Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 93942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“Yes,” he said curtly.
“But you’re only here for three weeks, like me. How can you be the head chef?”
His jaw tightened. “I’m the head chef for the holidays. It gives the year-round executive chef time to visit his family in France. And I’m more than capable of running this kitchen. I got my internship through talent and skill.” His eyes narrowed. “Not by being bossy.”
I bristled at that. “I’m here about the New Year’s Eve menu. Is it finalized?”
“Not yet.”
“When will it be?”
“When it’s ready.”
“That’s not very helpful.”
“Neither is you standing in my kitchen asking me questions I’ve already answered.”
We glared at each other. God, he was infuriating.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll let Mrs. Greer know.”
“You do that.”
I turned on my heel and walked out, my face hot.
On my way through the restaurant, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before—Kai, sitting alone at the staff table near the back. He had a plate in front of him, but he wasn’t eating. Just staring off in the distance.
It was odd. From what little I knew of him, he seemed like the type who’d be laughing and joking with the other staff, not sitting by himself in silence.
I walked toward him, tentative. Maybe I should apologize for how I left things yesterday. Or at least—
He looked up. Saw me. And then he put his napkin on the table, got to his feet, and walked away.
I stood there, frozen in place as I stared after him.
The ache that filled my chest was sharp and unexpected. But it was quickly overtaken by something hotter: anger.
He’d kissed me yesterday. Stroked my body in way no one ever had before. And made me feel things I’d never felt before.
And now he couldn’t even stay in the same room as me. I wavered between the two emotions—hurt and pissed off. But I was starting to lean heavily toward pissed off.
9
ZOE
The front desk staff asked me to join them in the restaurant for a late dinner after their shift, but I politely declined. As I headed back to the hideaway, I could admit that it was mostly because I didn’t want to see Kai. I was still angry at him, but over the course of the afternoon, I’d realized that I was mad at myself more. I’d taken my eyes off the prize. I wasn’t here to meet men. I was here to work hard and secure my future.
So it didn’t matter that Kai was hot. Or that he’d made me laugh. Or that—oh crap, he was standing right there.
My stomach dropped as I skidded to a halt just inside the room. He was in the tiny kitchenette, and he closed the half-size fridge door as he straightened up with a bottle of beer in his hand.
Shit. Why wasn’t he at the restaurant with the other staff?
My first instinct was to slink past him and retreat to my bedroom. That had been the whole point of avoiding the restaurant—so I didn’t have to face being snubbed by him again.
But instead, anger bubbled up inside me, hot and sharp. I marched over.
He was still wearing that vivid blue sweater that matched his eyes, paired with jeans. His feet were bare.
“What the hell is your problem?” I demanded.
His eyebrows shot up practically to the ceiling. “Pardon?”
“You have a lot of nerve ignoring me today after what happened yesterday.”
He looked taken aback for a moment, then held up his hands. “Wait a second—”
“Listen, you arrogant jerk—”
“Wait. Just wait—please.”
The ‘please’ caught me off guard, but I wasn’t ready to back down. “Like I’m really going to do anything you tell me to.”
“Fair enough.” He studied me for a moment. “Let me just ask you this. Are you going to slap me?”
“I should.”
“I’d prefer you didn’t.” He set down the beer bottle and reached into his back pocket, pulling out his phone. “Please let me show you something.”
I crossed my arms. “I’ve seen what you have to offer, and I’m not interested anymore.”
His mouth quirked upward at that. He opened his phone, flipped through it, then turned the screen toward me.
I gawked.
The photo on the screen showed two of him standing side by side. One was grinning. The other wasn’t.
“What the hell?” My jaw dropped. “Are you trying to say it wasn’t you, it was your evil twin?”
He blinked twice, looking genuinely surprised. “Well, yes, actually.”
“Nice try, but that’s obviously Photoshopped. Or AI.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “I usually have this whole spiel I use to explain. I didn’t expect you to guess it.”
I stared at him. “Come on. You don’t really have an evil twin.”
“I assure you that I do.” He frowned slightly. “Though I’m not sure that ‘evil’ is quite the word I’d use. Anyway, I’m Landon. The person you presumably had an encounter with yesterday is my twin, Kai.”
He held out his hand, but I was too confused to shake it.