“This is notjust soup.” I pointed my spoon at her. “This is the best thing I’ve eaten in I don’t even know how long.”
“I’m estimating that you’ve been awake for over thirty hours. A gas station hot dog would taste incredible right now.”
“I’ve had gas station hot dogs. Trust me. Not the same.”
That got something out of her. Not quite a smile, but the corners of her mouth twitched. There and gone in a heartbeat.
Something shifted in my chest. A feeling I couldn’t quite name.
I’d noticed Allegra before. Hard not to. Dark hair, dark eyes, curves that her apron couldn’t hide. Every time the crew came in, I’d tried to get her attention. Cracked jokes. Tossed out compliments. She’d smile politely and vanish back into the kitchen before I could get anywhere.
But right now, with no one else around and her standing there watching me eat food she’d made with her own hands, something clicked into place. Like a lock finding its key.
This one, something in the back of my brain whispered.She’s the one.
The thought should have scared me. I’d known her all of five minutes. But it didn’t feel sudden. It felt like I’d been waiting for her without knowing I was waiting.
“Thank you,” I said. “Seriously.”
Her expression softened, and she looked a little surprised. Like she’d expected a joke and didn’t get one.
“You’re welcome,” she said quietly.
I finished the soup. The bread. The coffee. She refilled my cup without me asking, and I drank it while watching her move around behind the counter. Wiping things down. Organizing. Keeping busy.
She was beautiful. I’d always known that. But it was more than her looks. There was something about the way she moved. Confident. Efficient. Completely in control of her space.
I wanted to know what made her tick. Wanted to know what she thought about when she was alone in that kitchen. Wanted to know everything.
“I should let you get back to it,” I said, even though leaving was the last thing I wanted to do. “Probably need to cross the street and crash for an hour before Captain calls me out again.”
“Probably,” she agreed.
I didn’t move.
She raised an eyebrow. “Problem?”
“What if I helped instead?”
The words came out before I could think them through. She looked at me like I’d grown a second head.
“You want to help me cook.”
“I want to be useful.”I want an excuse to stay near you.“You’re feeding the whole crew, right? And whoever else comes in? That’s a lot for one person.”
“The others are around somewhere. They’ll be back soon.”
“Then let me help until they get here.” I stood up, and yeah, maybe I swayed a little, but I caught myself on the counter. “Come on. I’m too wired to sleep anyway. Put me to work.”
It was a lie. I was dead on my feet. But something about the way she was looking at me—like she was actuallyseeingme for the first time—made me want to stick around.
She studied me for a long moment. I couldn’t read her expression.
“You follow my instructions exactly,” she finally said. “No complaints. No arguing. You do what I say, when I say it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And it’schef. Not ma’am.”
