by Zoey Thames
He seemed to understand her hesitation. He gave her a fatherly smile and motioned her over again. So she went because this was Jim, and he’d given her this job and he’d been a good boss.
He stood for her as she reached the table and then sat back down after she’d taken her seat. The look he gave her was warm but concerned. “You look like you just had your dog stolen by aliens.”
“Yeah, Jim, that’s kinda how I feel right now. It’s all so surreal.”
He nodded. “I called you over here because I didn’t want you to worry about things.” He looked her straight in the eye. “We’ve known each other a few years now, worked a lot of dinner rushes together. I guess I’m asking, do you trust me, Josie?”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yes.”
“Good. Thank you. Now trust me when I tell you I grilled those two city boys left right and sideways making sure they were going to take care of the Highland and all the people working here.” He leaned toward her. “I believe them.”
“That’s good, because we’ll be lucky if they don’t burn the place down tonight.”
He chuckled, although she had no idea why he thought having the restaurant turn into a pile of burning rubble amusing. “They aren’t cooks, that’s for sure. I think it’s damn crazy that they’re back there in those fancy suits, making a mess of things. But they seem to be having fun. And both of them seemed very big on surprising you.”
Surprising her? Giving her a heart attack was more like it. “Tell me you at least got enough to buy that boat you’re always talking about.”
His smile shone like the sun. “I have enough for the boat of my dreams, made the down-payment today. Not that I need much, being on my own, but they were generous. Too generous, maybe, but I’m not complaining. Now I can move out west and be closer to my daughter and granddaughter.”
“That’s great,” she said, truly meaning it. He’d always been gruff and closemouthed, but she knew he missed his family and felt chained to the restaurant, not able to retire and enjoy his later years. Of course that didn’t help her any with the billionaire chef disaster happening in the kitchen even as they spoke.
“Enough about me,” Jim said. “Tell me what’s going through your mind, Josie. Because if you’re worried about your future, believe me, you shouldn’t be.”
They way he said it made her wonder if he knew something she didn’t. “What’s going through my mind?” She took a deep breath, considering how to begin without telling too much or revealing how confused and mixed up her feelings were at the moment. “First off, I’m happy for you. You were good enough to take me on when I had no experience, and I’ll always be grateful. But this came out of nowhere and blindsided me. Right now I’m terrified I’ll have to rush out and find another job. Because it’s clear they don’t know the first thing about restaurants. I don’t have time to help baby them through it, and I don’t have the heart to watch this place go down in flames. Literally or figuratively.”
He took another sip of his beer and nodded. “Guess it’s good they’re paying me to stay on as cook four days a week then. As a transition until they work out a few of the other details.”
“Other details” sounded ominous. “But…why are they back there in the kitchen doing the work themselves and ruining our reputation for edible food? My God, they are cooking while wearing suits!”
Jim shook his head as though the choices of rich folk were a mystery to him as well. “They said they wanted to give it a try in the trenches, wanted me to have a night off. Actually, I think they wanted to impress you and ended up over their heads. I guess that’s human enough.”
“They said they wanted to impress me?”
“Those two aren’t in this because there’s billions to be made in a local diner out in the sticks. This is for you, plain and simple. Those two are sweet on you, it’s clear enough. Now, I’m a bit of a bear when it comes to my people. I won’t deny it. If it makes me a bit old-school chauvinist to be looking out for the ladies who work for me, I’ll accept that. So I grilled ’em hard, and they were forthright with what they intended. Believe me, I wouldn’t sell this place to just anyone. I don’t want to give away the big news they’re looking to share with you…but I will promise you will not regret hearing them out. They have their heart in the right place. They’re good guys. You know me. I don’t give out praise easy. And now that I’m old, I’ve come to accept that my beliefs and choice of lifestyles aren’t the same as everyone’s, but I also believe that love is too precious a thing to waste. So if you find it…if you have a chance at real, lasting love, you take it. No matter what form it comes in. You ignore what other people think, and you do what’s best for you.” He leaned back, folded his arms across his chest, and smiled at her. “Besides, I think you’ll find that even folks around here are more accepting of things than they’re given credit for.”
Josie rubbed her hand over her eyes because they were aching. Her throat was aching too—that “trying not to cry” ache she hated. If they’d done this for her… She didn’t know what to say. She was staggered and thrilled. She was also grateful and worried and undeserving. All of those at once. But she did owe them a chance to talk straight with her. Things hadn’t ended on a positive note when they’d last seen each other, but they hadn’t done a quick fade over the horizon after having gotten into her pants. The typical “Thank you, ma’am” and bounce she’d expected after finding out they hadn’t been up front with her about who they really were.
Then again, those two men were clearly worth so much more than simply the amount of money they had in the bank. So maybe she should climb down off her outrage tower and give them a chance to speak their minds. Let herself be open to it.
“All right, Jim,” she said, getting to her feet. He stood again to see her off. “Thank you for looking out for me. For all of us. I guess I need to hear them out, like you said. No time like the present.”
“I’ll be right here if you need me,” he replied. “Enjoying my beer, watching the excitement, and thinking about my boat.”
