***
I showed up early to get Emery settled in my office. I spread a sheet out on my couch and propped some pillows up. Emery snuggled into her little nest happily.
I rummaged through the kitchen and grabbed a large steel stock pot. It wasn’t going to be used for soup today. I placed it beside Emery’s head.
“If you feel sick again, aim for this.”
Emery didn’t answer me. She looked over my shoulder at the office door, her eyes wide and bright. I turned to follow her gaze and saw Amber standing in the doorway.
I frowned. No one was supposed to be here yet. I’d planned on getting Emery tucked away before the crew arrived. This complicated things.
“You’re early,” I said, ignoring how beautiful she looked standing there, with her hair in a tight bun, revealing her beautiful long neck. The woman had no clue how sexy she was, or fuck, maybe she did, and I was an idiot.
Amber glanced from my daughter and back to me, a confused look on her face. “Yeah, I wanted to get a head start on prep. So, uh, what’s going on here?”
I opened my mouth to tell Amber to mind her own business and get to work, but I shut it again. I couldn’t be my usual asshole self in the restaurant with Emery around. She didn’t need to see me like that. It would just upset her, and considering she wasn’t feeling well, the last thing I wanted to do was make her feel worse.
“This is my daughter, Emery,” I said, keeping my voice even. I tried to give Amber a look that warned her to watch herself, but it was hard to maintain with Em right there.
Amber clamped her lips together like she was trying to hide a smile. “You have a daughter?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Yes, I have a daughter. Thank you captain obvious.”
She stared at me, like she was seeing me in a new light. I didn’t like it. Not one bit. There was a reason I kept my personal and professional lives separate. Things became confused when those two worlds collided, and women above everyone else overreacted to Em, like having a daughter made me something special.
It didn’t make me special. It made me a single father, which was the hardest job I’d ever had my whole life. It was the most important thing I’d ever do, and yet I was alone, making every decision and trying to keep up with molding my baby girl into someone that wouldn’t do what her mother did. She would be a different person, a better one.
Amber looked down at Emery, who stared back at her with a goofy smile on her face. Emery was usually shy when meeting new people. Seeing her react like this to Amber was a surprise.
“Well, hello there,” Amber said. “Nice to meet you.”
“I threw up today,” Emery said, beaming proudly.
Amber’s eyes widened in surprise. Then she burst out laughing.
I scrubbed my palm over my face. “She doesn’t need to know that, honey.”
“But it’s true.” Em gave her a sweet look.
Amber swiped away the tears of laughter from her eyes. She seemed to be enjoying herself. I sure as hell wasn’t.
“I’m sorry to hear that your tummy hurts,” Amber said.
Emery shook her head. “Not my tummy. My stomach.”
Amber barked a harsh laugh and shot me a dirty look. “Does everyone in your family have to correct me?”
I shrugged noncommittally. “Get it right, and that wouldn’t happen.”
Emery giggled and pulled her blanket over her face until just her eyes were peeking out. They twinkled with humor as she stared at Amber.
I couldn’t remember the last time Em acted like this with someone other than me. She was never this playful with Marla. It was good to see her happy.
I was almost curious to see how this played out.
“You’re pretty,” Emery said.
“Aww, and you’re sweet,” Amber replied.
“Are you my new mommy?”
Fuck. Too far. Time to shut it down.
“That’s enough, Emery,” I snapped.
Amber’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Whoa. What?”
I turned to Amber. “She’s messing with you. Don’t let that sweet innocent face fool you. She knows exactly what she’s doing. She thinks it’s funny. You’re not funny, Em.”
“You’re not funny,” she shot back and ducked her head under the covers, giggling like a little maniac.
“She’s got you there,” Amber chimed in, laughing too. “You are not in the slightest bit funny.”
I clamped my eyes shut and pressed my fingers to my temple, feeling a headache starting to build. Still, I couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at my lips. The girls were working me from both sides of the room.
Dammit.
“If you two are done ganging up on me, it’s time to get to work.”
“Hold on,” Amber said. She walked in and knelt beside Em, pulling the covers down.
Emery peered up at her with wide eyes.
“When I was little and I got sick, there was one thing that always helped.”
“What?” Emery asked.
“It’s like a magic potion that will make you feel better. Would you like to try it?”
Emery nodded. “Oh, yes. Please?”
“Be right back,” Amber said.
She returned to the office with a cup of fizzy, yellow liquid. I leaned in close to Amber so that Emery couldn’t hear. “What is that?”
“Ginger ale,” she said softly and glanced at me. “Excuse me, please.”
I hadn’t realized how close I was. I moved back, but held my apology from her. Big fucking deal. My office. My space.
I nodded, and Amber offered Emery the cup. “Here you go. You have to sip it slowly if you want it to work.”
“Okay.”
“All right, honey. Amber and I have to get to work. Holler if you need anything.”
We left the office and moved into the kitchen.
“Sorry about that,” I said. I wasn’t used to apologizing, especially in my own kitchen. I wasn’t doing it in my office though. Once was more than enough.
“No need. That kid is adorable.”
I smiled. “She is. But she can be a bit of a handful.”
“I noticed,” Amber said, grinning and shaking her head. “It must run in the family.”
“What?”
“The both of you love breaking balls.”
I actually laughed at that. “Well, when she does that, it means she likes you.”
Amber looked up at me, her deep blue eyes staring into mine. “Oh yeah? So, what does it mean when you do it?”
The woman was cocky in a way that had my pulse spiking a little.
I didn’t have an answer to that, nor was I going to make one up. “Come on. Let’s start prepping for lunch.”
Amber chopped vegetables while I arranged pans near the stove. There was something kind of soothing about prep time. Getting everything just right before the chaos started was a daily ritual for me.
“So naming the restaurant Emery,” Amber said. “Is that after your daughter or someone else?”
“Of course, I named it after her.” I didn’t glance her way. My body was already reacting poorly to her being in the same goddamn room with me. Like jacking off that morning had been nothing more than foreplay to what my cock was expecting from the day. Tough shit, buddy. It’s not happening.
“Good, cause the other way would be weird. Like naming your kid Ronald McDonald.”
I chuckled at that. “That’s horrible.”
“It is, but you know there’s at least one Ronald McDonald running around out there. Doomed to a life of ridicule and sadness.” She smiled.
“Sure, with a little sister named Wendy,” I said, grinning.
“Holy shit,” Amber said, turning to look at me.
“What?”
“That was a joke. An honest to God joke, right?”
“Was it? You’re not laughing.”
She shook her head. “No, it was funny. I’m just surprised. Who knew Chef Harrison had a sense of humor?”
I shot her a sour look. “Don’t spread it around. I’ve worked hard to get the reputation I have.”
“I bet. It’ll be our little secret,” she said, placing a hand over her breast like she was swearing an oath. My eyes moved down to her chest and my breath caught. She had to be a D cup or something nice and heavy like that. I wanted to test out the theory and strip her down. My hands itched to knead at her breasts, my mouth wetting a little to taste her.
Shit. Chill the fuck out.
Her cool blue eyes danced with amusement as she looked at me. She looked damn beautiful when she smiled like that. It was a shame I so rarely got to see it. It was my fault. My prickly demeanor made it impossible to share real moments of connection with someone.
It felt good. Almost too good.
The back door banged open. Danny and Sergio came stomping in, arguing about which basketball team was better.
I spared one more glance at Amber. The look on her face told me she knew what was coming. Our little moment of peace was over.
It was time to put my game face back on.
“Danny. Get your ass in here and start prepping the meat. Sergio. That silverware you cleaned last night is spotty as hell. Do it again, and make sure you do it right.” I locked my façade on tight.