I wonder what will happen if the fundraiser was a huge success? Will Lena think about opening her own restaurant again? Adam looked at the dairy in a whole new light. There were some things he would have to check into before he said anything, but his mind was suddenly working overtime. Could I convince her to open up here?
Chapter 11
“Order up!” Lena passed two more entrées onto the counter and watched eager cooking students lined up to serve hungry and expectant diners. This was awesome. She grinned at Kyle and her mother. Her son was hurrying to hand her more fingers of barbeque-seared venison to plate onto the blood orange salad Mama started and slid to her along the stainless steel bench top. The rich gamey smell of roasted venison made her mouth water even after already having tried a sample at the beginning of plating up. Kyle cooked it so it was still pink inside, dripping juices onto the plate. Just perfect.
They worked fast and efficiently, keeping up with the servers under the watchful eye of her father and Adam who were tending the bar. Lena let the adrenaline work its magic. Back in the kitchen, albeit a temporary one, she was in her element and she knew it showed. The sad woman who had appeared with a car packed full of possessions was far removed from the one heading the school’s annual fundraiser tonight.
She took another tray of venison from Kyle and blew him a kiss, her hands still moving to place the succulent strips of meat on top of the salad before spooning over a small amount of dressing. “Order up!” Almost done with the entrees.
“Last ones coming now, bella.”
Mama slid along four more plates and stood up with a sigh, wiping her hands on her apron. She turned to her grandson and held up her hand. He raised his and slapped her palm before throwing his arms around her. “We did it, Nona. Way to go.”
Lena watched as the last plates were delivered and glanced at the faces of some of the other diners as they tasted their meal. She knew the flavors worked because she made it for dinner last night and everyone enjoyed it, especially Adam. It had been only fair to let him be one of the first to sample his own meat and seeing the pleasure in his eyes made her doubly glad she’d thought to invite him.
“Take a five minute breather and get a drink of something cold before we start the steaks, Kyle. You too, Mama. We have plenty of time.” And you deserve a few minutes the way you’ve both worked. She beckoned to the servers and told them the same thing. “I don’t want you clearing plates for at least another ten minutes, okay? Take a quick break and I’ll see you back here shortly.” They’d done a brilliant job so far.
With murmured thanks, they gratefully headed to the bar where Adam had cans of soft drink put aside for them. Lena wiped her hands on the tea towel tucked into her overturned apron and then wiped her working surface ready for the next course.
* * *
“You are incredible, you know that?” Adam handed her a bottle of sparkling mineral water and leaned against the counter as she took it gratefully. He had to choose the right time before he said anything, but with what he’d already seen tonight, Lena couldn’t walk away from what she was—a world class chef without her own kitchen. Could he convince her to start all over again? One thing Adam knew, he would give it his best shot.
She rolled the dripping bottle across her forehead before she screwed off the cap and lifted it to her mouth, downing half of it before taking a breath. “Thanks, I really needed that. Sometimes I get so involved I forget to look after myself.”
Now there’s an opening if ever I saw one. “Maybe you need the right person to see that you do in the future then.” He watched the shutters come down on her eyes and kicked himself. Where that had come from, he couldn’t say, but he didn’t regret it. Maybe it was his protective instincts kicking in, or maybe he’d been without a woman in his life for far too long. It’d been four years since Sally had been unceremoniously pushed out of his life by his father to keep Adam from being tarnished by her indiscretion at such a crucial part in his life. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to follow through and see what happened to her, but at the time it seemed easier to leave it alone and concentrate on his own final exams and not delve too deep into the sordid world of fraud that snuck too close to home.
Now he was ready for something more. Hopefully that would be with Lena. First he had to convince her and it didn’t look like it was going to be an easy task. “Sorry, that just slipped out.” But I don’t regret it if it makes you think about me.
“Thanks for the drink. I’d better get started on the main before the diners cause a riot.” She capped the bottle, threw it in the rubbish bin, and headed for the cool room. Adam walked back to the bar and served a customer.
“What happened
