as she worried if his fingers so much as grazed her soft skin, it was all over for her.
They walked in companionable silence to the spot around the corner from the bar. Natalie caught him shooting a glance her way every few feet and she tried to ignore the butterflies suddenly fluttering in her stomach. Do not do this to yourself again, Nat. Despite everything in her being telling her to remain logical, it was hard to pay attention to the little voice when Seth was right here beside her.
Hot in the Kitchen Page 7
