She must have looked like a crazy person. With trembling fingers, she managed to tie her hair and say, “Good morning, Mr. Ranford,” hoping her bun looked half-decent. She noticed he wasn’t wearing an apron, so she went to the storage room and picked two, putting hers on.
Dominic flipped the notebook closed and took the apron from her hand with a grunt. He came to stand in front of the ovens as he tied it behind his back.
“Watch.”
Allie stood one step behind him, paying close attention to the buttons and knobs her boss pressed and turned. The ovens that resembled the one from the manor only had two extra buttons that needed to be pressed before turning the final knob, and Allie also took note of the temperature that Dominic had set on them both.
The tall, vertical ovens with eight to ten trays in them were the real challenge. She asked Dominic if she could take a piece of paper from his notebook to write the details down, to which he huffed and nodded once. While she took notes, Dominic turnedon the first oven, then had her start the second one to make sure she wrote everything down correctly.
Allie hadn’t been this nervous since showing up at the Silverbarks’ door, demanding they take her in. She went through each step on the paper carefully, and when she was done, she looked to her boss for confirmation. Her heart was in her throat, beats pulsating in her ears, and she squeezed the piece of paper to her chest like it was her most precious possession.
“Good” was all Dominic said. It was more than enough, and Allie released a long breath, pushing her heart back down to its place.
They moved to the coffee machine in the front, which was less complicated than the ovens. Compared to the one she had used in Green Creek, this machine was larger and had multiple options, including one to foam the milk. But Dominic gave her a list of coffee orders they served and the measurements of coffee and milk in each one of them, which made things easier for her. She watched as he made a large cappuccino that filled the air with her favorite smell of ground coffee beans. Getting her hands on the machine was now a personal mission, as she was desperate for coffee this morning.
“Want this?” her boss asked, handing her the cup of coffee.
“Me?” she blurted out, then bit her lip.
Of course, you, who else is here?
Allie chuckled awkwardly and took the cup with both hands. “Thank you.” The coffee was a bit sweet for her taste because of the foamed milk, but it was still delicious. “Can I try to make one?”
Dominic jerked his head at the machine, arms crossed, watching her. A man of very few words, indeed. She put down the cup and picked an empty one, looking over the list for the measurements. Allie clicked on the coffee options and placed the cup in its designated slot. While the fresh coffee dripped, shepicked up the milk carton and poured some into the special steel recipient used for foaming.
Allie tried to imitate the motion Dominic made and circle the steel cup.
“Like this?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the task.
“Smaller circles.” She heard footsteps before Dominic’s shadow crowded her from behind. He stretched his arm along hers but pulled it back immediately. “A bit smaller.”
She followed his instructions and finished foaming the milk, then poured it over the coffee and offered the cup to her boss, who tasted it and nodded with a grunt. Allie took it as approval and smiled widely.
“Thank you for taking the time to teach me, Mr. Ranford.” It might have sounded more backhanded than she wanted, but if Dominic got that hint, he didn’t say anything. “I’m going to start cleaning the kitchen.” She took her cappuccino and went around her boss, who looked like he’d grown roots in that spot.
Allie followed the routine she’d established yesterday, thoroughly cleaning the kitchen while Dominic scribbled over and crossed things out in the notebook. When she was done, Dominic stopped her in the hallway to the bakery and said, “Help me in here first.”
She remembered where half of the things were from yesterday, and for the other half, her boss had pointed to the right place. He didn’t seem annoyed that she didn’t remember all of them. Progress.
“I need a batch measuring cup full of cold milk. Don’t spill it,” he warned her.
Allie opened the fridge, got the milk out, and filled one of the biggest cups—which she had learned yesterday morning was a batch measuring cup—almost to the brim. She took the cup with both hands and turned to set it on the table. Some bubbles clungto the cup’s edges as Dominic reached for it and hissed, jerking his hand back.
“This is boiling hot!” he yelled. Dominic’s eyes grew impossibly wide, the green turning to a threatening shade as he stared into her soul.
Allie froze.
Her breaths came in labored as she looked between her palms and the cup, shaking her head. She took a step back, clasping her hands behind her back.
Dominic’s scrutinizing glare turned into realization, the angry frown smoothing into utter shock.
“Is that… Is that your power?”
Chapter 9
PROMISE ME
“Alecsandra.” The name was charged with meaning, but his still expression was like the eerie calm before a storm that ravaged lands and blew off roofs. Allie felt her knees go weak. She kept her hands hidden behind her back as if she could make them disappear, the skin damp and cold even after the spontaneous heating she had channeled.
