Page 65 of The Chef

“I doubt it.”

“I did. I’ve spent years screwing all through Europe, wasting days on booze and women. Rockpool failing will just be another one in that long list of my cock-ups.”

I sigh and kiss his warm chest in reassurance. I don’t like him talking like this about himself. “I’m sure it’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be.”

“No. It’s worst,” Cliff replies. He pauses. “I proposed to my girlfriend a few months ago, and that backfired. It backfired massively. That’s why I’m back here, so focused on this restaurant. In my family’s eyes I fucked up when she rejected me, and now Rockpool’s all I have left to prove to them I’m not just a giant failure.”

“You’re not, though,” I reply. “If anyone’s the failure around here it’s me. I’ve worked endless dead-end jobs, never progressing, throughout my entire adult life so far. I’ve tried to start my own business – that day at the bank – but I was rejected. My one dream in life and that was taken away from me. I look back at everything and know I’ve done nothing. My brother’s gone and had a family and is working whilst overcoming the grief of his wife's passing. He’s done a lot more than I have. I look back and have nothing to show for myself.”

I let out another sigh.

I don’t know why I said all that.

I don’t know why I blurted that all out to Cliff.

I hope he doesn’t get weirded out by me.

Cliff pauses again, digesting what I’ve said. When he does eventually speak, it’s with a quiet firmness.

“It seems like we both need each other, Bay.”

My heart leaps at his statement. He says it so casually like it’s a simple fact.

“Why?”

“We both need Rockpool to survive, so how about let’s act as a team.”

“What?”

“Let’s do this together.”

“What are you saying?” I ask, lifting my head so that I can look into his eyes.

“How about we reopen Rockpool together, Bay. Make it new. You and I do it, not as waitress and boss, but as business partners.”

Partners?

I bite my lip. His brown eyes stare back at me full of genuine inquisition. He’s waiting for my answer.

He wants us to work together? He wants me to use my skills? Save the restaurant he loves?

I think he really likes me.

“Sure,” I reply. “Let’s do it. As partners.”

21

CLIFF

“How about we go surfing?”

Bay frowns at me. “Surfing?” she asks hesitatingly.

“Yeah, surfing,” I reply, gesturing outside my bedroom window towards the clear blue ocean. The late afternoon sun glistens on the waves. “I mean, the ocean is right there, we might as well go in.”

“I’ve never been surfing,” Bay replies with a sigh.

I sit up in bed, making Bay turn over. She was snuggled tightly against me until I decided to move. “You’ve never been surfing?”