Iamkeeping my ... whatever this is with Summer secret because she’s my employee and people are nosy, and it truly is nobody’s fucking business.
But maybe ... just maybe ... there is a small part of me that’s hiding it because I’m no longer feeling like this is something that’s happening just to pass the time. I’m not falling into bed with her damn near every night just because she’s there and I’m lonely. I’m doing it because I want to.
Because I wanther.
When the hell did that even happen?Howcould that happen? How did I go from swearing I’ll never burden anyone with this damn weakness of mine to letting myself get tangled up with Summer like this? I’m not even sure if she’s planning to stay in Port Harbor. Yeah, she just created this menu for Stick Taps, and she’s about to start training new staff, but we both know that running a kitchen for someone else isn’t her dream. She deserves bigger than this, and I’ll be damned if I hold her back from that just because I went and developed feelings when I swore I wouldn’t.
Noah laughs, and this time when I glare at him, I mean it.
“What?” I snarl.
“You’re so in love, dude.”
“I am not.”
“Oh, you are too. And I fucking love it. I never thought I’d see the day that Ezra ‘I Don’t Do Love’ Rawlings finally fell victim to the love bug, but here you are.”
I turn away from him, mostly because I can’t stand the way he’s grinning at me like I’m some sort of fool. I certainly fucking feel like one.
“Shut the fuck up.”
He just laughs again, harder this time, and it pisses me off.
“Get the hell out of here,” I snap. “Leave me alone.”
“All right,” he says. “I’ll go. But only because you clearly need time to process all yourfeelings.”
He pushes off the counter, still fucking smiling, and I have the strongest urge to spray him with water.
I resist—but only barely—and focus back on the task at hand.
The door creaks back open, and I exhale for what feels like the first time in minutes.
“Hey, Ez?”
I don’t look at him. I don’t even stop washing. But he knows I’m listening.
“It’s okay that you love her. And it’s okay to let yourself be loved. There’s nothing about you that isn’t deserving of that.”
Then he’s gone, and I’m left with nothing but cold, dirty dishwater, and the realization that I am irrevocably fucked.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Summer
The menu is a hit. We haven’t even officially launched it yet, but we’ve been secretly testing it on select nights, and everyone is over the moon with the changes.
And my staff? I would have killed to have people like this backing me up at Lore. It’s like a night-and-day difference. Only a few of them are professionally trained, but it doesn’t matter. They’re all so eager to learn that I’m looking forward to running the kitchen with them.
“I’m home!”
I smile as the front door closes behind him.
Ezra gave me the code to his place a few weeks ago, saying it was so I could lock up after him when he had to take off for doctor’s appointments in Seattle, but I don’t fully believe that was the reason.
I think he likes having me around more than he wants to admit, and honestly, I like being around.
“Sunny.” He grins at me as he comes into the kitchen.
