Scorch (7 page)

The voice on the other end of the line laughed. “I know you’re joking but that image seriously just sent goosebumps up my arm.”

“For what reason? The grossness or the inevitable sexy times?”

“You’re
so
not helping. I’ll be there in a little while.”

“Can’t wait.”

Chelsea grinned and hung up. Jason always put Cara in a tizzy whenever he showed up. It was almost fun to watch calm, collected and in control Cara lose it for a little while. What would she be like when they finally lived together? She hoped her friends would keep the same exuberance for a few years at least.

The smile still on her face, she turned to Daniel. “Cara will be here soon.”

He snorted. “Should she bother? Her mind is always scattered when Jason’s around. Might be better if she takes the next few days off.”

Chelsea couldn’t help but chuckle. “I dare you to say that to her face.”

A hint of a smile curved Daniel’s lips. “You first.”

Since the beach a few days before, things between them had been good. Nothing more was said about her past or visiting his apartment. Things just…were.

Not that it was any less combustible between them. She pressed her breasts against his back as she shuffled past him.

He twisted around and had his hands on her hips, holding her tightly against him before she could blink. “Keep that up and I’ll make sure we break that ‘never in the pantry’ rule you made up.”

Daniel reluctantly let go when some of the staff walked into the room.

She was quite tempted to break that rule as well. “I’ve gotten all my prep done.” Chelsea tilted her head to look at him. “Have you? Cara’s going to be here any minute now.”

The smirk didn’t leave his lips as he sauntered away.

Chelsea entered the dining room just as Cara strode through the door with her usual smile. Chelsea admired that she had such pride in her restaurant. Not surprisingly, since she put so much of herself into it. It was her dream come true and Chelsea was so happy that her friend had managed to carve out something of her own in the world.

“Hi.” Cara ran her hand over the teak of one table as she checked the setting. After a quick scan of the rest of the room, she gave Chelsea a hug. “How are things looking for tonight?”

Chelsea beamed at her friend. “Full house, as always.”

“That’s what I love to hear.” She flitted through the room, and to anyone who didn’t know her, she would look like a hyperactive hummingbird checking over the tables. Chelsea knew better.

Her friend was nervous and trying to hide it.

“Is something wrong??”

Cara jumped a little but managed a smile as she turned to Chelsea. “Of course not. I’m fine.”

Amusement at her friend’s nervousness put a smile on Chelsea’s face. “Sure you are. What about this visit is making you so jumpy?”

“I’m fine. Really. Just anxious to see Jason again.”

“It’s only been a few days since you saw him last.” Chelsea knew she was goading her, but seeing the usually unflappable Cara in a tizzy made her smile. “Could wedding jitters be getting to you?”

Her friend raked her hands through her ebony hair and gave Chelsea an impish smile. “Shut up. So what’s Daniel got going in the kitchen?”

“You have to taste it to believe it.

Cara smiled. “I do believe I will.”

Following her into the kitchen, Chelsea anticipated a sparring match with Daniel. He rarely shared anything he was working on unless it was close to perfection. With Cara, he never shared until he was certain it was perfect.

This will be interesting.

It took a tiny debate and a minute of haranguing from Cara, but Daniel finally let her try his new dessert, and Chelsea managed a bit more as well. They shared a morsel that Daniel gifted them with and chatted. Things were so much more relaxed now that Marco was heading up the new restaurant on the beach. The two had clashed way too often and made working in the kitchen hell for the staff.

Now the kitchen was practically idyllic, at least in comparison. The usual chaos was controlled by Daniel the way a conductor guided his musicians.

Chelsea smirked at the tangent her mind had taken. It wasn’t like her to be so…poetic.

“What are you smiling about?” Cara eyed her archly.

“The dessert. It’s divine.” She looked up just in time to catch Daniel’s dark gaze. And heat flared low in her belly that brought a slow-creeping flush to her cheeks. When she managed to tear her eyes away, she caught Cara’s wide-eyed stare.

The moment Daniel had walked out of the room, Cara grabbed her arm. “What’s going on with you two?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re kidding, right? You think I didn’t see that look?” Cara pulled her out of the kitchen and into her office. “All right. Spill it.”

