She nodded. ‘Yeah, really. I’m so pleased for you.’
‘Thanks. I’m glad you came.’
‘Wouldn’t miss it. Gives me the perfect opportunity to take lots of footage and photos for reels and carousels on the Insta page.’
His heart sank. Was that the only reason she’d come? How foolish of him to imagine a future when she viewed him as nothing more than an adjunct to a lucrative business campaign.
‘Good idea,’ he said, sounding gruff. ‘Raising the restaurant’s profile is a sure-fire way to get the crowds in.’
A tiny groove appeared between her brows as she studied him, probably wondering about his change in tone.
‘Let me just finish up these garnishes and we can head out.’
She gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment, smudging her gloss, before murmuring, ‘I also came to see you.’
The tweezers in his hand clattered to the benchtop.
‘I know it’s crazy, because we live so far apart, but you got under my skin during the brief time I spent here and I thought I might stick around for a week or so, and we could hang out?’
‘I can do that,’ he said, grinning at her as the tightness in his chest caused by her absence eased. ‘Does hanging out involve you staying here with me?’
‘If you’d like me to.’
The shyness of her response, at complete odds with the wicked glint in her eyes, made him laugh.
‘Come here,’ he said, rounding the bench and meeting her halfway across the kitchen as she flung herself at him.
He hugged her tight, savouring her soft curves, and experienced another unexpected pang of rightness. Of coming home.
‘El, I want you to know that I …’ He trailed off, searching for the right words to say,I don’t want you to go. I want you to stay with me, permanently.
She pressed her lips to his, softly at first, and whatever he had to say faded into oblivion as their passion ignited.
His guests could wait for dessert.
CHAPTER
51
‘Maybe it’s time for another viral video?’ Elora asked as she worked alongside Cruz, prepping the chicken stock for tomorrow’s risotto. ‘A shot of you from behind wearing an apron, naked underneath it? I know you didn’t go for that idea first time around, but now …’
Cruz growled as he spun around from the stove and tugged her into his arms. ‘Haven’t you seen enough of me naked this past week?’
‘Never enough,’ she murmured, kissing him before slipping out of his arms. ‘We need to get this stock finished, so stop distracting me.’
‘You’re the one who wants me naked.’
She laughed at his faux-innocent expression and pointed at the simmering pot on the stove. ‘That needs your attention. It was just an idea.’
‘No more viral videos,’ he said, popping a bouquet garni of bay leaves, thyme, rosemary and parsley into the stock and replacing the lid. ‘Besides, if this first week is any indication, we won’t need the publicity.’
She liked how he said ‘we’, as if the restaurant belonged to both of them. It may have been her idea initially, but Cruz had created a wonderful space that would be talked about across the region and beyond. Smashed had garnered a plethora of five-star reviews online, with only one person leaving a two-star review because they didn’t like avocado. Join the club. But from what she’d tasted, Cruz’s subtle infusion of the fruit added to the uniqueness of the dishes, and she’d grown to like the mushy green stuff a tad.
‘That’s because your digital marketer is a whiz at her job.’ She blew on her fingernails and polished them against her top. ‘You can thank me later.’
‘The same way I thanked you three times last night?’
He winked and she marvelled at the change in him. Cruz had become a different person since she first met him, his grumpiness mellowed by a man comfortable in his skin. He thrived on the farm and her heart physically ached at the thought of leaving him all too soon. She’d been busting to tell him her news since the call this morning but knew the moment she revealed the biggest opportunity of her career, it would end them.
