“What if they don’t?” He raised his chin. “What if they take one look at those nuggets and hand the plate back to you? Will you be disappointed?” It wasn’t possible, but it felt like the man grew another six inches as he stared down at me. “Let me tell you something, Alivia. Not all effort is appreciated in this business. There are some people who will hug you and invite you for Thanksgiving dinner. There are some who would rather throw a plate in your face. You need to prepare yourselffor facing one or the other or someone whose indifference would be equally upsetting to you.”
“Of course.” I pulled my hands out of my apron and surrounded the plate. “I can handle it.”
“Then go make chicken nuggets. But do not let that plate leave this kitchen without me seeing it first.”
“Yes, Chef.”
I rushed toward the side of the kitchen, where one of the line cooks was stationed, his area handling the overflow. He helped me locate the ingredients I needed to form the nuggets. After I did that, I quickly dropped them into the fryer. I’d never used one before, and I had no idea how long the process should take, but given that the meat was already cooked, I didn’t think it needed more than a minute. When I pulled them out, the outer coating was a warm, golden brown. I added some fresh fries to the plate, and I stole a few violets from the salad station, arranging them in a heart. I topped it off with a metal ramekin filled with ketchup.
The front of the prep station was busy, the runners picking up several tables’ worth of food, so I made my way behind, slipping in directly next to Walker.
Purely by accident, when I set the plate down for his approval, our arms grazed, and his stare immediately turned to me. A stare that, I swore, turned hungry before it became feral.
“What are you doing back here?”
“I want you to check the nuggets before I take them to the table.”
He parted his mouth, his gaze staying on mine as his tongue licked his bottom lip. And when it slithered back in, he huffed out some air before he glanced at the food. “You’re happy with what you’ve created here, Alivia?”
Keith took a peek and gave me a smile.
That was more than enough encouragement for me to reply, “Yes.”
Walker nodded toward the dining room. “Go.”
I hurried through the kitchen and into the dining room. The table was in the far corner, which took me even longer to get to, and since the little girl was coloring in front of her, I set the plate between her and her mom.
“I talked to the chef and explained the situation,” I said to the mom, who was wiping her mouth with a napkin. “I know these aren’t the nuggets she’s probably used to, but he wanted to see if he could make something she would love.”
I wasn’t dressed in chef’s whites. I was only a food runner and water girl. And even though the idea had been mine, this was Walker’s kitchen, and he deserved the credit.
The mom dived her fingers through her daughter’s hair and said, “Baby, did you see what the pretty server brought you? A whole plate of nuggets and fries, and look at those beautiful purple flowers. They’re shaped in a heart!” She picked up one of the flowers and put it behind her daughter’s ear.
The little girl, with a giant smile, instantly took a nugget, dipped it in ketchup, and took a bite. “Mmm.”
“Is that good?” I asked her.
“Yummy!”
“I’m so happy to hear that,” I told the little girl.
The mom’s hand went to my arm. “Please thank the chef for me. This is above and beyond. I don’t even know what to say.”
I grinned. “Have the most wonderful birthday.”
That feeling—would it always be like that? A brief hesitation, followed by the most intense warmth? Where little tingles were bursting inside my chest? Where I couldn’t stop myself from smiling?
If so, I never wanted it to end.
And I wanted more.
I felt Walker’s eyes on me the second I reentered the kitchen. Even though I tried to keep the grin from my face, I wasn’t doing a very good job, and I was sure he could see it. As I approached the prep station to grab a round of dishes, our eyes finally connected.
He took me in, and his stare dipped.
I felt it on every inch of my body.
“You have a very happy customer,” I explained. “Don’t worry, I took zero credit. I gave that all to you.”
