Delicious

Delicious
Susan Mallery

Cal Buchanan needs a top-flight chef to take over his failing Seattle restaurant, The Waterfront.He can afford to hire the best in town–the only problem is that the best happens to be his ex-wife, Penny Jackson. Penny really needs this opportunity, but she doesn't need the distraction of working with her ex.She's sworn off romance–she's even having a baby on her own. But before she knows it, the heat is on…and the attraction between her and Cal moves from a low simmer to a full boil!Dessert The rest should be easy as pie, but a secret from Dessert Cal's past could spoil everything. Maybe it's true that too many cooks spoil the broth–or maybe two is enough to make it irresistible.

Delicious

Susan Mallery

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER ONE

PENNY JACKSON KNEW that it was probably wrong to be so excited to see her ex-husband come crawling back, but she was willing to live with the character flaw.

“You know he’s going to want to hire you,” her friend Naomi said.

“Oh, yeah. The sweet smell of validation.” Penny leaned back in her chair and considered the possibilities. “I want him to beg. Not in a vicious, I hate your guts way, but more as a…”

“Show of support for divorced women everywhere?” Naomi asked.

Penny laughed. “Exactly. I suppose that makes me petty and small.”

“Maybe, but you’re looking especially fabulous today, if that helps.”

“A little.” Penny smoothed the front of her loose sweater and glanced at the clock. “We’re meeting for lunch downtown. A neutral location—no memories, good or bad.”

“Stay away from the good ones,” Naomi warned her. “You always were a sucker where Cal was concerned.”

“That was so three years ago. I’m completely over him. I’ve moved on.”

“Right.” Naomi didn’t look convinced. “Don’t think about how great he looks in his clothes, or out of them. Instead remember how he broke your heart, lied about wanting children and trampled your fragile dreams.”

Easy enough, Penny thought, a flicker of annoyance muscling in on her good mood.

Nearly as bad, four years ago she’d applied for a job as a cook in Buchanan’s, one of Cal’s family’s restaurants. The job had been strictly entry-level—she would have been in charge of salads. There had been ten other applicants. Worried she wouldn’t make the cut, Penny had asked her then-husband to put in a good word for her with his grandmother. He’d refused and she hadn’t gotten the job.

“This time the job is coming to me,” Penny said. “I intend to take advantage of that. And him. In a strictly business way, of course.”

“Of course,” Naomi echoed, not sounding the least bit convinced. “He’s trouble for you. Always has been. Be careful.”

Penny stood and reached for her purse. “When am I not?”

“Ask for lots of money.”

“I promise.”

“Don’t think about having sex with him.”

Penny laughed. “Oh, please. That isn’t an issue. You’ll see.”

PENNY ARRIVED EARLY , then stayed in her car until five minutes after the appointed time. A small, possibly insignificant power play on her part, but she figured she’d earned it.

She walked into the quiet leather-and-linen bistro. Before she could approach the hostess, she saw Cal standing by a booth in the back. They might have friends in common, and live in the same city, but since she’d done her darnedest to avoid close proximity to him they never ran into each other. This lunch was going to change that.

“Hi,” she said with a breezy smile.

“Penny.” He looked her over, then motioned to the other side of the booth. “Thanks for joining me.”

“How could I refuse? You wouldn’t say much over the phone, which made me curious.” She slid onto the seat.