Hot in the Kitchen Read online

  “Oh, we’re talking about it.” Tom turned to the stove, speaking over his shoulder. “But first, we crush Friday night feast.”

  Seth went back to his station, concentrating on his prep work as rock music blared overhead. The kitchen preferred loud and fast for prep time; when the doors opened, the soundtrack turned to smooth jazz. At the front of the house, the servers would be sweeping, placing settings and preparing for what he and Tom affectionately called “the show.” As the place to be on Friday and Saturday nights, weekend dinners were LUSH’s main attraction.

  The open kitchen gave them a pretty decent glimpse, especially of the bar. From Seth’s station, he had a direct line to the hostess stand by the front door. It sounded cheesy, but seeing the place crowded never ceased to give him a little thrill. These people, they came for a restaurant, a meal, an experience in which he helped make successful. To him, food was the best way to connect and grow. It’d taken him years to understand it, but now it was all he knew. For lack of a more cliched phrase, Seth had finally found his path.

  And Natalie had somehow stumbled her way right into it.

  Hunter popped into the kitchen to drop off glasses for the dishwasher, and grinned at the guys. “Any thoughts on the new server?”

  Seth froze, making sure not to so much as look at Hunter, or in Tom’s direction. He could feel his best friend’s eyes on him, as if waiting for a response. Not a chance.

  “Figured I’d offer up first dibs before I work my magic,” Hunter continued as he loaded glasses into the crate. “We all know it’s no contest, right?”

  “She’s cute,” one of the guys said. “But I don’t want the distraction.”

  “As if she’d date you,” another ribbed.

  The guys jumped in, laughing and listing reasons why the others wouldn’t stand a chance. All the while, Seth kept his eyes on his cutting board, very, very careful with his knife near his fingers.

  “Guys, guys, focus. Hunter, get out of here before I throw a knife at your head,” Tom said calmly. “We have better things to do than stroke your enormous ego.”

  Hunter laughed, unruffled by Tom’s threat. “It’s not my fault the ladies love me.”

  “Sure, until they storm into the bar a week later, demanding to know why you haven’t called. Can you keep that to a minimum this month? It’s starting to get distracting.”

  The whole kitchen snickered. Hunter’s amusement faded and, evidently humbled, he left the kitchen so the guys could get back to work. Seething as he chopped and stirred, Seth was unable to get Hunter’s smug words out of his head. If that pretty boy had his eyes on Natalie, it was only a matter of time before he made a move.

  What do you care? The little voice in the back of his head whispered. Seth shook it off. He didn’t care, not about Natalie or whoever she dated. Or in Hunter’s case, slept with, despite the leap of jealousy that came over him at the thought.

  Daniel, the manager, popped into the kitchen, jarring Seth back into the present. “Hey Chef, Dinah on the line downstairs, wants a word with you.”

  Tom glanced at him in surprise. “Everything okay, Dan?”

  Daniel pursed his lips in annoyance. “She just wants your input on something.”

  “I’ve got lineup in a minute,” Tom said, clearly hedging his bets on whether he could get out of it.

  “You know owner takes precedent.” Daniel ticked his head at Seth. “Seth can do it. He doesn’t mind, right?”

  Without waiting for an answer, he left the kitchen, leaving Tom no choice but to follow. Tom gave instructions to the line cook on the right, who nodded and stepped in for his prep. Tom shot a look back at Seth, grinning at the dreaded look on the sous chef’s face.

  “Have fun at lineup.”

  Inwardly, Seth groaned. Dealing with the front of house was more Tom’s thing, but as sous chef, Seth would simply have to learn to deal with it. Having to do lineup with Natalie there, however, was a bonafide nightmare. Tom knew it too, judging by the smirk on his face when he left the kitchen. Jerk.

  Seth strode out to the bar area, never looking up from the menu in his hand. “Lineup. I want to hear you taking notes. Two specials tonight, eight each, so keep an eye on counts in the computer…”

  The servers sat on the bar stools, scribbling on their pads as fast as they could to keep up. Seth didn’t pause, wanting nothing more than to get through the next five minutes without having to look Natalie in the face. He stared down at the black type on the menu, refusing to glance up.

