“I still have questions,” I say.
“Ask them.”
“Why feed me?”
He shrugs, deceptively casual. “Because you needed to taste it properly.”
“And.”
“And,” he says, stepping back to his station, “because you keep poking bears and eventually bears poke back.”
I feel heat crawl up my neck that has nothing to do with the stove.
“Now…,” I say. “…thatsounded like flirting.”
He looks at me over his shoulder. “Careful,” he replies. “Thatsounded like hope.”
I snort. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
“You’re the one still standing here,” he says.
Around us, the kitchen hums back into focus. Someone clears their throat. Angela catches my eye from across the room and smirks like she has just watched a tennis match worth paying for.
Tom turns back to the pan, but the tension lingers. Thick. Charged.
To anyone else, it probably looks like two stubborn professionals arguing over sauce.
To me, it feels like something else entirely.
Which is ridiculous.
And I am absolutely not thinking about him feeding me again.
Absolutely not.
Chapter 5
Tom
When the last guestleaves, the restaurant changes character.
The noise drops away first. No more chairs scraping or cutlery chiming against plates. The dining room lights soften, no longer trying to sell anyone a fantasy. What’s left is the honest aftermath. Warmth. Steam. The quiet satisfaction of a service that did what it was meant to do.
Chloe has been everywhere all evening.
Not underfoot exactly. Observant. Curious. Asking the sort of questions that tell you someone actually understands systems rather than just outcomes. She tasted nearly everything, which was either commitment or recklessness. Possibly both.
Angela finishes wiping down her station and shrugs into her jacket. She glances over at me and Chloe, mouth twitching like she’s just spotted something she’ll be dining out on for weeks.
“You survived,” she says to Chloe.
“Define survived,” Chloe replies.
Angela laughs, then looks at me. “I’m heading off. Don’t forget I’m in late tomorrow.”
“I won’t,” I say.
She hesitates, eyes flicking between us, then smirks openly. “Nice meeting you, Chloe.”
