Lena once again stopped me mid-sentence. “I can smell the liquor from here, Mr. Wendt. A little hair of the dog won’t hurt. Frankly, you look—”
“Like shit,” her husband finishedfor her.
I choked on a laugh. “I’m sorry,” I murmured.
“Don’t be,” Leon said amiably, waving his hand. “You’ve been going through a lot, which is, I’m assuming, what prompted this meeting.”
“I need a change of scenery, and I can’t think of anywhere better to start over than Michigan.”
Leon cleared his throat. “We’re not a last resort, Ezra.”
“No, no,” I said placatingly, holding up my hands. “I know that. I just…” I trailed off, searching for the best way to say it without completely losing my shit. “I want Hansen to grow up happy and away from all this.” I twirled a finger in the air to encompass the city and our lives inside it, which had taken a steep dive into the gutter in recent months. “You’re parents,” I implored. “You have to understand that.”
The couple shared a look, Leon placing his broad palm atop Lena’s slender one on the table. Surely, they were thinking of their five daughters.
“We do,” Lena said, meeting my gaze. “And we don’t begrudge you wanting to protect Hansen. Life on the peninsula is a lot slower, though. Quiet. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
“Yes,” I answered vehemently. “Slow and quiet is exactly what we need.”
“Well,” Leon said slowly, “as it turns out, our current chef is ready to move onto…greener pastures.” He practically spat the last two words, and I sensed some bad blood there.
“I don’t want greener pastures. I’ve had a charmed life, as far as my career goes, and look where it landed me. What I want is Chateau Delatou.”
The Delatous shared a look again before Leon looked at mewith a broad smile. “Then welcome to the family.”
The lead weight on my shoulders lifted a fraction, and I returned his grin.
“There’s just one more thing,” Leon added, his expression quickly sobering.
There it was: the other shoe. I should’ve known it wouldn’t be so simple.
“Yes?”
“Stay away from my daughters.” I let out a surprised snort, but he plowed ahead. “You’re young, you’re…attractive, and so are they. But they aren’t available to you. Understood?”
I chuckled, the tension in my body easing. “Trust me, sir—that willnotbe a problem.”
After my marriage—a relationship in name only, our lives bound by a goddamn piece of paper and, of course, our son—and subsequent messy-as-fuck divorce, the last thing I wanted or needed was a new woman in my life, least of all one of my new bosses’ daughters. No, from now on, all my focus was on Hansen and pulling us out of this blackhole we’d found ourselves in.
“I’ve heard that before,” he grumbled, but his serious expression quickly morphed into a grin as he shook my hand over the table.
“You’ll just love Apple Blossom Bay,” Lena gushed, ignoring her husband’s thinly veiled threats. “It’s the most picturesque little town, and there are a lot of kids Hansen’s age who go to school in Traverse City. There’s a carpool system since the buses don’t run up there. I can put you in touch with the organizers.”
My shoulders lowered further. It had been a long time since I’dhad anyone mother me, and in that moment, I was more thankful for Lena Delatou than I could ever say. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my dad, but he didn’t exactly have a woman’s touch. The man was gruffer than I was, which was saying something, considering my staff had routinely called me “Chef Cranky” behind my back.
I never called them on it because…they weren’t wrong.
A loveless marriage and growing up without a mother would do that to a guy.
Leon shifted around and withdrew a sheaf of papers from the inside of his sport coat. “And I’ve taken the liberty of printing some real estate listings for you. Are you interested in renting or buying?”
“Buying,” I answered quickly. “Something with a yard and three bedrooms.”
“And a large kitchen, of course,” Lena said knowingly.
“Well, that’s a given,” I told her with a grin.
Hell, it felt good to smile. Until that moment, I hadn’t been sure I remembered how.