  “It’s kohlrabi on the sirloin now, and pickled beets on the black drum.” He finished the entree details, relieved to move on to dessert and wrap this up. “And remember, we only have so much of the green matcha ice cream before it’s completely gone, so no substitutions.”

  Adam raised a hand. “What if it’s a birthday?”

  “Then we’ll put a candle on it. Still no substitutions.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Rachel making a face to Aubrey, the other bartender. Annoyance bubbled in his chest.

  “Rachel, what’s the puree on the charcuterie app?” Seth barked. His eyes narrowed on the server, shaking his head when she glanced down to a menu. “Without looking.”

  “Uh,” Rachel stammered. She flushed, mouth opening and closing without any response. “I don’t remember.”

  “It’s peach,” Seth answered. His gaze ticked over to Aubrey. “What’s on the fish collar?”

  “Nice try, but there’s no collar tonight,” Aubrey said smoothly, without so much as glancing at her menu notes.

  Seth soured at her correct reply. Instead of answering, he turned on his heel and stomped off. He ignored the whispers behind his back, not wanting to care what front of house thought of him. Tom was well-liked here, but that didn’t mean the sous chef had to be, not if it meant getting the work done.

  Bull, the little voice in his head whispered. He’d lashed out for one reason and one reason only. Seth failed to steel himself against the wave of emotion that came over him as he thought of Natalie. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at her during lineup. He was such a coward, he’d taken it out on the staff instead. On his friends, or at least they were when he wasn’t being a jerk. Guilt flashed through him, but he shook his head and made his way back to his place in the kitchen.

  Now was not the time for this kind of drama in his life. He had too many plans of his own to execute. Seth had interviewed two days ago with a small restaurant in the next town over for their chef position. Only Tommy knew about it, and Seth had been trying desperately not to check his phone every five minutes for news. He thought he stood a pretty good chance, and knew it’d be another step in the right direction for his career.

  Now if only he could prevent being distracted by his ex-girlfriend.

  Four years ago, Seth broke Natalie’s heart.

  She waitressed at a chain restaurant during her senior year of college. She’d wanted to save up funds for grad school and was totally focused on the future. She’d graduate college, get into vet school, and start the rest of her life. Ideally, by the time she started her career, she’d be married or at least in a serious relationship clearly on the path to marriage. Nothing and no one would stop her from reaching her goals.

  Natalie had it all planned out. Until she met Seth as a line cook at the same chain restaurant.

  “Earth to Natalie, hellooo,” Katie said, snapping her out of her memories.

  “Sorry,” Natalie said automatically. She blinked a few times, turning to look at her. “What did you say?”

  “I was introducing you to our other bartender. This is Aubrey. Aubrey, Natalie.”

  Natalie looked up to see one of the most beautiful women she’d ever seen in person. Aubrey wore a modest black tank top instead of their server button-ups, showing off two impressively muscled arms, and snug jeans that were definitely worn on purpose for the customers. A sleeve of colorful tattoos decorated her left shoulder to elbow. Long blond waves cascaded down
tan shoulders and natural-looking makeup enhanced her rosy cheeks and clear blue eyes, with downright enviable long lashes.

  Aubrey was the kind of beautiful that you didn’t want to stand next to in photos. She loaded the fridge with bottled beers, the glass gently clinking together as she stacked. Her white teeth shone as she beamed at Natalie.

  “G’day,” she said, surprising Natalie with an Australian accent. “Welcome to LUSH.”

  Natalie tried to smile as brightly as she did, sure she came up short. “Hi there.”

  “And she’s met Hunter,” Katie muttered to her.

  “Ah. As a courtesy, Natalie, I encourage you not to get caught under Hunter Stone’s spell,” Aubrey said as she worked. She gave no indication of ill will or jealousy.

  Natalie tilted her head. “Uh oh. What’s wrong with him?”

  She shot them a knowing look. “He’s a very nice guy to the ladies.”

  Katie snorted. “Don’t get us wrong, you seem awesome. Which means we’d like you here longer than a few shifts, so that’s why you get a warning about his ways.”