She laughed and made her way back to the counter. Christie was on her way past with the coffee carafe to refresh a few patrons’ cups.
“Saw you talking to Jim,” she said. “You feel a little better about things?”
“I only agreed to hear this crazy scheme out. I reserve the right to jump out of the burning airplane at any time.” Only she hoped there would be some kind of parachute available if she did.
“Your horoscope—”
“Christie, I love you, but if you keep on about my horoscope and my great future, I might just strangle you with my apron strings.”
Christie laughed and continued her way down the aisle to give out coffee refills.
Jose squared her shoulders and stepped through the swinging door leading back to the kitchen area. The first thing she noticed was Dan on his cell phone, pacing around the prep area. Then she turned to look at Lucas, who was tossing all the charred meat remains into the trash. The instant he saw her, the big man with the dark, intense eyes broke out in a smile that had her heart doing a happy little zigzag in her chest and her stomach feeling all fluttery. He looked like a man whose favorite person in the world had just walked through the door. And she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that made her feel good.
“Josie,” he said, his deep voice sending a thrill through her with how possessively he said her name. “It’s good to see you.”
She couldn’t let him know her true feelings. She couldn’t show how confused, upset, and excited she was right now. So she raised an eyebrow, pointed at the burned-beyond-belief meat, and said completely deadpan, “I’m pretty sure if you call that cooking, you’re doing it wrong.”
His grin widened. “A smart man accepts when he’s beaten. Give me a minute. I have to go make an announcement. I’ll be right back.”
She frowned but nodded, wondering what he meant. He touched her arm as he passed her, a gesture both tender and pos
sessive. She glanced at Dan, saw he was still wrapped up in his phone conversation, and followed Lucas out into the dining area.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Lucas said, raising his hands for attention. The chatter in the restaurant died down to silence. Dozens of local faces she knew from years of serving all turned his way. They were curious, amused, and a little reserved, but not hostile. She understood. It wasn’t every day they got a show like this—two city boys making fools of themselves in a kitchen.
“First, thank you for your patience,” Lucas continued. “I know most of you have been waiting a long time for your food, and for that, I apologize. I blame everything on the man behind the grill, me, who bit off quite a bit more than he could chew.”
Chuckles all around. That was good. At least they weren’t throwing saltshakers.
Yet.
“Now being as I’ve just had to throw away everything in the kitchen on account of extinguishing a small, utterly inconsequential fire, I wanted to come out and let you know the state of things.” He held up his hands as there were concerned murmurs, groans, and grumblings from around the dining room. “Just wait, please. My partner is busy ordering us a hundred or so pizzas to be delivered, along with chicken and potatoes and a bunch of other sides. So we’ll be doing tonight potluck style, and it’s all on the house. Soft drinks and coffee are on the house too, but you have to pay for beer and wine. That’s the law, if I understand it.” He grinned at both the cheers and the good-natured grousing about the beer not being free. “Now I think it’s clear I have no business in the kitchen, so that’s why I’d like to turn tonight into a celebration. As most of you may know, we’ve just bought the Highland Grill, so this can be a retirement party for Jim.”
Loud cheers and applause interrupted him. Jim raised his beer bottle in a salute and smiled.
“And,” Lucas went on. “A celebration for the new owner of the Highland Grill. By that I mean Josie Smith.”
More loud cheers and shouts of congratulations met her ears, but she could only stare at Lucas, openmouthed. He truly was crazy. Honestly certifiable.
“I haven’t worked out all the details with her yet, but I think it’s clear the Highland will do much better in her capable hands. We’re all familiar with her wonderful additions to the menu, and I hope she sees your support as encouragement for taking over business operations and continuing to provide Junction Falls with some of the best food in the state!”
More cheers.
Lucas walked to her and took her arm, leaned over and murmured in her ear, “Don’t say no yet. Promise to hear us out.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again without speaking a word. She didn’t know what to think. The entire night had taken on the aspect of a strange dream.
He led her back into the kitchen area. Dan was just putting his cell phone back in his suit trouser pocket.
“All taken care of,” Dan said. “Food for eighty people is on the way. Thank God for rush delivery.” He looked Josie in the eyes. She couldn’t deny the simple love and affection shining in his blue eyes. It both thrilled and terrified. It made her simultaneously want to throw herself into his arms and go running out the door. “Josie,” he said. “It means so much to see you again.”
“If you don’t remember, I work here,” she quipped automatically, happy her voice wasn’t shaking. “Or I did until the world went crazy and you two bought this place. Why?”
“To be close to you,” Lucas said simply.
Dan nodded, rubbing at his neck. “We needed to do something to show you how much you mean to us. Lucas had this idea. I admit I had my reservations. But he talked me into it. We were wrong not to be upfront with you from the get-go.”
Lucas stepped to her side and gently took her hand. “I hope you can forgive us for that. And I hope you can forgive us for this surprise we sprang on you. You know we aren’t poets, but we want you to believe we’ll do anything for you, Josie. We want you to know how completely you’ve stolen our hearts.”
