“Whatabout when he’s wrong?”
Sheheld my gaze, leaning forward so I could see the honesty in her expression.“Then we know you have our backs. And he knows it too. That’s why you’re sousand Benny’s not. He respects you, Kaya. Give him a break.”
Itook a bite of my now cold oats. “Fine, he respects me. He knows I’m not goingto take his shit. That’s as far as it goes with us. The rest was … sleepdeprivation.”
“Yeah,yeah, keep telling yourself that.”
“Iwill. Thank you.”
Shelaughed, but finally dug into her cold breakfast too.
“Don’ttell Ezra,” I whispered, nervous that mentioning her brother’s name would putthe idea in her head.
“What?”
Ilifted my eyes and met hers, more afraid of this request than of accidentallymaking out with Wyatt again. “You can’t tell Ezra that I made out with hisexecutive chef. First, it’s complicated because Wyatt is my boss. I don’t knowthe exact protocol for intra-kitchen relationships, but I’m positive they’refrowned upon. And second, when I apply for Sarita for real, I don’t want Ezrato think Wyatt’s good opinion of me is skewed. If he even has a good opinion ofme. I… I would like to get Wyatt’s recommendation without it feeling like asexual favor.”
“Wyattwould never—”
“Yeah,maybe Wyatt wouldn’t. But I don’t want the perception to be there. I don’t wantEzra to think that…”
“Ezrawouldn’t,” she promised. “I know my brother and I know how much he respectsWyatt. He would never assume that about either of you.” I opened my mouth toargue, but she held up her finger and added, “Besides, other people’s opinionsmatter very little to Ezra. He’ll only hire a person one hundred percentqualified for that job. He would never take someone else’s word for it.”
“Idon’t know if that makes me more nervous or less so.”
Shelaughed at me again. “Seriously? Chill, Kaya. You’re so worked up about a fewkisses with one of the hottest men on the planet. You said it yourself, it’snot going to happen again. Relax and take what happened as the compliment itis. Wyatt Shaw thinks you’re a sexy beast. Own it, friend. And stop worryingabout all the rest.”
Isucked in a steadying breath and let the truth in her words ground me. She wasright. I didn’t know what Wyatt was thinking, but I knew myself. I wasstrong-willed. Independent. Tougher than fucking nails. I had self-control fordays and days.
Eventhough Wyatt and I had made out once, that didn’t mean it was going to happenagain. I had that power. I would just avoid him altogether and try not to findmyself alone with him ever again. And also, maybe I wouldn’t look at him for awhile either, because Dillon was so right about him being one of the sexiestmen on the planet. I had acknowledged that long ago.
Thepoint was, I wasn’t going to accidentally fall into his arms again and let mymouth land on his. Consequently, there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
Besides,kissing him had been a fluke.
Aweird, crazy, unbearably hot… fluke.
Tonight,we would be able to work together without any of the tension that had plaguedus recently and we’d get back to our normally scheduled hate-fest. I wouldspend tomorrow night working with Vera at Sarita and I would be one step closerto the dream.
Mydream. The one that took me away from Lilou and into my very own, five-starkitchen.
Noman was worth losing sight of that dream.
Noteven Wyatt fucking Shaw.
Anothertext blinked across the screen of my phone.Get here already, woman. I want to see you.
Thebutterfly riot that marched across my belly was enough to call me a liar, but Imentally held my ground.Goals, Kaya.Dreams. A lifelong legacy that did not include my boss.I just needed tofocus and stop daydreaming about that kiss and those deep brown eyes and allthose secret smiles that I was too quickly growing addicted to.
Chapter Eleven
Fourhours later, I had to chant the promises to make my dreams come true like anincantation. I thought if I believed in them strongly enough, they would cometo fruition. That was difficult when a certain someone apparently had otherideas in his big, stupid head.
Thetrouble had started when Dillon and I walked in the door to Lilou, ready tostart prep for tonight’s service. Wyatt had caught sight of us almostinstantaneously. He’d popped out of his office and held up his hand in thesmallest of waves. His other hand had offered a creamy iced coffee that Ihadn’t been able to turn down. Despite Dillon’s raised eyebrows and giddysmile.
I’dtried to remain neutral and returned a simple thank you. That was when hepulled out the big guns. His eyelids had lowered to that dreamy, bedroom lookthat gave me goose bumps all over my body and his lips had curled into a softsmile when he mouthed, “Hey.”
Amouthed hey shouldn’t have sent me into a tailspin of frantic emotions and evenmore panicked thoughts, but it had. Why? Because this was Wyatt and up untilyesterday, he preferred growling and snarling over actual words!