  Natalie laughed. “That sounds about right for someone who looks like him.”

  “He’s won several competitions,” Adam said conspiratorially from his side of the bar. “And the local media awards him best bartender, like, every year.”

  “Not this year, they don’t,” Aubrey countered. She cracked her knuckles, smirking. “I’m coming for that title.”

  The others laughed at her fierce expression, but Katie agreed, too. “He’s smoking hot, but he’s got a new flavor every week. Don’t get your heart broken.”

  “It’s okay,” Natalie said, waving her off. “Even if I were interested, I’m not looking for anything serious.”

  “Oh, you’re definitely interested. I mean, look at him.” Aubrey grinned at her as she shut the silver refrigerator. “Which is fine if you’re looking for some fun, but all I’m saying is, don’t get attached. There’s only heartbreak that way.”

  “Thanks for the warning.”

  “Hey, us girls gotta take care of one another. Welcome to the team.” She gave Natalie another wink before turning back to her bar duties. Her white-blond hair swung behind her as she moved.

  Natalie appreciated her honesty. While Hunter’s reputation was expected, given the ample amount of good looks and charm, it was cool Aubrey had Natalie’s back. Besides, Natalie could’ve guessed at Hunter’s player ways. The guy looked like a walking orgasm.

  Then again, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. Natalie hadn’t lied to her new friends—a serious relationship, or one of any kind, really, was so not a possibility right now. Never mind working as many hours as she could, eventually she’d go back to vet school to finish her degree. She wouldn’t have time for anyone then, either. With her original plan so far off-schedule, she couldn’t delay any longer.

  But that didn’t mean Natalie couldn’t have some fun. Maybe Hunter was exactly the kind of thing she needed right now. No strings, no feelings. She might be into that.

  “Can we talk about Seth’s attitude?” Adam asked.

  “Seriously, what bug crawled up his butt today?” Rachel muttered. Her cheeks still flamed pink with embarrassment.

  Natalie didn’t respond, thanking her lucky stars when Katie remained silent. Even if she was willing to talk to a near stranger about it, now was neither the time nor the place.

  Lineup had been almost painful to sit through. Seth hadn’t even looked at her. Not that she’d noticed, since she’d tried not to glance up from her notepad. Between scribbles, however, she couldn’t help but peek. His surly attitude surprised her, even if they did end things on bad terms. Did he really still hate her after all these years? Or was this just the guy he was now, brash and impatient?

  “Do you think it’s Brenna?” Aubrey asked.

  “Brenna?” Natalie echoed, a streak of jealousy running through her. She tried to shake it off, keeping a straight face when Katie glanced at her. What did she care if Seth had a girlfriend?

  “Maybe she finally ended it,” Rachel said.

  She exchanged a conspiratory look with Adam, whose lips quirked into a little smile. He didn’t participate though, instead grabbing a long lighter. He walked away, lighting the small candles on each table. Their soft glow on the wooden tables added to the restaurant’s warm ambiance.

  “Why would she do that?” Aubrey asked as she wiped down the bar. She arched an eyebrow at Rachel, clearly not buying the gossip.

  Natalie’s stomach tightened. She didn’t know what to expect, or what she wanted to hear.

  Rachel seemed delighted to answer. “She says he’s still not over the last girlfriend.”

  Natalie’s heart lurched, and she tried to calm herself. One, you have no reason to be excited about this because you don’t have time to even try anything with him. Two, you dated four years ago. He’s probably had a dozen girlfriends between then and now. Also, and most importantly, he apparently hates you.

  Aubrey hummed under her breath, but went back to tending the bar. Rachel, disappointed that was the end of it, disappeared into the service station. Katie scribbled a few more notes onto her menu, muttering the ingredients under her breath. Hunter came out from the hallway and swung back behind the bar.

  “What’d I miss?” He looked around to the others. When his eyes fell on Natalie, he grinned.

  “Just wondering why Seth’s in a mood,” Adam answered as he put the lighter back in the drawer where he’d found it.

