I’m stunned. No one goes into cooking if you care about the hours. In school, we trained ourselves to survive on an average of four hours sleep. It’s brutal unless you absolutely love everything about it. “Then why?”
“I’m good at it. I could run my own restaurant and it wouldn’t be as taxing. We’d make fresh pasta and baked goods and seasonal salads. It would be fine. And relaxing. It wouldn’t have a Michelin star and I’d be absolutely fine with that. Do you see what I mean? I have to get out from under my father’s thumb or I’ll wither away.”
I lift my drink then put it down. I’m unsure what to do with this much honesty laid bare before me. Especially coming from a surprising source. This is not our relationship, and being in uncharted territory is confusing me too much.
“We better get going. I need to take a long bath and be ready to go over early tomorrow morning to see the newbies.”
He stares as me for a long moment, then nods. “Sure, you’re right.”
He closes the tab and we walk over to the elevators together. This time the ride is slow and I’m left to my thoughts. Knox steals glances every so often but stays on his side. His lids are low, and I’m just hoping he doesn’t regret everything he said when he wakes up in the morning completely sober.
When the doors open, I remember something. “Hey, do you still have my knives?”
“Sure. They’re in my room. Do you want them now?”
“If you don’t mind.”
I follow him down the hallway, away from my own room. We turn two corners before getting there and on the way, I do more thinking. I can’t help but wonder about his relationship with his dad. How that affected his getting into school. Did he even know how his dad got him in so easily? Probably not because Knox deserved to be there. That thought practically stops me in my path. Knox didn’t need his dad to bribe his way into culinary school.
When we get to his door, I wait outside while he goes in to get my case. My head is spinning from this new revelation. When he comes back into the hallway where I’m standing, I take the knives from him and hold the case close to my chest.
I look up at him and step closer, breathing him in. While inside, he must have stuck a mint in his mouth because I inhale and take the slightly eucalyptus scent deep into my lungs. I stare at his lips, and he’s perfectly still, watching me. Knox inches toward me, slowly bending his head, his gaze intently focused on mine. My breath catches, and my thoughts whirl so fast I can’t keep up.
I close my eyes to gather my thoughts because watching Knox’s mouth get closer to mine messes with my head.
The door across from Knox’s room clicks open, and an older woman steps into the hallway. I pop my eyes open and step back, wiping the imaginary kiss from my mouth.
The woman must evaluate the situation quickly since she bites back a smirk, shaking her head as she retreats into her room, then closes the door.
I blink. I almost shared a kiss…with fucking Knox Everheart.
I turn and sprint down the hall. He calls after me once, but I keep running as fast as I can. He doesn’t follow. I’m grateful for that… I think.
Salmon Croquettes
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery, minced
1/4 cup bell pepper, minced
2 pounds cooked salmon, deboned, skinned, and cooled
1 cup dried bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream
Enough flour for dusting
Enough oil for frying (we use safflower)
In a cast iron skillet, sauté onions, celery, and bell pepper on medium high heat. Allow to cool. In a bowl, combine salmon, vegetable mixture, dried bread crumbs, and salt and pepper. Stir in heavy cream until combined. Add bread crumbs or heavy cream as needed depending if mixture is too wet or too dry.
Form patties and dust with flour.
Heat oil on medium high heat and cook patties in batches about 8 to 9 minutes on each side, until browned. Change oil if needed.
Yield: 6 to 8 patties
CHAPTER SEVEN
A beautiful distraction.
Soaking in the tub is the best remedy for what just happened. The clear liquid is as hot as I can stand with the jets pounding water onto my sore muscles and steam clearing my foggy head. I need to think. Because so far tonight I’ve been gliding along on emotions and feelings. Almost kissing him was shocking enough, but the electric jolt flying through my body was numbing.
I can’t afford to be numb right now.
The tile walls cry condensation, and I sink lower into the rushing water, thinking about what’s best for my family. What’s best for me.
I had to spend my whole summer after high school in Napa vying for a spot in culinary school because Knox sailed in on his father’s money. Knox has never shown any interest in me other than hate. Than competition and winning.
Then there’s the matter of what I overheard years ago at school. I think back to right after the yeast incident. I’d snuck down the hall to listen at Knox’s door, to hear the fallout from my excellently laid prank.
Instead of Knox’s fury coming through the door, it was Blake. His roommate’s normally quiet voice was booming, shouting at Knox. “This is already out of hand. You need to report her and get her kicked out of school.”
Knox is reserved. Not at all what I expected. “It’s not that simple.”
“It’s pretty damn simple to me. She destroyed school property. It’s in the handbook. Expel her ass.”
I gulped and pressed my ear closer to the door. Blake’s part was plenty loud enough for me to hear without the extra effort, but I needed to hear what Knox had to say.
“My dad has history with her mother. They grew
