Her voice reached him. “You didn’t tell me you were coming. You sneaky thing you.” He hugged her tight, then spun her around, the cameras on them the whole time. When he put her down she reached for his date, gave her a quick hug before tucking her arm into Ryan’s for more photos.
“Oh, man, that has to suck.” Ben patted him on the back consolingly.
The pleasure of the evening turned sour as Jake watched her reacting with people she knew in line ahead of him, people that were so foreign to him and his way of life. They were the contacts she was used to, the crowd she ran with and she seemed so relaxed with them. The folk of Cherry Lake, and him in particular, had nothing to offer her compared to this. It would only be a matter of time before she missed it all and what they had wouldn’t be good enough.
The line moved forward and he was pushed closer. Sally and Ben greeted Bella and she played the part of famous chef superbly. Jake introduced them and took photos on Sally’s phone for her but his heart was no longer in the evening. Even when Bella reached for him, it didn’t manage to move the block of ice that had lodged in his chest.
He smiled, played the part for her but he would never be able to compete with the rich and famous. Sooner or later, Bella would tire of him and Cherry Lake. It stood to reason.
“I’m so glad you’re here. This place is crazy.” Bella leaned into him, gave his hand a squeeze. “You certainly look the part.” Her fingers found his and she looked at his stitches. With the dressing gone, it didn’t look anywhere near as bad as it had before.
“So do you. I didn’t realize it was going to be this, well, red carpet and famous actors kind of dinner.”
Bella looked up at him. “Would you have come if you’d known?”
“I don’t know.”
“And I didn’t know all these people would be here either. You can thank Russell for that.” She waved to someone when her name was called out, smiled while photos were snapped of them together. “I’m going to have words with him later but since Mari let him film this for the show, he has total control. We have no say in it whatsoever.” She leaned up and kissed him. “I have to get back to the kitchen. Enjoy your evening and I’ll be with you as soon as the main course is delivered.”
*
Bella pushed her way back into the kitchen and walked into a firestorm. Russell stood in the corner, yelling at one of his assistants and Bella shook her head. She hadn’t missed his bad temper at all. After he calmed the situation, he hurried over to her.
“So, are things going to plan? Is there anyone I need to hurry along?”
“I don’t need your help in the kitchen, honestly, I’m fine. The best you could do for me is tell me what you think of my idea though.”
“Sorry, petal. Not right now. We can talk about that later, once we wrap this last show up.”
She glared at him, knowing it wouldn’t do any good to push. Fine then. “Go out and have a drink with your visitors, enjoy the limelight for a change. And leave me to do what I do best without you hovering over me.”
“If you’re sure. When you’re ready to start service, have someone come and get me. I want to film you plating the last entree. We won’t have time to go over this again, Bella. It’s now or never.” He smiled and hurried away, leaving her alone with the staff.
She clapped her hands to get attention. “Okay, folks. We need to get a move on here. Plating up will start in fifteen minutes. Are you all under control? Is there anything anyone is having issues with? Speak up now.”
“No, Chef.”
The chorus of cries pleased her. She liked her kitchen to run smoothly without a hitch, especially on nights like this when she had a personal stake in the evening. But she couldn’t wait to go and sit with Jake. Something was bothering him, she could see it in his eyes. She hadn’t even asked how his day had been. Maybe it was something as simple as that. A rescue that didn’t go to plan, a fire he couldn’t control fast enough to save a home. So much for him lying on the couch and doing nothing. He was as bad as she was when it came to work. She wondered if he realized that.
Before she knew it, it was time to plate up the entree. “Can someone please go and tell Russell?” One of her assistants scurried away and came back followed by her producer and a cameraman. He clapped his hands for attention.
“Okay, people. We only have one shot at making this great. Places, please.” He turned to the cameraman. “Ready, start shooting and make sure you get plenty of footage and don’t forget what I told you earlier.”
By the time they had served the entree and were working on the mains, sweat trickled down her back and she was in desperate need of rehydrating. It’d been go-go-go and the burn in her body was almost unbearable. She needed to sit down, relax, and forget the stress of the last few days. She pulled off her cap and threw it down. What she craved was a drink and a chair. Her feet hurt and her legs ached after the last four days of hard, relentless work. “Good work, team. Have a drink, grab your meal, and enjoy for an hour. Once dessert is served, the next round of champagne is on me. You deserve it after that effort, especially coming all the way to help me out. I really appreciate your work.”
Bella pushed open the door and walked