  Hunter shrugged. “He’s a serious guy.”

  Natalie could hardly believe her ears. Seth, serious? Since when?

  As if Katie heard her question, she addressed Hunter. “Only in the kitchen, really. He’s actually pretty fun when we’re not at work.”

  Hunter shrugged in admission. “True. Guess he’s just got other things on his mind today.”

  Katie hummed under her breath, and Natalie worked very hard again to keep her expression uninterested. Hunter and Aubrey discussed bar setup and new taps, and Katie took the opportunity to scoot over and murmur to Natalie under her breath.

  “Did you and Seth—?” Katie’s question fell off as she waggled her eyebrows.

  Natalie forced a chuckle. “We dated a million years ago.”

  Katie’s mouth fell open into a perfect “o” of surprise. “Are you the ex?”

  “No way,” Natalie said, waving her hands. “I highly doubt I ever registered like that for him.”

  The other server glanced to the kitchen, clearly at Seth. It drew Natalie’s attention to him too, at his furrowed brow and tight-lipped expression as he concentrated at his station.

  “Maybe you’d be surprised,” Katie suggested.

  “No,” Natalie said firmly. “It wouldn’t matter, anyway. I’m not interested in anything serious with anyone, an ex or otherwise. Too much on my plate right now.”

  “All right, just saying,” Katie said. She dropped the topic, instead quizzing Natalie about the menu.

  Natalie was grateful for the change, not only to get the attention off her, but for the distraction. She needed to not think about Seth Clark; not thinking about him was the only way she’d had it for four years, because she simply couldn’t cry any more over him. Natalie couldn’t withstand the heartbreak again.

  A few days later, Natalie was finally in the swing of things. She felt confident with a fully loaded tray and so far hadn’t screwed up any orders. She had no problems being a team player and made sure to help the others during any slow times. Good news awaited her during Friday night prep work.

  “The training wheels are officially off,” Katie told Natalie during prep.

  “Really?” Natalie tied her apron strings.

  “Yep. You’ll get half the tables we do for the night, but let us know if you get in the weeds.”

  “Great,” Natalie said. She raised an eyebrow, shooting a look around the room. “Now what?”

  “You can help me,” Aubrey offered from behi
nd the bar. “I need citrus from the fridge outside. Here’s my list.”

  Natalie accepted the scrap of paper bearing her wild scrawl. “Sure. I’ll be right back.”

  “In case no one’s told you, leave the door cracked when you go in,” Aubrey said. “That door’s been sticking this week and it could be hours before someone comes in looking for you.”

  Natalie’s eyes bulged. “Wait, what?”

  The Aussie laughed, long blond hair swinging behind her as she turned. “I’m kidding, Nat. If you’re not back in five minutes, I’ll let you out.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Natalie muttered. So the door does stick. The idea of getting stuck in the outdoor fridge made her queasy. Tight spaces weren’t on her list of favorite things.

  Aubrey had already moved on to something else. Natalie backed away from the bar, sighing to herself as she turned and went down the hallway. Adam stomped upstairs with a heavy box of wine as she grabbed a medium-sized plastic container on her way out. She passed the open bathroom doors; Rachel had her back to her as she mopped the floors.

  A blast of summer heat hit Natalie as she stepped out on the back deck. Sweat instantly beaded on her upper lip and forehead. The area was currently a ghost town, devoid of the usual smokers that gathered from neighboring restaurants’ back doors.

  Natalie yanked at the heavy refrigerator door, finally getting it to open. She slipped inside, goosebumps breaking out across her skin at the temperature fluctuation. Making sure to leave the door cracked, Natalie blindly searched the shelves for Aubrey’s ingredient list. Twelve lemons, six grapefruits…

  A sliver of afternoon light shone into the fridge as she gathered a small container full of citrus. The cold air made her shiver and she moved faster to collect her list.

  The angry voice could be heard on the other side of the thick door. “Which idiot left this open?”

  Natalie gasped as the door swung open, light flooding the space. The person entered and pulled the door shut behind him.

  “No!” she tried, but it was too late. The door was completely shut, the two of them far too close in this tight space.