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“Looks like you’ve made another conquest,” Lawrence whispered in her ear.

“Don’t be an idiot.”

They both watched as Jimmy settled back to his post and then Lawrence glanced around the table. “Amy doesn’t think that Jimmy likes her.”

The table erupted in laughter.

“Sister, you have no idea the kind of looks you were drawing,” one of the most beautiful women Amy had ever seen, told her.

“Hell, I’ll take you home and prove how much I like you,” Steve, one of the men she did know, said. Then he winked.

“I’ll have to pass, I don’t think your wife would approve.”

“I wouldn’t,” Charlene said as she pulled Steve close.

“There’s a reason I wanted you to come out tonight, Amy. I want you to meet my friend Charlie Richardson. He’s here from Minneapolis checking some things out.”

Amy frowned. “Didn’t I see you last night at our restaurant? You ordered the applewood smoked pork tenderloin, with the puff pastry.”

The man laughed at her. “What wine did I order?”

“You went with the Louis Jadot St-Aubin Chardonnay when we didn’t have the Moone Tsai Chardonnay from Sonoma. Just to let you know, I made note of that to see about adding that to our menu.”

“Good choice,” he smiled. “I served it in my two restaurants and it was a hit. I would have added mushrooms to the puff pastry if I were serving the dish.”

Amy closed her eyes and thought about the meal, imagining it with the buttery texture of finely chopped mushrooms in the pastry, and almost moaned at the thought. When she opened her eyes she saw Charlie laughing.

“I see you agree.”

“I absolutely do.”

“Can I be blunt with you, Amy?”

“Sure. I prefer blunt, it’s one of my favorite flavors.”

Charlie and Lawrence laughed.

“She’s not kidding, blunt is her favorite. That’s one of the reasons it’s killing her working for Noreen Galloway,” Lawrence said.

Charlie made a face like he had stepped in dogshit. “Don’t get me started. Her and her husband’s reputations have made it all the way to my neck of the woods. Not the best.”

I wonder what his rep is like.

“Anyway, my wife’s mother isn’t doing so well since her husband died, so Leslie wants to move to D.C. to be closer to her, and I’m looking for opportunities here. Lawrence and I went to school together way back when and we’ve kept in touch.”

Amy glanced over at Lawrence. “Who don’t you keep in touch with?”

“Hey, when I make a friend it’s for life.”

“How come I think you’re doing some matchmaking?”

“Because besides being blunt, you’re smart. I told Charlie that you’re going to be starting up a restaurant here in D.C., and it’s going to be on fire. All that’s missing is the right chef.”

Amy glared at Lawrence. “You know that I haven’t decided to take up Beatrice on her offer for financing.”

Charlie gave Lawrence a concerned glance. “I thought you said this was solid.”

“It is,” Lawrence sighed. “The chef was the last cog in the wheel. Fly out to Minneapolis and give his restaurants a try, Amy. If they don’t meet your standards, then I know you’ll have to pack all your hopes and dreams away in your little spinster hope chest up in some old maid’s attic—”