Most of the staff came to their feet.
Basil tapped his very expensive watch, which went with his bespoke ivory shirt and dark slacks. “Five minutes everyone. Vite, vite.”
As the room quieted after the mass exodus, a large, heavy-set man in a stained yellow T-shirt and canvas shorts, his ginger hair close cropped, his eyes at half mast, leaned forward, folded his hands on the tabletop, and smiled at Rafe. “Simon said your dinner plans were uncertain.”
“I’m afraid so. I’ll call later.”
“Am I going to be up all night?”
Rafe glanced at Nicole. “Is Henny going to be up all night?”
Regardless that she’d told Rafe that she was beyond embarrassment, and had been until now, Nicole felt her cheeks flush at the russet haired man’s blunt query. She shook her head.
“There. Relax, Henny. You’ll get your beauty sleep.”
“Do you like dessert, Miss Parrish?” The chef was smiling faintly. He’d never seen one of Rafe’s women blush. And they were staying at the carriage house. Interesting.
“Yes, very much.”
Even more interesting. All the svelte models, actresses, and privileged young women hardly ever ate anything. Especially desserts. “Chocolate? Please say yes, because I have a penchant for chocolate desserts.”
Nicole smiled. “So do I.”
Henny clapped his meaty hands. “Capital. Keep this one, Rafe. I’d like to cook for her.”
“I intend to.” Rafe shot a quick grin at Nicole. “Miss Parrish, however, is unsure of her holiday plans.”
The chef leaned back in his chair, exposing a glimpse of a green-and-black dragon tattooed on his neck. “Should I send over some menus, Miss Parrish? See if I might tempt you to stay longer? Rafe’s taste in women has been deplorable until now.”
“Watch it, Henny,” Rafe said, only half in jest, knowing his chef’s unfettered views on civility. “You’re in hock to me for some major gambling debts.”
“Fortunately, my quarterly funds will arrive soon. Not to mention my wife makes a fortune keeping people out of jail.”
“Then be polite for me,” Rafe said gently. “I’m trying not to scare off Miss Parrish.”
Henny grinned. “So I shouldn’t tell the truth. I could tell her about the puppy you had when you were ten. Or about the time you helped—oh shit, maybe it wasn’t an old lady across the street. Come to think about it, she wasn’t that old. How about I just lie.”
Rafe grinned back. “Good plan.”
Nicole was intrigued with the rapport between employer and chef. Although they were close in age. Had they known each other long before?
“Henny and I went to school together,” Rafe said, deciphering her speculative gaze. “Or rather, we were kicked out of the same boarding schools. Henny likes to mouth off, as you may have noticed.”
“And Rafe despises rules,” the chef drawled.
Rafe shrugged. “So do you.” He waved his hand in the direction of the table. “Basil completes our nonconformist trio. He preceded us at a truly gruesome school in Lucerne.”
The slim man with the face of an ascetic saint—a very handsome saint—grimaced. “I still have the scars to prove it. Rafe and Henny arrived just in time. I was about to be dropped from a fourth-floor window.”
At Nicole’s quick intake of breath, Rafe gave her a charitable smile. “You must have avoided boarding school. Those institutions offer an incomparable apprenticeship in survival of the fittest—picture Lord of the Flies for Eurotrash.” Rafe glanced at Henny. “Do you think it taught us ruthlessness or were we born that way?”
“Speak for yourself. Turn the other cheek, that’s me.”
Rafe snorted. Henny was as tall as he was and heavier. Neither one of them had ever turned the other cheek or avoided a fight.
Just then a young man entered the kitchen, smiling. And before long, the rest of the staff returned with the necessary items. Basil collected the condoms without comment, placed them in a drawstring muslin bag he pulled from a drawer, and handed the bag to Rafe. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Parrish,” he said, a genuine warmth in his eyes. “Enjoy your holiday.”
“We’ll call for dinner later.” Taking Nicole’s hand, Rafe lifted the bag to the room at large and smiled. “Thank you, everyone.”
As they left the kitchen, Rafe wrapped his arm around Nicole’s shoulder, drew her close, and, dipping his head, kissed her cheek. “Everyone liked you. Henny, in particular; he rarely talks to strangers. He prefers to cordon off his world. You dazzled him.”