“Not quite. Besides that was a team challenge. What will they think of a dish I make on my own?”
“Are you really nervous?” Dan asked.
“No. A little. To be honest, tonight at Chef Ramone’s I made a dish that was probably one of the best I’ve ever prepared. Not sure I can keep up that standard. There are a lot of good chefs here.”
Dan smiled. “I can’t work as well as I thought I could under pressure. I mean in my own kitchen I can work a dinner service like a pro but going up against the clock and preparing something new...that kind ofthrew me off,” he said.
Remy relaxed as he talked cooking with Dan. It was then that he realized that the guilt he felt at Staci’s reaction earlier was easing, too. He hadn’t been manipulating her. Twice now she’d initiated something sexual with him and twice he’d been blown away by his own reaction to her.
Remy studied the other chef. Dan was younger than him, probably in his mid twenties. “Don’t think about it too much. When we get to the kitchens tomorrow just be cool and imagine you’re preparing a meal for someone you love.”
“Good idea. But what if the ingredients are weird.”
“They probably will be. But it’s your knife skills you should be thinking about.”
“You heard about that?” Dan asked. “I never went to cooking school. Just learned from working in the kitchens.”
“That’s no big deal. Just understand your weaknesses. Everyone who goes up against you will be thinking they can butcher better than you can. If it were me, I’d be in the kitchen every second working on them.”
“Can you show me how to cut a fish up?” Dan asked.
“Yes,” Remy said. “Want to do it now? The fridge is stocked with everything.”
“Okay,” Dan agreed. “Uh, Remy, why are you willing to help me?”
“Because you’re a good chef I’d hate to beat you on a technicality.”
Dan laughed and followed Remy to the kitchen. Remy glanced up the stairs to where the bedrooms were and an image of Staci naked invaded his mind. He tried to conjure her curled up under her blankets. He knew she wasn’t sleeping and he felt bad about that. She’d invigorated him tonight. He wanted to give her back something. But time would tell what that would be.
He spent the next hour showing Dan the proper way to debone a fish and how to cut it into steaks. Theyounger man was an attentive student and Remy knew he’d made the right decision to help him out. Two hours later he headed up to his bedroom, smelling of fish, and went straight to the shower. Staci’s scent lingered on his skin, too, and he couldn’t get the image of her in his arms out of his head.
It wasn’t until the water ran cold that he groaned, turned off the shower and dried himself. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep only to be plagued by images of himself in his father’s kitchen trying to prepare a dish that would please his father while a naked Staci kept stealing his attention. He woke up in a state of frustration. He hoped the day would bring another new revelation in the kitchen but his dreams had showed him what he already knew.
His doubts and fears were still firmly rooted inside of him and no matter what he discovered here about himself, until he figured out how to accept his own capabilities he’d never find peace.
The odd thing was that in his head his peace was now tied somehow with Staci. It was a mess. She was the last one who’d help him out after last night and to be honest he couldn’t blame her. What had felt so right under the moonlight didn’t seem very smart in the bright sunlight of morning.
Chapter Five
STACIWANTEDTOFALL right to sleep but she couldn’t with all that was on her mind. She’d come here for a very specific reason and tonight it seemed clear that she was capable of letting herself be distracted. What was wrong with her?
Part of her knew it was because she’d never had a positive male role model. She didn’t need her shrink to tell her that when she met powerful men she was always drawn to them. And it seemed the more power they had over her dreams and her future the more lethal her attraction was.
But Remy...he had no real power over her other than the attraction. She pulled her cell phone from her bag and texted Alysse. She knew the other woman would be awake and was probably in her kitchen baking because Alysse’s fiancé Jay was on an assignment. The retired marine worked for a private security company. And while most of his jobs kept him in the Los Angeles area, he’d recently accepted an assignment in D.C. that had him away from home.
Staci: Can you talk?
Alysse: Yes. Give me a sec. Brownies going in the oven now.
Staci: Great. I won the first challenge and got to go to an amazing restaurant tonight.
Alysse: Cool. I don’t think you are supposed to tell me all this.
Staci: Oh. You’re right. There’s a guy here who?—
Alysse: Cute?
Staci: Yes though that’s not the problem. He really bothered me in the kitchen tonight. I’m worried. What if I screw this up?
