He’s serious, his face strained. “Do you mean it?”
“Yes, Knox. Maybe not as long as you, but for a while. It was hard admitting it to myself, but when I left your room last month, I knew it, although I didn’t want it to be true. I thought maybe you were messing with my emotions.” I shrug, but my voice hitches. “And when you told everyone that you didn’t need to try to beat me, it broke my heart.”
He smiles finally, shaking his head. “You took that so wrong. I didn’t mean that I wasn’t worried about competing with you. I meant that I didn’t want to compete with you anymore. After the first round when I realized what you were in this for, I knew I’d never make it to the end. Then you didn’t advance to the next round, and I didn’t know what to do. I decided to keep going and see what happened.”
“So, you let me win?”
“Ha, no. You haven’t won anything yet. I also knew that as long as I was in it, there’s no way I wouldn’t try my hardest to beat you. That’s why I dropped out.”
“I thought you dropped out because of your father.”
He leans his head back on the couch, taking me with him, placing my head on his shoulder. “That was unfortunate timing. I was dropping out anyway and had told my father to sub in for me, especially since he wanted the restaurant for his own. That was right before I heard his conversation with Dean Ellerson.”
I try to absorb all of this new, surprising information. Knox has always loved me. That seems impossible. “What about the Michelin star at the nursery?”
His diaphragm vibrates against my side, and he finally lets loose a thundering laugh. “Oh my gosh, that was hilarious. The look on your face.”
“Yeah, very loving. And who carries something like that around with them in their pocket anyway?”
He’s still wheezing, trying to calm his laughter. When he finally does, he wipes the moisture from his eyes with the heel of his hand. “We have those everywhere. When I saw you with Weston, I ran back to the car and got one out of the glove compartment.” He chuckles again.
It’s really not that funny. “Your aunt’s right; you are a silly boy.”
“Maybe, but one that you love.” His grin is contagious and when I gaze at him, I can’t imagine that I ever thought I hated him.
How to Get a Girlfriend
1 maybe asshat man
1 paranoid woman
4 years culinary school
6 years quarterly alumni meetings
1 cooking competition
Combine first 3 ingredients and see what happens. If nothing happens, mix in longing looks during alumni meetings. Still nothing? Insert cooking competition and hash it out.
Yield: Knox finally getting his girl
CHAPTER TWENTY
And the prize goes to…
Seated at our family table, I glance over to the Everheart assembly where Weston sits with his face close to a tablet, typing furiously on the built-in keyboard. When I look at Declan, he nods. My eyebrows shoot up because I don’t think he’s ever given me that much acknowledgment before. Flynn is reading a print newspaper, legs crossed, not a care in the world. He thinks he has this zipped up, that I’m not worthy of a second thought.
My phone chimes, and when I read the text from Knox, I grin. “Kick Dad’s ass. Love you.”
I type in a quick heart-kissing emoji and the words I haven’t been able to stop saying since yesterday. “I love you too!”
Wyatt looks over my shoulder and I scowl. “That went from zero to sixty in three point five seconds.”
“Mind your business, brother.”
Hannah giggles and quickly covers her mouth.
“Really, Hannah? You two are both ridiculous.”
She shrugs and leans closer across the table from me. “You have to admit it’s so sudden. You got on me and Wyatt for getting engaged after dating two years. Last month, you said you hated Knox. Now you’re in love.” She taps her chin with a finger. “Although admittedly, it was clear he was harboring some serious feelings for you. But you never even acknowledged that was a possibility.”
“I was in denial. Plus, we had a lot going on that I needed to worry about like holding on to the restaurant and keeping Mama healthy. I’m allowed to miss a couple of cues.”
Wyatt scoots his chair right up to mine and leans in. “Nah, that’s not it. You were afraid. But hey, I’m happy for you now. Knox is a good guy. Did you tell Mama?”
I take in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “Not yet. As you already know, she’s not a huge Everheart fan. Not that I can blame her. Flynn’s a hot mess.” I turn my phone off and put it in my backpack. “Hey, both of you. Let me tell Lillie. Got it?”
They both throw up hands in surrender.
The set is buzzing today. Besides our little groups of three, there are the audience members and a space for over eighty additional people who will serve as customers for our individual restaurants (forty for each). They will come in later this afternoon. There’s also another space for twenty restaurant personnel. Some will be cooks, others will be servers. They’ll be split between the two restaurants so we can provide a full dinner service this evening.
Our restaurants are finished but hidden until the unveiling on camera. My shoulders are tight with excitement and nervousness. I’m confident in my vision but also hope it was executed well. It’s unbelievable to me that Flynn is so relaxed with the appearance of not caring at all. Maybe he doesn’t. If by some miracle (in his mind) he was to lose, he can easily open a second restaurant if that’s what he really wants. Although
