He had a point there. I’d made a point of memorizing the menus that he sent out, but I didn’t know the ingredients particularly well. And I couldn’t suggest dishes as easily as Landon could. I’d blamed all of that on not having the kind of palate that the guests at The Pacific could afford, and that was still true.
But it would make my job easier if I knew more. Maybe we’d be able to avoid another problem like the spa guest’s near-disaster with the allergy.
“So, does this count as training then?” I asked, getting myself comfortable in the Mercedes’ decadent seat. I wondered if it was Nolan’s personal car, or a work vehicle that he was borrowing. As the head chef, he must have been earning a hell of a lot of money, so I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was his.
“I guess you could say that,” Nolan replied with a quick shrug. “But that’s not the main point of it.”
“Keeping it a surprise,” I said slowly. “I guess I can get on board with that. Though I suppose I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
“You catch on quick.” Nolan’s tone was light and amused, the complete opposite of how he usually was in the kitchen. I didn’t really blame him for that. He was working in an incredibly high-pressure environment, feeding rich guests who regularly changed their minds on a whim, even when it came to their food. I definitely didn’t envy his position.
We drove along at a brisk pace, and Nolan was actually both funny and nice the whole time. I’d expected him to be surly all the way to Monterey Bay and back, but I was having a good time with him. It helped to distract me from Landon, and I eventuallymanaged to relax more than I had in several days. Maybe I could do this trip more often, just to give my mind a bit of space.
Eventually, Nolan pulled into a parking area at what looked like an upscale farmer’s market. It was still quiet this early in the morning, filled with vendors setting up their spaces and chatting to one another.
“This is where I get a lot of my ingredients from,” Nolan explained after getting out of the car and opening my door for me. “Only the best of the best, fresh from the coast. I like to get here before anyone else, so I can have the first pick of everything they have.”
“At a farmer’s market?” I was surprised. I thought he’d go to some secret meeting behind a deli that only the highest-rated chefs even knew existed, somewhere in a high-rise building in the city.
“If you want fresh ingredients, you get them straight from the source,” Nolan replied in a way that made me feel like I should be taking notes. “And from everywhere I’ve tried, for these specific things I’m looking for, this is the best place. First things first, you need to try the coffee.”
I’d figured that Nolan would want to get caffeinated before he did anything else. His coffee addiction was a well-known fact in the hotel, something he had taken up because he apparently didn’t want to start smoking instead.
I followed him through the bustling market, where a few other people also seemed to be waiting for the stalls to open. At the far end was a food truck converted for coffee, and that’s where Nolan was headed. I stood in line with him, and when we reached the front, the worker grinned.
“Chef Nolan, you’re late today,” he said. “And you brought a friend!”
“Morning, Harry,” Nolan laughed, nodding over his shoulder at me. “She’s our new concierge. I’m teaching her a few things. You can make us both my regular, but just do a dash less strength for her.”
I didn’t argue. The amount of caffeine Nolan usually added to his coffee could start miniature nuclear wars.
After getting our coffees, Nolan took me from one stand to another. Every vendor knew who he was, and most of them had kept items aside especially for him. He was the image of charm when he spoke to them, and it was like he was a completely different person.
“Smell this,” he said to me at one stall, offering me a pouch of open herbs that I didn’t recognize. “What do you think it’s for?”
“Uh, I’m getting… Mint, maybe? Lemon?” I answered carefully, noticing how closely Nolan was watching me. “Is it for tea?”
“It’s called Yerba Buena,” Nolan explained, sounding incredibly excited about getting to explain this to me. “And yes, we do use it in some of our teas. But I personally use it for seafood, mostly fish. It doesn’t overwhelm with its lemon tones, and the mint adds a certain freshness.”
This wasn’t the only explanation I got. Nolan taught me about microgreens, organic honey, grass-fed local meats, and so many different foods that I wasn’t sure I would remember them all. But the food wasn’t really what caught my attention. It was Nolan himself.
He was so passionate about his art that I almost felt like enrolling in chef school myself.
On top of that, in this light, with the way he was turning up the charm; well, I had to admit that he was more than a little good-looking. I couldn’t stop staring at the way the sun caught his red hair, the way his freckles seemed to dance across his face.
This was dangerous. I was already in trouble with Landon. I couldn’t let myself fall for another handsome man at work.
“That’s the last one.” Nolan handed me a brown paper bag with a giant smile on his face. “And we’ve still got some time. You want to see one of my favorite places in the whole world?”
I fought against the redness that was creeping across my cheeks. “I suppose it won’t hurt to make a tiny detour.”
We returned to the car, and I kept catching myself staring at Nolan as he drove. Eventually, he pulled off the main road, and stopped close to a beach in the middle of nowhere.
“Follow me,” Nolan instructed as he got out.
I knew that I shouldn’t. That this was trouble waiting to happen. But I didn’t listen to my instincts. I did exactly as Nolan asked, and walked with him down to a cove, where we were hidden from the world.
“This is beautiful,” I said, staring out across the ocean. “I can see why you like it.”