Heat crept up her face and even her scalp felt like it was on fire. “There’s nothing to tell.”

Interest flared in Cara’s eyes. “Bull!”

She shrugged. “You know we’ve been sleeping together for a while now. It’s just changed gears a little, that’s all.”

Glee spread over her friend’s face. “That’s fantastic!”

She hushed her friend. “Don’t get all giddy. It’s still just sex.”

Cara looked like she was about to bounce out of her skin. “Tell me everything.”

Chelsea couldn’t believe that Cara was so in favor of a fling between co-workers. “Are you even listening to yourself? And what if we do this and things fall apart? We could never work together again.”

“I’ll just have to open up another restaurant for you then, won’t I?” Cara nudged her when she didn’t smile. “I can’t say I know a lot about Daniel, but I know he’s a good man. He’s got more integrity in his little finger than Richard ever had in that over-groomed body of his.”

Cara didn’t have to sell her on that. The less said about Richard, the better. Time to change the subject before Cara exploded from excitement overload. “Have you gone dress shopping yet?”

The smiled on her friend’s face drooped a little. “I haven’t had time.”

Chelsea sighed at the sheepish expression on her friend’s face. She scrubbed her hand over her own. “Well, seeing as all eyes will be on you on your big day, don’t you think you ought to start looking? It’s totally up to you, of course.” Cara could wear a garbage bag and still have every man in the room drooling over her.

“I’m heading to the shop to take a look now.” She gave Chelsea a pout. “I don’t know if I can handle this on my own.”

“A chance to see you let your inner girl out? I’m in!” Not to mention she could use a few hours of mindless shopping. “Wait. Who’s going to sort things out here?”

“Jason and Daniel said they would oversee everything. I made them promise last night.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“It’s not like we’re leaving them all night. Just prep and reservations. If they can’t handle that between the two of them, neither of them deserves a place in my life.”

Chelsea couldn’t help the laughter that came from that. “Daniel offered?” The man guarded his private time as if it was the most precious thing in the world to him. At least that’s how it seemed. No one really knew him outside of his being a brilliant chef.

“I just suggested that I could use some help, and he took it from there.”

Probably still trying to make up for the trouble he and Marco had caused Cara when they got into a fight and couldn’t work the following week.

“Anyway, ready to go?”

“Sure.”

“Great. I’ll meet you out front.”

Chelsea smiled at Daniel when she walked into the kitchen to gather her things. “Cara tells me that you and Jason are taking care of the prep for tonight.”

“We are. Try this.” Before she could reply, he stuffed a pinch of something into her mouth. “What do you think?”

“It’s divine.” She let the flavors roll over her tongue for a moment, almost regretting having to swallow. “What was that?”

“Something I’ve been tinkering with for a while.”

“Got any more?”

“I would have, but someone ate my icing.”

She snatched up her coat. “I didn’t take that much. I swear.”

He shrugged. “Heading out?”

“I’m going with Cara to hunt for the perfect wedding dress.”

Daniel’s eyes met hers and, for a second, she wasn’t sure what she was seeing there. Only that the spark was different. Intense.

“Enjoy your hunt.”

“I’m sure we will. See you later.”

But he was already walking away. “Later.”

“Have a few more of your experimental things for me when I get back?” Chelsea was teasing. She wasn’t even sure if he’d heard her. He obviously had more important things going on in his head.

* * * *

The trip to the shop took minutes.

Cara’s eyes widened as she stared at the frothing racks. “Chelsea!” Cara clutched at her arm. “Look at all this. How am I supposed to decide?”

“That’s part of the fun. Come on.” Chelsea looped her arm through Cara’s and dragged her to the nearest one. “Do you have an idea of what you want?”

“Something white?”

“You’re hopeless.” Chelsea stared at Cara for a moment before turning to the rack. Her friend was nearly a head shorter but with fine bone structure and exotic coloring, thanks to her Asian heritage. Everything would look spectacular on her. “I’m glad we have a limited choice of color, or else we’d probably be here for years.”

Cara laughed and ran her fingers over the fluffy chiffon of a skirt. “So I wasn’t one of those girls who cut out pictures of wedding dresses while I was growing up. Sue me.”

