Passionate Chef, Ice Queen Boss / Rescued in a Wedding Dress: Passionate Chef, Ice Queen Boss / Rescued in a Wedding Dress

‘You’ve implemented changes, and smoothed ruffled feathers of various staff members when necessary.’ He sipped his wine again. ‘Bringing staff conditions into a more sensible place has to be a good start.’

‘A good start, yes, but it’s not going to be enough.’ Working on the books had made that abundantly clear. ‘We need to lift our client base and keep it lifted.’ She didn’t notice the change in her speech from ‘I’ to ‘we’.

As the days passed, Lorenzo had worked quietly to support her efforts. And somehow through that, Scarlett had started to trust him and rely on him.

Only as the head chef here. Well, as the assistant manager and head chef.

‘I’ve stopped you from going home. I’m sorry. I lost track of the time.’ That had happened while she turned her mind inside out trying to find a larger overall solution to Rosa’s financial issues.

Now all Scarlett could register was Lorenzo’s closeness. She had to pull herself together!

‘Maybe you should tell me what brought you out here in the first place.’ He said it as an invitation, not a challenge.

And Scarlett found herself responding. ‘I have to find a way to let the general public know the true value of Rosa.’ She let her gaze meet his in the dimness.

His eyes gleamed with interest in what she was saying, but there was more, too, and Scarlett went on a little breathlessly.

‘There has to be a way to make Rosa stand out against a neighbour like the glitzy, internationally flavoured Sorella.’ She had sent out a feeler for one idea that might help.

Scarlett would have elaborated on that.

But he chose that moment to lay his hand on her arm. ‘If there is any other way I can help—I can work longer hours—’

‘You already give of your time and don’t claim the overtime you should.’ This was also something that had bothered Scarlett. Of all the staff that Rosa employed, Lorenzo was the one who should be paid more.

She tried not to react to the knowledge of his hand against the bare skin of her arm, tried not to want more of his touch. Yet when he finally dropped his hand away, she missed it.

‘That’s not important at the moment.’ He turned his head away, almost as though her comprehending his generosity had embarrassed him.

‘You—you made us some money catering to that movie star for her special lunch.’ Oh, Scarlett wanted to rest her hand against his arm, to touch him and feel his warmth.

‘Maybe we need to find a way to bring Hollywood to Rosa’s front door.’ He smiled a little as he said it.

‘Yes, why not? We’ll move the entire tinsel town here. Do you think anyone would notice it had gone missing?’ Scarlett returned his smile. They fell silent and finished their wine and…he was so close. She could smell the scent of his cologne, and old memories suddenly got all tangled up with the here and now.

She dropped her gaze away from him. The goal that had been to think about the future of Rosa and see if a break from the office would rattle loose any other ideas inside her mind faded in the face of her awareness of him.

Why was Lorenzo different from any other man? Surely, lots of men could kiss her and make her feel the same way he did. Or even better. Not that Scarlett had kissed a whole lot of men in the past years, and not that any of the candidates she had kissed had stacked up.

She’d been busy building her career. For that reason she hadn’t involved herself in a great amount of dating.

And so what if none of them had swept her away?

These thoughts were not productive, especially at this time of night when she was obviously weary and not able to think clearly.

‘Has it been hard for you, Scarlett? Coming back like this?’ He turned and somehow their fingers were brushing, just gently touching on the railing. ‘You seemed unhappy when I first saw you today at the swimming pool with your sister and Isabella.’

‘I didn’t think you’d see.’ What had he seen? She searched his gaze, and somehow in the dim quietness the words came out. ‘It’s no secret now, that Jackie had a daughter a long time ago. What most people wouldn’t know is that I all but single-handedly separated them back then. This afternoon at the pool, when Jackie was talking about Kate, I felt guilty for the way I’d hurt her.’

Scarlett felt emotion clog her throat, and she was appalled. She shouldn’t have let this out. ‘You mustn’t say anything to anyone. That’s…’

‘Your business, and Jackie’s business.’ He shook his head. ‘I won’t say anything. I…understand about secrets.’

Until he said those words, Scarlett had thought he might pull her into his arms, hold her, and perhaps try to kiss those painful emotions away.

She would have let him.

In fact, somewhere deep inside she admitted she might even have wanted that.

But his admission about secrets hung between them, a thinly veiled reference to his past marriage.

‘Well, I’m being a bit dramatic all of a sudden.’ Scarlett made as light of things as she could manage. ‘I shouldn’t have brought that old history up. Jackie just wants to forget it now that she has Kate in her life again. And, it’s late. We should go in. I’m sure you’d like to leave. I’m sorry I held things up daydreaming out here.’

Scarlett turned for the inside of the restaurant. She hadn’t exactly been daydreaming, but he would know what she meant.

‘Yes, of course we can go.’ Lorenzo looked at the tight set of Scarlett’s shoulders. She had on a simple light tan sheath that looked cool and comfortable, and brought out the beauty of her bone structure and the golden glow of her skin.

That glow had been in her face, too, until he stupidly brought up her earlier unease in her sister’s company.

Yet he couldn’t really regret it, because Scarlett had given him a gift just now. The gift of her trust for just a few moments before her openness made her uneasy and she wished she could have taken it all back.

He had wanted to comfort her but he’d drawn back from that, too. How could he do that when the guilt of his past plagued him? The guilt of his past and…the complications of his present.

‘I’ll see you home.’ He’d walk her over and walk away. That was all he could do with Scarlett. What else did he have to offer her? Nothing. Lorenzo was not free to offer Scarlett anything.

And of course, after all this time, he didn’t still want to. It had to be their past that made it difficult for him to maintain equilibrium in his thoughts where she was concerned.

‘No, thanks.’ She walked ahead of him through the restaurant, glanced back over her shoulder. ‘By the time you finish locking up and get on your motorcycle I’ll be there. I’ll be fine, Lorenzo. I don’t need you to go with me.’

She left him there, and he did watch to make sure she got home safely while her words rang in his head.

They didn’t need each other.

That had to be the truth of it.

Didn’t it?

‘You’ll understand if I ask you to explain your reasoning for whatever choices you make today?’ Scarlett asked the question quietly as Lorenzo drew Rosa’s small van to a stop outside a set of shops in a nearby larger township.

‘Of course.’ Lorenzo wasn’t concerned to know that Scarlett would spend this morning scrutinising his work practices. He had nothing to hide.

They were on a buying expedition, and both of them were in a mellow mood.

A cooling breeze had driven the worst of the heat away. The day was clear and fresh. It was nice to be away from the restaurant for a little while. Isabella had taken charge to free Lorenzo for his expedition. He’d climbed into the van and Scarlett had joined him so she could see what one of his buying trips consisted of. When he’d turned the key in the ignition, old rock music had blared out of the van’s speakers.

Scarlett had thrown her head back and laughed and he’d…laughed with her. He’d turned the volume down a little and they’d made the trip with the windows down, the wind whipping through their hair and against their faces. It had been…fun.

Lorenzo glanced at Scarlett’s flushed face, and couldn’t help the soft smile that came to his lips. ‘You can cross-question me all you like. I want Rosa to succeed as much as you do.’