And He Cooks Too (16 page)

He offered her his lame thanks as he caught Reese watching him with a guarded expression. “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t even say it.”

“I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

“You warned me that I’d run out of steam.”

“Are you in pain?”

God, why did she have to sound so understanding? His discomfort was his own damned fault for not telling Leonie to stuff it. “I keep dropping things. Forgetting my lines. At least I don’t have to do any chopping today.”

“Shh. You don’t want your aunt to hear.”

He shot a glance Leonie’s direction. “Maybe I do. She’s the one insisting on this madness.”

With each new gaffe, his mood deteriorated further. Jasper kept his cool, trying to cajole a lighter performance from him. Leonie made sure bottled water was brought to him at each break, which was turning into every five minutes. None of their efforts were helping.

As soon as the first taping ended, Jasper called Leonie over to where Nick sat in his wheelchair. “You,” he told Nick, “go rest. We’re breaking for an hour.” Then he turned to Leonie. “If you think this is working, you’re sadly deluded. We need to talk alternatives.” He literally pulled her off the set. Before he reached the door, though, he called back over his shoulder, “Stay close, Reese. We’re going to need you.”

****

An hour and fifteen minutes later, James wheeled Nick back to the studio.

“You sure you’re ready to come back?” Reese asked. “You still look a little groggy.”

“Couldn’t sleep, as much as I tried. Kept waiting for Leonie’s unmistakable knock, asking how I was doing, meaning how soon could I get myself back here. Where is she anyway?”

Now that he’d mentioned it, where was Auntie Dear? She hadn’t reappeared since she and Jasper had gone off to huddle. No wonder the last hour spent hanging around the set had been so pleasant.

“Your aunt left,” Jasper announced, joining them.

“What? I’ve never known her to leave the set during taping. Where’d she go?”

“I couldn’t say,” Jasper replied. “Possibly back to her apartment. She may be cruising the city. Or on a shopping binge. She refused to stick around.”

Nick leaned forward in his wheelchair as if he was going to stand up but caught himself just in time. “Okay, Jasper, what’s going on?”

Jasper appeared to be more in command. Had he finally done in Leonie?

The director shot a glance Reese’s direction but apparently decided she could be included in the rest of this discussion. “I finally convinced Leonie that you were in no shape to do the show yet. At least not the way you usually do it. Reese is going to join you.”

“Well, yeah, I figured as much,” Nick said.

Jasper took a deep breath. “As your co-host.”

Nick’s brows rose.

“What?” Reese said, alarm shooting up her spine. “I can’t co-host.”

Jasper took her hand. “Of course, you can, Reese. You’ve got the expertise. And you’ll look good in front of the camera. Don’t you agree, Nick?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“My only knowledge of the script is what food to prepare. I haven’t memorized the lines,” she protested.

“She has a point,” Nick agreed. “It will look a little strange, me talking to the audience and Reese just standing there, saying nothing.”

“Forget the script. There isn’t time to rewrite it. You and Reese are going to improvise, ad lib. At least for this week.”

“Improvise?” Reese clutched her stomach, which had begun to roil like the day one of the other cooking students substituted sugar for salt in her prize pot roast. “You mean, just make things up as we go?” Why was her body rebelling, ready to keel over? She should be on top of the world. This was just what she wanted. What she’d discussed with her family only days before.

Nick touched her arm. “You okay? I thought I was the sicky here, but your face looks like you walked into a cloud of flour.”

Go before the camera? Today? With no rehearsal. She wanted this. The on-camera time was essential preparation for her own show. But now, face to face with the chance to prove herself, she had second thoughts.

A totally oblivious Jasper said, “You’ve been through the script once. Both of you. So you’ve got some structure to fall back on. But you can throw in your own words too.”

Nick responded for her. “I think she could use a cold drink. Wheel me over to the craft services table, would you, Reese?”

Though she hesitated, giving him a look that said, “Now?” she did as he asked. But her footing was about as stable as Nick’s would be at the moment, if he attempted to walk. She nearly rammed him into the table, but he still managed to retrieve a bottle for each of them.

