“Marci!” Jax exclaimed. “How are the wedding plans going?”
“Don’t even ask, you’re still on my nice list,” she winked as some of the servers giggled.
“That’s it for now, everyone,” Angelo dismissed them with a smile, and the staff began to disperse.
“Have you scared the new guy yet, Marci?” Emma asked, wandering over.
“I don’t need to, because he’s amazing,” Marci replied. “A few weeks with me and I can safely leave this place in his hands while I’m on my honeymoon.”
“Wow.” Angelo raised his eyebrows. “He must be good to have impressed you.”
She nodded and then pitched her voice to a stage whisper. “He’s also very easyon the eyes.”
“You’re an engaged woman,” Emma pointed out as Carson gave a hum of agreement. “And he’s Rain’s stepdad!”
“I’m engaged, not dead,” Marci stated, and Jax let out a snort, his mind on Hot Bearded Guy.
“I was going to give Jax and Winter the full tour. Do you want to join us?” Angelo steered them back on task, and Marci nodded.
“I’d love to.”
Following them out into the hall, Jax brought up the rear, glancing around and trying to find any remnants of the fire, but the place was sparkling new, as if it had been built from the ground up, and the glass ceremony room left him speechless.
“Marci’s going to be the first to get married in here,” Angelo said as they all stared up through the ceiling at the bright blue sky.
“Really?” Winter turned in a circle, their eyes wide in awe.
“Perk of the job!” Marci stated before leading them down the hall and across the foyer. “Now, The Pointe has three floors. The top is offices. This is the main level with our biggest room, and there are two more event spaces downstairs. That’s why we need both of youandanother maître d’. And here he is! Hi, Tristan.”
She called out to a tall man by the front doors who had his back to them, and Jax stopped in his tracks, his pulse racing.
Standing just a few feet away, as if Jax had summoned him with his thoughts, was Hot Bearded Guy.
“You!” Jax exclaimed, pointing at him in shock. After losing his health insurance and his physical therapy visits, Jax had missedTristanmore than he’d expected. He’d mourned like he’d gone through a small breakup, and he still hadn’t made peace with the fact that he’d never see this man again, especially after moving an hour north.
But here he was, working at The Pointe and looking dashing in his tux. Jax could barely contain himself. Good things had stopped happening to him ages ago, so this job and Hot Bearded Guy hit him like a one-two punch.
“Me!” Just as surprised, Tristan pointed at himself, and as he walked over, Jax noticed that he didn’t limp anymore. Lucky him. “Jax, right? I’m Tristan.”
He extended his hand, and as soon as they touched, it took every bit of Jax’s restraint not to jolt, because this was his first day and his brand-new coworkers were watching.
But Tristan’s palm had a familiar warmth, as if Jax had found the answer to a question from his soul, and he forced himself to shake Tristan’s hand as normally as he could. “You know my name?”
“I heard you when you were checking in once.” Tristan had been interested enough to listen for that? Or maybe he was just being nice. Jax had to remind himself that no matter how good that hand felt, Tristan was taken.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute. You know each other?” Marci interrupted, her sharp gaze all curiosity.
“We were in PT together,” Tristan stated, smoothly introducing himself to the other chefs, which did Jax’s pulse no favors.
“PT?” Winter asked, head tilted.
“Physical therapy.” Jax tried to ignore how Marci studied him, as if she saw everything.
“Why don’t you two catch up, and I’ll show Winter the rest?” she said sweetly as Angelo broke off with a vague statement of forgetting to do something downstairs. It was overt and hilarious, but Jax couldn’t be more grateful as they all scampered away.
Now alone, Jax stared up into Tristan’s gorgeous face for too long. His beard had been trimmed, fitting his face even better, and Jax tried not to purr. Clearing his throat, he put his hands in the pockets of his chef’s coat.
“How’s your knee?”
