Hungry For You(6)

“He is!”

Alex paused with the phone halfway back to its cradle and pulled it back to her ear. “What? He is what?”

“A chef?” Sam said, but it sounded like a question rather than an announcement. It was enough to make Alex narrow her eyes.

“For real?” she asked suspiciously.

“Yes.” Sam sounded more certain this time.

“Where did he last work?” she asked cautiously.

“I—I’m not sure,” Sam hedged. “He’s from Europe.”

“Europe?” Alex asked, her interest growing. They had some fine culinary schools in Europe. She’d attended one of them.

“Yes,” Sam assured her. “Actually, that’s why I was sure he would be the one. He’s into cooking and fine cuisine like you.”

Alex drummed her fingers thoughtfully on the desk. It seemed like just too much good fortune that her sister wanted to introduce her to a chef the very day she was in desperate need of one. On the other hand, she’d suffered enough bad luck the last few months that a bit of good luck was surely in order. Finally, she asked, “What’s his name?”

“Valens.”

“I’ve never heard of him,” Alex murmured, and then realized how stupid it was to say that. She didn’t know every single chef in Europe. In fact, she only knew a few from her days in culinary school … and the names of the famous ones of course.

“Look, he’s a chef, and you need one. What can it hurt to meet him?” Sam asked. “I swear you won’t be sorry. I really think this will work out. Marguerite is never wrong. You have to meet him.”

“Marguerite?” Alex asked with confusion, recognizing the name. She was the aunt of one of Mortimer’s band mates, Decker Argeneau. Alex had never met her, but Sam mentioned her a lot. However, she had no idea what the woman had to do with any of this.

“Just meet him,” Sam pleaded.

Alex sighed, her fingers tapping a rapid tattoo. She could sense that Sam was lying about something in her determination to get her to meet the man, and really, she didn’t have time to waste at the moment. On the other hand, Sam hadn’t hesitated to say he could cook and had even said it was why she’d thought they might hit it off, so Alex suspected that part of it was at least true. At least she hoped it was. The fact was, she was desperate. And, frankly, beggars couldn’t be choosers. If the man could cook even half decently, she was definitely interested in him though not the way Sam was obviously hoping she would be.

“Send him over,” she barked, and then slammed the phone back in its cradle before she could change her mind.

* * *



Cale was telling Bricker and Mortimer about the wedding he’d attended in New York for several of his family members and their life mates when Sam came hurrying back into the room. “It’s all set,” she announced excitedly. “You have to go to her restaurant right away.”

Cale frowned. “You said you would have her come here.”

“Yes, well, there was a change of plans. Alex has a small crisis at the restaurant and can’t leave,” Sam announced, catching his arm and urging him toward the door to the kitchen. “Actually that reminds me. Can you cook?”

Cale stopped, forcing her to a halt, and announced stiffly, “I don’t eat.”

“I didn’t ask you if you eat,” she pointed out. “Can you cook? ”

“Why would I cook if I don’t eat?” he asked dryly.

“Not doing one doesn’t preclude your doing the other,” Sam said impatiently, and then clucked with irritation and tried to urge him to continue forward as she pointed out, “Male designers don’t wear women’s clothing, but they design it.”

“How do you know they don’t wear it?” Bricker asked lightly, drawing Cale’s attention to the fact that he and Mortimer had followed and now stood behind them.

Mortimer chuckled at the words, but Sam didn’t seem to see the humor. Grinding her teeth together, she tugged at Cale’s arm again. “Come on. You need to get to the restaurant before she changes her mind and takes off for the new place or something.”

Cale tugged his arm free of her hold. “I do not cook food and have no desire to visit a place filled with the stench of it. You’ll just have to arrange a meeting for a different day. I have no desire to go to her place of business.”





Two





“I can’t believe Sam told her sister I am a chef,”Cale muttered for probably the sixth time since finding himself bundled into the passenger seat of his rental car, and riding away from the enforcer house with Justin Bricker at the wheel.