“Let’s go out in the hall,” he suggested. In the corridor, he pointed to a stray chair and made her sit. “I’ll ask again. Are you okay?”

Her hands went immediately to her abdomen. “Do I look okay?”

“No. You’re ready to hyperventilate. Don’t talk. Take deep breaths.”

She did as he directed.

“It’s payback time,” he told her. “I owe you for getting me to the hospital, staying with me, visiting me the other day.”

“Payback?”

“What I meant was, it’s my turn to be concerned about you. And help you deal.”

“Deal?”

“You’re scared, right?”

God, yes, she was scared. She was at a crossroads in her career. Her big opportunity had come sooner than she’d planned. Was she up to it?

“I know you act tough. You’ve had to learn that to play with the big boys in the kitchen. But just for now, you can let down your guard with me. Hell, tear up a bit, if that helps.”

She’d like to let down her guard. But could she trust him? Her trust radar where men were concerned was pathetic.

“Doing this without a script is frightening me as well. I’m an actor. I live by other people’s words. On my own, I could be a mumbling mass of nonsense, especially as out of it as I’ve felt all day. I need you to help me get through this.”

She wished he hadn’t reminded her of his other career, because this pep talk could all be one big act. Although, that day he’d counseled Deborah he’d been genuine.

He kept going, while she figured out how to respond. “Drink some of that water. I have no idea how it’s supposed to help, but that’s what they always advise. Never quite figured out who
they
are, but
they
must know what they’re doing. You hear it all the time in the movies.” He paused to catch his breath.

Enough! “Stop, Nick! You’re prattling.”

“Prattling? I thought only women did that.”

“That’s what it was.”

“Okay, no prattling. But answer my question. What’s got you so freaked out?”

“It’s all coming at me so fast. No time to think it through.”

“What about kitchen emergencies? You don’t have time to think those through either.”

“Yes, but—”

“But what? Who gave me first aid before anyone else even moved when I burned my hand? Who called the EMTs when I went down at the Monforts?”

He was wearing her down, for which she was grateful. She could do this. Besides, he needed her. Whether he’d been sincere about that or not, he really did need her. He was a good host, the only thing keeping this show afloat. But with her at his side, he could be a great host.

“You’ve done this before, Reese. It may not have been in front of a camera, but a kitchen’s every bit a stage.”

She stood, brushed her slacks. “Okay, okay! You should go into sales. You’re quite convincing.”

“Does that mean…?”

“I swear if you get the least bit cocky over this, Nick, I’ll…I’ll—”

“Show me up on camera?”

“That’s a given.”

She started to make her way back to the set, then remembered Nick in his wheelchair and returned to him. “Going my way?”

As soon as Jasper saw Reese wheeling Nick through the door, he shot up and went to them. “That determined smile on your face tells me you’re going through with this.”

Reese nodded, attempting to retain the smile. “Let’s do it.”

Jasper clapped his hands. “Great!”

“I want to do this, Jasper. I just wasn’t expecting it today.”

“Pretend you’re back in your kitchen at
Solange
and you’re instructing new kitchen help,” Jasper advised. “People with only basic culinary knowledge, which needs to be molded under your instruction.”

She nodded, rubbed her chin. “That makes sense.”

“We’ve already been through this twice, Reese, so it’s not like we’ll be working without a net.”

She continued to nod, “True, true. But without a script, we’ll be stepping on each other’s words. And heaven knows, we have two totally different approaches to cooking.”

“That’s called synergy,” Nick said. “We combine our individual strengths and come up with one fantastic show.”

Jasper picked up the string. “That’s right. We pit your serious dedication to food preparation against Nick’s wit and charm. You can’t argue with those ingredients.” He smiled at his pun.

“I suppose—”

“I’ve got it!” Nick interrupted. “We just continue our recent bantering, like the early part of our shopping expedition last week. It’s a natural. You can be yourself. I’ll, of course, be my own inimical charming self, and we have the original script to fall back on for structure.”

Jasper was nearly jumping up and down. “Perfect! You’ll hardly have to think, Reese.”

“I didn’t realize what we were doing last week was bantering,” she said. “More like self-defense on my part.”

