Grace waited a second before responding. “I’m not the only bartender they hired recently.”
“No, it’s you. Sal spoke of a girl. I know he hired another guy but he didn’t mention much about him.”
And he had mentioned her? Trying not to sound too interested, Grace turned away from Sofia and placed her purse in the cabinet. “Really? What did he say?”
“That you’re good. And he said you’re fast. Which, let me tell you—we need fast, especially on the weekend.” Sofia pulled her ball cap on. “Sweet Sixteen starts this weekend. You’ll see what I’m talking about.”
“Sweet sixteen?”
“March Madness.” Sofia looked at her like she was from another planet. “The last sixteen college teams standing, they start battling it out this weekend. It’s gonna get busy in here.”
Grace was still thinking about Sal talking about her. Sofia said he’d hardly mentioned the other bartender. She shook it off, grabbing her cap out of the cabinet and began putting it on. “So uh, is Alex closing today?” That was one way of finding out if Sal would be there later or not. It was only either him or Alex who ever closed.
“No, he’ll be in for a few hours, but I’m closing.”
“You?”
“Yeah,” Sofia smiled at her. “She leaned over the desk and typed something into the keyboard of the computer. “Ugh, Sal has to be so damn anal about everything. Does he really think anyone has time to take their lunch and breaks when he schedules them?” She turned to Grace. “Seriously he does all this.” She motioned to the screen. “And no one even bothers to look at it.”
Alex walked in. “Hey, Gracie. Sof, you’re back.”
He leaned in and kissed the side of her head as Sofia continued to type something then laughed. “Don’t tell Sal I did this.”
Alex peered at the screen and smiled. “He’s gonna know it was you.”
“Doesn’t he get it? After all these years?” She turned to Grace. “He still prints out recipes for the cooks that have been cooking here for years. I can just imagine the stuff he laid on the new cook.”
Alex laughed. “Oh yeah, poor sap has his homework cut out for him.”
“Homework?” Grace finally spoke up.
Alex sat down. “Just wait, Gracie. You’ll see when you get in the kitchen. Sal’s too much. I’m surprised he hasn’t been riding you about the Moreno way of making drinks.”
Sofia turned to Grace. “He hasn’t given you the whole speech yet, about the way things work around here?”
Grace shook her head. “No, the most he did was give me a tour of the restaurant.”
Alex and Sofia exchanged glances. “Maybe it was the way things went down with Grace. I hired her, not Sal,” Alex chuckled. “He wasn’t too happy about it either.”
Grace tried not to frown at that.
“Why?” Sofia turned back to Alex. “He even said she was good.”
“Ah.” Alex winked at Grace. “Minor details on her résumé. You know Sal. But it’s all good now. Gracie’s in, and we got ourselves a hell of a bartender.”
Sofia rolled her eyes then smiled at Grace. “Once you get used to Sal’s meticulous ways, he’s not so bad.”
It wasn’t until a few hours later that Grace got a revelation making her feel like an idiot. The whole time since Sofia had arrived, the way she spoke of Sal and how at home she made herself at the restaurant, Grace had begun to wonder about her relationship with Sal.
Then Sofia’s fiancé dropped by and asked her something about her brothers. When Sofia told him only Alex was there, Grace nearly slapped herself on the forehead. Of course. She’d been so preoccupied with how pretty Sofia was and how Sal, who obviously did most of the hiring, and was so meticulous, had not only hired her, but given someone so young the responsibility ofponsibiof closing the restaurant by herself, Grace missed the resemblance entirely. She didn’t even put it together when she saw the dimples Sofia flashed. Now it all made sense, even the way Alex had greeted her with a kiss.
What bothered Grace now was how relieved she’d been. What business was it of hers to care about who Sal hired and what inspired him to, anyway? She was forgetting her whole purpose for being here—time in the kitchen. That’s what she should be focusing on. From that moment on, she vowed to stop with what was beginning to smother her every thought. But as much as she tried to stay busy and focus on doing her job, she couldn’t help looking up and hoping it was Sal every time someone walked in. Even after they were closed, she looked up, hopeful it was him who knocked on the locked door. She smiled when she saw Joey, but couldn’t help feeling let down.
Sofia unlocked the door and smiled at Joey as Grace walked out. “You working tomorrow, Grace?”
“Yeah, I close.”
“Alex said maybe we can get you in the kitchen this week. I think tomorrow would be good. Most of the day it’s a brunch but we do get some people ordering off the menu instead. Might be a good time to get you in there since menu orders are at their slowest on Sundays.”
Grace glanced at Joey, he was already smiling. Grace nodded, feeling the sudden excitement. “Yeah, for sure.”
“So come in early. We got enough people to cover the closing shift.”
“Okay.”
“Great, see you in the morning.” Sofia closed the door.
Grace didn’t even wait for her to finish locking the door. She turned to Joey who looked ready to burst and jumped in his arms. He picked her up and spun her around. Grace saw Sofia laugh.
“I told you, Gracie! This is it. There’s no way they won’t be impressed with your cooking.”
