A Madaris Bride for Christmas

“Isn’t that exciting?”

Carly smiled over at her coworker, a chef assistant by the name of Jodie Wrangler. Jodie, who’d begun working at the hotel a week before Carly, had just finished explaining that Peyton’s Place would be closed tonight for a private party. It was rumored that the two owners of the hotel had invited important guests they were trying to impress. There was even a rumor that Oscar-winning actress Diamond Swain was included in the group.

She’d missed the head chef’s announcement while she’d been off work for her birthday, and Carly had wondered what the flurry was about when she’d returned to work today. The kitchen seemed busier than usual and everyone was bustling about with enthusiasm.

“Yes, that’s exciting,” Carly said to Jodie, but in her mind she didn’t truly think it was. She had worked in restaurants where they’d closed their doors for private parties. In most cases, the kitchen staff was reduced since everyone wouldn’t be needed. That meant less pay in somebody’s paycheck.

“Chef Blanchard wants to see you. He’s probably going to tell you about the party tonight, so act surprised.”

Carly put down the cake pan to head over to Chef Blanchard’s office. Chances were, since she was one of the newest chefs, she would be one of those sent home for the evening. She knocked on the closed door.

“Come in.”

She entered the office that resembled a mini-kitchen with a desk in the center. Pots lined the wall, along with numerous trophies and plaques. Dr. Blanchard was a renowned chef, and she’d heard his name a number of times in culinary school both in the States and in France.

“I understand you wanted to see me, Chef Blanchard.”

“Yes, yes,” he said, smiling. “Come on in and have a seat.”

“Thanks,” she said, taking a chair in front of his desk. The man was totally different from Chef Renaldo in both looks and temperament. Chef Renaldo had been short, stocky and had a mean attitude most of the time, where Chef Blanchard was tall, thin and had a pleasing personality.

“I have good news for you, Carly.”

She wondered if he thought informing her that she had another day off was good news. “And what is the good news?”

He leaned back in his chair with a huge smile on his lips. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now that our two owners, Mr. Madaris and Mr. Di Meglio, have important guests here at the hotel, and they have requested a private party. That means the restaurant will be closing to anyone except the group of thirteen who will be dining here tonight.”

She’d never met the two owners but had heard several whispered comments around the kitchen by the women who had. Both Mr. Madaris and Mr. Di Meglio were rumored to be eye candy of the most serious kind.

“I see.”

“I’m putting you in charge of desserts.”

Carly blinked, certain she had heard wrong. “You’re putting me in charge of desserts?”

“Yes. That dish you made during your interview will be perfect. Two of the gentlemen are from the Middle East and I know they will love your Pi-Sky as much as I did.”

Carly was speechless. Seldom did a head chef deviate from a restaurant’s menu.

“Thank you, sir. For the vote of confidence,” she said, beginning to feel that excitement Jodie had alluded to earlier.

“You’re welcome. I believe you’ll find all the ingredients in the hotel’s kitchen store, including King Arthur flour.”

Because of the number of restaurants and cafés in the hotel, each one used the same kitchen supplies. To keep things simple, the hotel hired a shopper whose job was to make sure any and every item the cooks needed was on the premises.

“That’s great. Thanks again.”

“Don’t mention it. These guests are important and we all want to make a good impression.”

“Yes, sir. We will.” She left the chef’s office smiling.

* * *

Lee glanced around Peyton’s Place, the only rotating restaurant on the Strip. It was the most popular of all the hotel’s restaurants and always in demand. It seemed everyone was fascinated by the slow rotation offering a breathtaking view of the Strip and the Mojave Desert.

There would be no business discussions tonight. They had done enough of that during the day. Now it was time to eat and unwind. All five men had invited their wives to join them, and Angelo had invited Peyton as well. All seemed to be in a festive mood, and Lee was glad of that. It was a good way to end such a busy day.

He couldn’t help noticing that all six men were married to what he considered to be smart and beautiful women. Over dinner, he had discovered Sheikh Yasir’s wife, Delaney, was the sister of motorcycle builder and racer Thorn Westmoreland and also the sister of bestselling author Rock Mason, aka Stone Westmoreland.

Johari Valdemon, who was married to Sheikh Valdemon and was Sheikh Yasir’s sister, enlightened everyone over dinner with the story of how she and her husband had been promised to each other at birth and yet she hadn’t set eyes on him until she was twenty-four. They’d met here in the States. While in college, Johari had intentionally gone missing, not ready to return to her country, do her duty and marry. Rasheed had gone looking for her and had found his intended bride dancing on the tables of some club in New York. That tale got a lot of rousing laughter from everyone.

Jake joked about Kyle and Kimara’s six offspring and how, for years, everyone wondered if they would stop having more children. The couple did admit they enjoyed making babies, and that their fertility had something to do with a vacation cabin they owned in the North Carolina Mountains called Special K.

Because Mitch’s wife, Gina, grew up with a lot of his older cousins, Lee knew her well. Her brother Trevor was best friend to one of his older cousins, Dex; and for years Trevor had been foreman at Dex’s land-exploration company. Lee liked Gina, always had, and thought she was down-to-earth. It was obvious that Mitch adored his wife.

“I understand your oldest son left this month for college.” Angelo broke into Lee’s thoughts when he addressed a question to Kyle and Kimara Garwood.

Kimara smiled lovingly at her husband before gazing at Angelo. “Yes, and I miss Kyle VI already. He’s attending Harvard.”

“An excellent university,” both sheikhs chimed in to say with huge smiles. Both had degrees from Harvard.

“I agree,” Lee said. He was a proud Harvard alum as well.

“I take it you couldn’t persuade Blade and Sam to join us,” Mitch said, smiling.

Lee chuckled. “No. They drove to Los Angeles. Sam was determined to get some more shopping in.” He glanced over at Peyton. “How did shopping go yesterday?”

Peyton rolled her eyes. “Don’t ask.”

The waiters removed their plates and everyone agreed that dinner had been absolutely delicious and they were all ready for dessert.

“Thirteen is an unlucky number, Lee. Why didn’t you bring a date?” Diamond Swain Madaris asked.

Lee glanced across the dinner table and smiled at the woman who’d made his uncle a very happy man. “The reason I didn’t bring a date is because there isn’t a woman I’m interested in at the moment.”

“Better not say that too loud,” Jake said, chuckling. “Word might get back to Mom. She’ll find you a bride and start planning a wedding.”

Not if I find one first, Lee thought, as the waiter poured more coffee into his cup. He wasn’t interested in finding a bride, and he wouldn’t appreciate his great-grandmother shoving one down his throat either. She was known to try such tactics.

His mind shifted to the woman he’d met a couple of nights ago. He wondered where she was and what she was doing. Why was he still thinking about her? Why had thoughts of her infiltrated his mind all day? When he should have been concentrating on the business at hand he’d instead recalled their dance, their kiss, her scent. Why had she made such a lasting impression on him?

His thoughts were disrupted when waiters came out carrying several plates. Dessert had arrived.

* * *

“Oh, I bet your dessert is a big hit with everyone, Carly.”

Carly smiled. Jodie was definitely a confidence booster, which was really refreshing. During her years at culinary schools and working in various restaurants, Carly had discovered that most chefs were competitive by nature and very few gave compliments to other chefs. In contrast, Jodie didn’t mind bestowing a compliment and she was always in a good mood. That was probably one of the reasons Carly liked her.