“Exactly what I was getting at,” Nick returned.

Jasper clicked on his pocket mic. “Okay, everyone. Gather round.”

Like rats that scattered in a rainstorm now abated, the crew and other production staff scurried onto the set.

Once everyone had assembled, Nick observed, “I half expected Leonie to make her grand entrance to foil the arrangements just made. But she’s not here.”

For the first time since she’d joined the show, Reese felt like she could breathe easily.

That’s when it hit her. She was going to appear on television.

Her new career had already started.

Chapter Thirteen

“Hey there, folks! We’ve changed things up a bit for today’s show,” Nick told his television audience as the altered format got underway. He went on to explain about his injured ankle. Before he made it to a description of the accident, though, Reese interrupted.

“And wouldn’t you know, his fall was food-related. Tell them, Nick.” Good. She’d caught him off guard. While they’d wired her for sound, it occurred to her that the best way to deal with Nick was to stay in control. Two steps ahead of him, hypothetically speaking, since he couldn’t walk at the moment.

Nick shot her a strange look, like she’d already said too much, then recovered his composure and smiled back into the camera. “That’s true. We were exploring local food markets, shopping for the foodstuffs for today’s show. I made the mistake of walking into a fray between two grocers. And…”

“And stepped onto some stray fruit that had fallen on the floor,” she finished for him.

“Uh, yeah. Down I went.” Nick shot Reese a look that seemed to convey, “At least give me the last word on this.”

Reese clamped a hand over her heart. “So brave. He refused to miss today’s show, which is why I’m here. I’ll handle the food preparation and Nick…”

“Will still be here to talk her through it. See, Reese is a famous New York chef, but she’s not used to being in front of the camera.”

Reese fixed the camera with her most winning smile. “But I’m delighted to be here to help out however I can.”
There, that wasn’t so bad.
She hadn’t even taken a breath before she spoke, and yet her words flowed smoothly with genuine enthusiasm.

Nick cocked his head. “Ready to give me that assistance you just mentioned?” Swiveling back to lay his own claim to the camera, he said, “Here’s what we’re going to do today.” He went on to introduce the show’s theme and list what they’d be preparing.

Somewhere between her last statement and Nick’s piece, Reese’s brainwaves split in two. While the expert chef remained in residence to do the actual work and insert food factoids as needed, another part of her brain headed down a lighter path. “Urban, huh?” she wondered out loud. “Is it called that because, when you live in the Big Apple, it’s a bit risky to plant your checkered tablecloth in the middle of a city park where dogs and who knows what else have roamed?”

Nick paused, somewhat surprised by her comment, but recovered quickly to add, “That’s right, Reese. So we’re bringing the park to our viewers’ living rooms, where we assume the turf is safer. Everything we’ll be showing you today, folks, can be fixed right in your city kitchen.”

Reese’s sense of timing told her they should get down to business. They paired up on the pork balls and marinated veggies, Reese showing the audience how to soak the skewers in advance, Nick mixing the meat and the marinade. Once the pork balls had been skewered and laid on the indoor grill, Nick turned to the camera. “You’ve got to see this, folks. I may be good at chopping, but this lady has a technique all her own. Go ahead, Reese, show them.”

Was he getting back at her for the
urban
comment? She couldn’t tell when he was being serious. “It’s just diced onions and mushrooms, Nick.”

“Bring the camera in closer, guys. This will be an education.”

Okay, fella. You want chopping, stand back.
Now that she’d made friends with the camera, she gazed into it momentarily, then indicated for the cameraman to aim the lens at the countertop. “When chopping, stay focused on the food,” she advised. “Your eyes have to adopt a rhythm that balances the location of the knife with the condition of the food item so the one doesn’t slip and the other doesn’t move.”
Thanks, Trudy, for the practice session
.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Nick staring at her, his mouth slightly open. Finally, to the camera he said, “See? Didn’t I tell you?”

That wasn’t so hard
. In fact, she felt herself lightening up almost to the point of enjoying herself. “All this praise for a little chopping? Wait ’til you see my fricassee.”