Suddenly, everything she’d been obsessing about all day took a back seat. She was going to be cooking in Moreno’s kitchen tomorrow. This was a dream come true. She leaned her forehead against Joey’s. “Oh. My. God. How am I gonna get any sleep tonight?”
Joey laughed and she pulled away. They started walking to his car hand in hand. “You need to bring your A game tomorrow, so you better get some sleep. Don’t blow this Grace.” He squeezed her hand. “Oh, what am I talking about? You got this.”
The whole drive home she talked Joey’s ear off about the way she’d seen them prepare certain dishes and how Alex and Sofia had both said Sal was so anal about everything. She had her own way of cooking and she didn’t do recipes. What if Sal insisted she did? She almost wished he wouldn’t be there tomorrow, but at the same time she wanted him to taste her cooking.
By the time they got to her house, she was all talked out.
“Relax. You’re gonna do great.” Joey squeezed her hand then kissed it. “I’m so excited for you. Call me as soon as you get their first reaction. I’m sure they’re gonna be floored.”
That night Grace lay in bed, trying not to toss and turn too much. Her sister was sleeping soundly as usual. Shes anor al. Shed told Rose about getting her chance in the kitchen tomorrow and she’d been just as excited about it as Joey had been.
As exciting as finally getting her opportunity to prove herself was, and as much as she tried to focus on that and that alone, her thoughts kept swaying in one direction. It wasn’t about would they be impressed? All she could think of was, would Sal be impressed? She reasoned that it was because he was the one who initially dismissed her as inexperienced but in her heart she knew there was more to it. For some reason the thought of impressing Sal Moreno in any way had suddenly become a priority.
~*~
Sunday morning Sal rushed in early to get the week’s inventory done as quickly as possible. He wanted to be out of there before the closing shift came in. He’d already called Jason. Sal was meeting him for a round of golf then he was stopping by Alex’s. His mother was preparing a Sunday dinner over at Alex’s house since Valerie couldn’t get out of bed and she wanted everyone to drop by.
Staying busy was good. It helped keep his mind off of other things. He’d finally admitted to himself that maybe he was a little attracted to Grace, but after seeing her with boyfriend number two, i
t squashed any possibilities. Besides, it was out of the question. She was too young for him and she was an employee, it would never work. He was stupid to have even considered the thought.
He sat back staring straight ahead at the cabinets against the wall. It was just a physical thing. Even though at first he hadn’t been very impressed by Grace, after being around her he noticed a few things about her that could be construed as attractive. Her big innocent eyes, the curves he hadn’t been privy to on their first meeting because of the unflattering dress. The way there was no hiding her excitement even over the smallest things—a ball cap. And that laugh… there was no way he could hear it and not smile.
Alex walked into the back room. “What’s with the cheesy smile?”
Sal straightened out. “I was just thinking about something.” He spun his chair around to face the computer. “Are Angel and Sarah gonna be there tonight?”
Sofia walked in. “I heard dad on the phone last night so they better be.” She giggled. “Is Grace here yet?”
Sal turned around. “No, she’s closing.”
“Well, she was,” Sofia said, grabbing an apron out of the drawer. “I told her to come in early. We’re gonna give her a shot in the kitchen. I figured Sunday is a good day for her since—”
“Wait,” Sal said, feeling uneasy. “Who okayed this?”
Alex laughed. “What do you mean? We said we were gonna give her shot so we’re giving her a shot.”
Sal couldn’t care less about her in the kitchen at this point. He’d figured this attraction thing would go away with a few days of not seeing her. He’d planned it, damn it. Easy peasy. Monday and Tuesday were her days off. If he scheduled a few more interviews Wednesday and Thursday at Angel’s, it would be almost a week before he’d have to be around her again. He would’ve been home free by then. Now they’d thrown a wrench in his plans.
“Yeah, and you fiah, andshould’ve seen how excited she was last night when I told her.” Sofia added. “Even her boyfriend was excited. He picked her up and spun her around. He’s a cutie!”
Sal squeezed the armrest of his chair. “Which one?”
“What do you mean?” Sofia stopped tying her apron.
Before he could gather his thoughts to respond, Alex’s words made him hold his breath. “Speak of the devil.”
In walked Grace. It had only been one full day since he last saw her and it felt like forever. Her hair was down. All this time he’d been witness to her hair in a bun or in a ponytail. Now it was down and hung loosely around her face, adding yet another thing he hadn’t noticed about her before. How damn sexy she was. Of course.
CHAPTER 8
They’d been talking about her. Grace felt her heart speed up at Alex’s words, but seeing Sal when she walked in the back room pushed her nerves into overdrive. “Morning,” she said, to no one in particular.
“Good morning, Grace.” Sofia was the first to respond.
“Ready to show us your stuff?” Alex asked, with a smile. He turned back to Sal, “I’m curious about this. If she’s even half as good at cooking as she is at putting drinks together, I think we got ourselves a cook.”
“Good morning, Grace,” Sal said.
His stoic expression said it all. He didn’t share the same enthusiasm as his siblings about testing her cooking skills. He looked at Alex. “You’ll have to tell me about it. I’ll be leaving in a little while.”