“I wasn’t either, but you don’t see me being completely clueless about dresses. You’re as bad as Natalie.”

“Not fair. You have experience…” Cara’s face fell. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“Don’t worry about it.” It was only a matter of time before that topic would come up, especially in their setting. The shop assistant walked in with a trolley carrying the dresses she’d picked out. Chelsea forced a cheery smile. “Your potential dress might be here.”

Again, Cara let the topic drop, but from the furrow of her brow, Chelsea could see that her friend was stewing over her slip.

“Cara, it’s fine. It’s been a year. I’m over it.”

“I sure as hell am not. Changing your mind about getting married is one thing, but to text you the night before? I would have hunted him down. I still would.” She arched an eyebrow at Chelsea. “The offer to still stands, by the way.”

That made her laugh. “You don’t have to hunt Richard down. I told you I’m over it. And don’t you have enough to worry about right now?”

“I’ll always have the few seconds it’ll take to castrate that man.”

Chelsea hugged Cara before spinning her toward the dresses. “Maybe you’ll get the chance one day. But right now, you have bigger things to focus on.”

“Damn straight.” Cara pulled the closest dress off the rack and grinned at Chelsea then the assistant. “I’d like to try this one first.”

*
* * *

Three hours and way too much complimentary champagne later, Cara stood in a pristine white strapless gown that might as well have been made for her. She fluffed the skirt and smiled. “This is definitely the one.”

“Absolutely.” Chelsea couldn’t help the welling of tears. Even though they didn’t spill over, they blurred her vision enough that she had to wipe at her eyes to get a good look at her friend. “You look amazing. Jason is going to swallow his tongue.”

“I hope not. I’m partial to that tongue of his.”

“I really didn’t need to hear that.” From the way Cara floated around after time with Jason, Chelsea had no doubt that the man knew how to use his tongue, among other things. The slightest reminder of sex made her want to drag Daniel to the nearest secluded spot and tear his clothes off.

With a happy sigh, she stared at Cara. The dress really was perfect. The satin and chiffon was cinched at the empire waist with an elaborate belt that was thick enough to accentuate her slender build but not so much as to swamp her. The simple column design was perfect for someone like Cara, who didn’t need any embellishments to dazzle.

Chelsea circled her, careful not to step on the little train that swept behind Cara. “I don’t think you’ll need many alterations, if any.”

“Good.” Cara beamed back her. “I should get back to the beach and make sure Marco hasn’t strayed from task. I’ll be so glad once we get everything sorted out. You’re still interested in working with that beachfront restaurant right?”

As usual, her friend’s mind was working at lightning speed. Her reply was reflexive. “Yes, and you don’t need to keep on top of him. You know that without Daniel he’s freaking out and doing his best to impress.”

Cara winked a dark eye. “It doesn’t hurt to have the boss hovering either.”

“No, I’m sure it doesn’t.” Chelsea laughed and let the assistant past to help with the gown. “Have you thought about accessories? Bridesmaids’ gowns? Flower girl dresses? Flowers?” The list was endless from what she remembered.

“Oh, God.” The moan came from somewhere inside the gown as they lifted it over her head.

“I didn’t think so. What happened to the coordinator you were meeting with?” Chelsea hated to suggest it to her control freak best friend, but Cara was going to drive herself crazy with everything unless she got more help. Chelsea alone wasn’t going to be able to provide the assistance she needed, and Cara needed expert guidance.

“I don’t know… You know how I get with things.”

Meaning she got rid of them after an hour or so. Probably after they did something that hadn’t met Cara’s impossible standards. “I still have my list if you want it. Or I can put you in touch with the one I used. They were great. I swear they’ll do nothing but save you time and many panic attacks.”

Cara pouted then shrugged. “I guess I could give it a try.”

“Don’t sound so enthused.” Chelsea knew that Cara liked to take charge, but this was one occasion when her friend shouldn’t spread herself too thinly. She pulled out her phone and forwarded the details of her wedding coordinator. “I’ll help as much as I can, of course, but I’m not an expert, and you deserve to have the wedding of your dreams.”