Tears blurred her vision. Her throat seemed to clamp tight with emotion. “But why do you care so much? I’m just a waitress. I’m nobody. I have big thighs, and I’m always losing my debit card. Don’t you want supermodels and actresses?”
“That’s exactly what we don’t want,” Lucas replied. “We don’t need shallow people in our lives. We want you. No one else. You’re beyond beautiful to us.”
But she was shaking her head, determined not to believe something this good could be happening to her. “So you’re trying to buy your way into my affections? How is that fair to me? What kind of girl do you think I am?”
“Kind. Hardworking. Smart,” Lucas said.
“Beautiful. Good-hearted. Honest,” Dan added.
She folded her arms across her chest and waited, not wanting to reply because she feared her words would turn into sobs and hiccups. Right now it was all she could do to keep her emotions off her face. She suspected she wasn’t even doing a very good job of that.
“And sometimes life isn’t about what’s fair,” Lucas said softly. “Sometimes it’s all about luck.”
Dan smiled at her. “Luck like the night we were on a road trip and stopped here to eat. You served us. The food was good, the beer was cold, but it was always you who kept us coming back. Your charm and wit, your kindness. How your eyes lit up when we made you laugh—that got to me right away. I wanted to make you laugh almost as much as I wanted to kiss you.”
“We knew we had to have you in our lives, Josie,” Lucas added. “It would be easy for me to say I’d buy anything on this planet for you, but I know we can’t win your heart that way. But even if you tell us to get lost, I meant what I said. Jim was looking to retire, to enter the next phase of his life and be closer to his family. There was an opportunity. It was luck. For us. Because we want to sell this place to you.”
“I don’t have any money to buy a—”
He held up a hand, silencing her. “That doesn’t matter. You can pay whatever you can afford. Whatever makes you feel you earned it. Flat fee or installment, I don’t care. But think about it. This place will be yours and yours alone. This is your chance to make all your dreams happen.”
“But wait, there’s more,” Dan chimed in with his charming grin. “We have plans to open a chain across the state. If you’re game, you wouldn’t only be running this place. You’ll be running the entire venture.”
“I don’t…” She glanced back and forth between them, swallowing hard. “I don’t know how.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Lucas said, watching her intently. “We’ll get you trained up. Classes. A degree. All the training you could ever want. Whatever you need. Have faith in yourself. We have faith in you. But I want whatever makes you happy. If you simply want to own the Highland, to make it the best it can be, we’ll support you one hundred percent. No matter what.”
“But…why? Why do you have so much faith in me? I’m just some waitress you happen to know.”
“Enough,” Lucas snapped, startling her with the vehemence in his tone. “That’s not true, and you damn well know it, Josie Smith. We’ve been here week after week, month after month, getting to know you, sharing with you, laughing with you. We experienced something very special last night. And no matter what happens going forward, that night will always stay in my memory as one of the best of my life. But I want to have more nights like that. Thousands of nights like that, for the rest of our lives together.”
“Because we love you, Josie Smith,” Dan said simply, taking her hand, bringing it to his lips and planting a gentle kiss there as Lucas nodded his agreement. “That’s what this is all about. We may not show it perfectly, but we’re doing our best to prove it to you. This love, all I ask is that you give it a chance.” He looked deep into her eyes. “Will you give it a chance?”
She took a deep, shuddering breath. Her emotions were whipping around like a tornado inside her. Her heart felt like it might burst with happiness, but she was also fighting ba
ck tears. Happy tears. But she didn’t want to start blubbering in front of them, even though those tears had welled in her eyes and started down her cheeks.
Lucas drew her close, wiped the tears away. He leaned down and softly, tenderly kissed her lips. She gave herself to the kiss, closing her eyes and losing herself in the simple love he conveyed to her. Then Dan was there beside them, touching her cheek, turning her face toward him so he could claim her lips as well. His kiss was more forceful than Lucas’s, filled with promises of passion and hot with desire. But still, the love was there. She couldn’t miss it.
And how did she feel? In all this madness, with everything in her life that had changed in whirlwind fashion, how did she feel? Joyful. Terrified. Filled with love. Excited for the first time in a long while about her future. Her future with Dan and Lucas.
Dan who was so charming, who had that charismatic smile that sent a thrill through her, whose blue eyes made her feel beautiful and special whenever he looked at her. How shy he was about those scars—and she was determined to work on him with that until he never felt self-conscious about them again. He was gentler than Lucas, funny and warm and kind, but still strong and protective. And the way his cock had felt inside her, as if he were a part of her, as if they were meant to be joined forever.
Lucas who was so strong, both in character and body, all alpha, fierce and earnest, how easily he commanded pleasure from her body. His tongue leaving her shuddering and helpless with pleasure. His deep voice, which stirred her with only the sound his words. He was also kindhearted, not full of himself in the least, even though he looked like a demigod. He had a sense of humor about him that tempered all the power and force of his personality.
Everything had changed Friday night under the stars, introducing her to a world she never would’ve conceived of before. A world where two men loved her and loved each other.
