“Actually, he did leave. Kade’s helping out for a day or two while I find someone new, but he’s heading back to LA soon.”
My father narrowed his eyes at Kade. “You just got engaged, and you’re going to abandon my daughter?”
“I have a contract for two more seasons of Kade Cooks. I couldn’t get out of it, even if I wanted to.”
Dad used his fork to poke his arm again. “Don’t go gallivanting off to Hollywood and forget your responsibilities. I may be in a chair now, but I could still batter your balls and feed them to you.”
I closed my eyes and groaned. “Dad! How many times do I have to tell you Kade and I aren’t engaged?”
He reached over to pat my hand. “Tell you what, love. You go to LA with Kade, and I’ll run the café.”
Reg drained the last of his sparkling wine and let out a burp. “That’s right!” He raised his voice to include everyone at the table. “We could all help Mack run this place, couldn’t we?”
The group of residents gave a ragged cheer. At least, a few of them did. Some were too busy getting drunk to pay attention.
“Dad, you need to take it easy—”
“Take it easy?” Dad snorted. “I’d get the café humming in no time. What’s Mack’s Place without Mack?”
I looked desperately at Kade, desperate for help to stop this madness in its tracks before Dad really did try to assume his old role in the café. He’d clearly forgotten the nasty burns he’d suffered last time he’d insisted on using the unwieldy commercial stove from his wheelchair.
Kade caught my eye and an entire silent conversation passed between us. Giving a small nod, he leaned forward.
“Hey Mack, do you remember the day the Lakers team came in for lunch?”
“Hoo yeah.” Dad slapped his knee. “Remember that really big guy? Have you ever seen anyone eat so much?” He turned to Reg. “Hey buddy, you ever see a man eat six eggs and ten rashers of bacon in one sitting?”
“Mopped up with six slices of bread,” added Kade.
“And two chocolate shakes.” Dad shook his head. “I can’t even finish one of those things.”
“Well, the guy was at least seven foot tall.” Kade cocked his head. “How tall are you now, Mack? Four foot?”
Both Dad and Reg hooted with laughter.
“Four foot tall,” spluttered Reg, punching Dad’s shoulder. “He’s got you there.”
“And Mack, you remember when that group of fancy women came in and ate so much food we thought they must have worms?”
Dad slapped his knee again. “Turns out they had tiny little dogs in their high-class handbags. They were feeding the food to the pooches.” He was laughing so hard his face had turned red. “One dog pooped in a thousand-dollar bag. I can still hear the woman’s screams.”
Kade winked at me, and I let out a relieved breath. Now Dad was distracted, he’d hopefully forgotten any crazy ideas.
“Anyway,” Kade rose. “I hope you guys are still hungry? I’ve made you something special for desert.”
I followed him into the kitchen to help him bring the cakes out. And after we served everyone, Kade sat back down next to Dad so they could reminisce about old times. I noticed his eyes stayed alert though, wandering around the group, checking that none of the others needed anything and ready to jump up and help if they did.
Had he always been this thoughtful?
One thing for sure, in the years we’d been parted, I’d never met any guy even remotely like him.
Had I been a fool for letting him go?
Chapter Nine
Natalie
After Dad and his friends left, I opened the café to the public. Customers streamed in, and we were busier than we’d ever been. By the time we shut the doors again, we’d run out of food.
I was exhausted, carrying the last of the plates into the café's kitchen, when I heard the clatter of pans filling the sink. Kade the celebrity chef, who was probably paid a fortune for his TV show, was washing the dishes.
Stopping in the doorway, plates still in my hands, I gazed at his back.
There was no way he washed dishes on his show, or at the expensive restaurants he’d worked at before becoming a star. Even here, working with Dad, he hadn’t scrubbed many pots. That had been my after-school job, and even after I moved away to study journalism, I helped out whenever I was home.
Kade was whistling as he worked, cleaning the last of the pots he’d used as though the job wasn’t beneath him and he were happy to do it.
He was doing it for me.
But why?
He’d done me favor after favor, and didn’t even want to have sex with me.
Unfortunately.
As I directed my feet to keep moving, Kade turned with his hands in the soapy water to shoot me a smile that made my insides flutter.
“You don’t need to wash up,” I said. Soap bubbles clung to his muscled forearms, making me think of bubble baths and nudity.
He gave a good natured shrug. “I don’t mind.”
As I set the plates on the counter next to him, I fumbled them so they almost tipped into the sink. Grabbing them before they could fall, I managed to splatter food over myself. I let out an awkward, apologetic laugh while I attempted to wipe it off. “Oops. Sorry.”
I had to stop thinking about sex. It was making me crazy.
“You okay?” His brow furrowed while his gaze lingered over my face.
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” I could feel my cheeks getting warm.
When we’d started dating, Kade was a year younger than me, but he’d been several orders of magnitude cooler. I’d been self-conscious and clumsy in his presence. Even back then, he’d had a reputation as a heartbreaker. And when he asked me out on a date, I couldn’t believe he