“What? You’re not gonna stick around and see what she can do?”
Sal’s eyes met hers for a lingering moment. Then he added to her disappointment, “Nah, I’m meeting someone in a couple hours. I’ll get a chance to another time.”
With that, he turned around to face the computer.
“You’ll have to put your hair up though, Grace,” Sofia said, as she pulled her own hair up.
“Oh, I was going to. I just wore it down so it could dry on my way here.” Grace started digging in her bag for the band she used to pull her hair up in a ponytail. She gulped trying not to thiiv nk about Sal’s aloof demeanor.
Her throat actually constricted, making her swallow hard. How could a few cold words from him actually make her feel like choking up? It was so stupid. She was so stupid. All night and all morning, it’s all she had thought about—what he would think of her cooking.
She’d been a ball of nerves the whole bus ride there. Then hearing Alex’s words stirred things up in her stomach even more but seeing Sal had done it. All day yesterday, she’d longed to see him, even if it was for just a moment. Now here he was and as usual, his indifference for her was palpable. Even as anal as they’d made him sound about the cooks, he wasn’t the least bit interested in seeing how she fared in his precious kitchen.
Of course not, why would he? God, she felt ridiculous. This restaurant, as important as it was to him, wasn’t his life. He had a life outside of this place and apparently, whoever he was meeting today took precedence.
Alex stepped out of the office to take a call from his wife. Sofia finished with her hair and apron before Grace. “I’ll go check what orders, if any, are in the kitchen. But it’s rare that anyone orders off the menu during brunch, especially because all the breakfast stuff is already out there.”
Grace nodded, hurrying to get her hair done. She didn’t want to be left alone too long with Sal. As soon as Sofia walked out the door, Sal turned to Grace almost as if he’d been waiting for Sofia to leave the room. “So which one is your boyfriend? Or are they both?”
His question came out of nowhere. She stopped what she was doing. “What?”
“The guys that pick you up after work.” He stared at her, the apathy now replaced with significant interest. He shrugged. “Just curious. Sofie mentioned your boyfriend seemed real excited last night when he picked you up. Does he know about the other guy?”
His tone was anything but just curious. It was almost accusatory. Wow, he wasn’t kidding when he’d said first impressions went a long way. He still had her pegged as a liar. “They’re both just friends of mine. Neither is a boyfriend.”
She saw the insolence in his smile. “So do your friends know about each other?”
Was he for real? Alex walked in just in time to hear her response. “As a matter of fact they do. We hang out together all the time.” She wasn’t about to get into Joey and Taylor’s relationship with him. It was none of his business. How dare he pass judgment on her with all the women he had hanging all over him?
She finished with her hair and reached for her apron.
“Sounds interesting.” He turned around to face the computer again. “You’ll need a jacket if you’re going to be in the kitchen.”
He almost sounded mad. Having his reservations about her as an employee because of the lie on her résumé was one thing. She’d give him that, even if she’d already apologized for it. But getting haughty over something he found questionable about her personal life was crossing the line. He had no right, no matter how anal he was about his employees’ integrity.
She took a deep breath, glancing at Alex and held in what she really wanted to say. “Where do I get a jacket?”
“In the stock room. Sofia can show you.”
She finished with her apron and shoved her bag in the cabinet.
“Showtime,” Alex said.
As excited as she’d been when she got there, she couldn’t even muster a smile before walking past Alex out the door. If Sal had made up his mind about her already, then there was no need to even try to impress him. Apparently, the jerk had her all figured out.
~*~
Wait for it…Wait for it…
“What the hell was that about, Sal?”
And there it was. “What do you mean?”
Alex closed the door. “You know what I’m talking about. You pissed her off. What did you say to her?”
Sal turned around. Just a few weeks into it and Alex was already turning into the protective big brother. This was so like him. Sal shrugged. “Two different guys picked her up la
st week. I just asked her about them. She didn’t seem mad to me.”
“Are you kidding me? She looked ready to spit nails. What did you ask her?” Alex crossed his arms and stared at him.
Sal couldn’t help frowning. Truth was she had been a little too defensive. “All I asked, is if they knew about each other.”
“What?” Alex looked even more disgusted. “Since when do you get all involved?”
“I don’t. I was just curious.”
“Bullshit, that’s straight out nosey. No wonder she was so pissed.”
“So I’ll apologize.” It wouldn’t be the first time. “I didn’t think she’d be so bothered by it.”
“What’s going on Sal? What is it with you and this girl? You still ticked off that I hired her even after you said she’d struck out?”
Sal stood up. He was done having this conversation. “Nope, I just asked her something that apparently rubbed her the wrong way. I’ll go apologize, then I’m out of here.”
He walked to the door aware that Alex was still staring at him. He opened the door and glanced back at him. Alex continued to stare at him but the scowl softened. Then suddenly he smirked. “You’re into her.”
“What?” Sal did his best to appear incredulous.
“You’re into Grace.”
Sal shoved the door closed. “No, I’m not.”
“Yeah, you are.” Alex laughed. “Why else would you ask her about the guys picking her up? You jealous, Sal?”