Unexpected Rush (Play-By-Play #11) (21 page)

“We can take two cars,” Barrett said. “I told Harmony we could take in some sights.”

“Perfect. If you want to change or get ready or something, we can leave in about thirty minutes.”

“I’m good with what I’m wearing,” Barrett said.

Harmony had worn leggings on the plane, and she definitely wanted to freshen up and change clothes. “I’ll go get ready.”

“I’m going to sit here and finish this beer,” Barrett said.

She smiled. “You do that.”

She went over to the guesthouse, took a few minutes to unpack, then washed her face, brushed her teeth and hair and redid her makeup. She decided on a pair of black capris, a long-sleeved blouse, and slid into a pair of wedges. She also grabbed her sweater, which seemed a little ridiculous for July, but she’d already been warned about San Francisco’s weather, which could be cool in the summer months.

After sliding on a bracelet and applying lip gloss, she made her way back to the main house, marveling at all the gorgeous greenery in Flynn’s yard. It wasn’t a huge yard, but whoever had done the landscaping had done a great job. There were a couple of trees to provide shade, some medium-sized bushes along the fence perimeter, and several flowering plants to give off color. Nothing major, but just enough to make it look homey and comfortable without being cluttered. And the fire pit was a perfect touch.

She went inside and only Flynn was in the kitchen.

“Where’s Barrett?”

“He went to take a leak.”

“Okay.”

“Are you hungry?” Flynn asked.

“A little.”

“I know this great place. You’re going to love the food here.”

“I can’t wait.”

Barrett showed up and slid his arm around her waist. “Hungry?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes. But not starving, so you can relax about the food thing. I’m not about to faint or anything.”

He smiled down at her. “Noted. But I’m hungry, so let’s go eat.”

They piled in their cars and drove to what Barrett told her was Hayes Valley, where Flynn had bought his restaurant. It was a charming—no—gorgeous section of San Francisco, filled with Victorian homes, but also had a vibrant fresh vibe about it. She couldn’t wait to explore.

They found a place to park and got out.

“This looks like a fabulous area,” Harmony said.

Flynn nodded. “I looked at a lot of places. I ate at a lot of places, talked to quite a few people who lived in those areas. This one was just it for me. Plus it’s close to where I live. It has an old-city charm to it, yet modern and fresh. It just felt . . . right.”

She could tell Flynn loved this area. Who wouldn’t, with its tree-lined sidewalks and people milling about, wandering up and down the street and stopping in the shops. She was kind of envious of Flynn being able to live in such a beautiful city.

He took them into a restaurant called The Grove, very atmospheric with a woodsy décor. They were seated and presented with the menu.

Harmony perused it, her stomach grumbling.

“Well,” she said, as she laid the menu down, “I want everything.”

Flynn laughed. “I’ve had just about everything on the menu. Trust me, it’s all good.”

Since they served breakfast all day, and it was her favorite meal, she settled for the salmon omelet. Barrett decided on a turkey club and Flynn the tuna melt. They ordered drinks, which their waitress brought over right away.

“Tell me about the chef you’re interviewing today,” Barrett asked.

“She’s from Oregon,” Flynn said. “Comes highly recommended
by the manager I hired. She’s looking for a fresh start. Recently divorced and has no attachments in the state she lives in, so she’s free to move. Her credentials are really damn good, and if she’s as good as my new manager, Ken, says she is, then I think she might fit what I’m looking for.”

“You gonna make her cook for you?” Barrett asked.

“I dunno.”

“You should. I would.”

“I don’t know if that’s necessary.”

Barrett shrugged. “Why not? No better way to find out if someone is as good as they say they are on paper than to put them to the test. You should invite her to the house for dinner. Have her prepare a meal for us. I mean for you.”

Harmony laughed. “Nothing like putting pressure on someone, Barrett.”

“It’s not a horrible idea,” Flynn said. “I’ll talk to her this afternoon. If I feel like she could work out, I might suggest dinner.”

“If that happens, be sure to text your brother,” Harmony said. “I wouldn’t want to miss it.”

“Plus, we like food,” Barrett said.

Flynn smirked. “Yeah, yeah.”

The subject shifted from Flynn’s restaurant to football, so Harmony sipped the tea she’d ordered and listened in as Barrett and Flynn argued various defensive strategies until their food arrived.

She not only ogled her plate, but Barrett’s and Flynn’s as well. “Wow.”

“I told you how great it was, didn’t I?” Flynn said.

Harmony dug into her salmon omelet, savoring every bite of goodness. “This is amazing. In fact, it’s so good, I want to eat it twice.”

All Barrett did was grunt, which she assumed meant he agreed. They all ate and made very little conversation, and when they were finished, she told Flynn he’d taken them to the best restaurant ever.

“At least until mine opens,” he said with a grin.

“True. I hope to come back and have dinner at your restaurant when it opens.”

“You have an invitation for opening night. Have Barrett bring you.”

She shifted her glance to Barrett, figuring he’d be uncomfortable with that. But he only leveled a knowing smile at her.

Hmm.

After lunch they walked a short way to the restaurant. It was just a shell right now, but Harmony loved the location.

“It’s perfect, Flynn,” she said. “I can see why you chose this area.”

He smiled. “Thanks. It’ll be even better when there’s something inside.”

“That’ll happen soon enough,” Barrett said.

Flynn took them on a tour of the inside of the restaurant, then they parted ways and Flynn took off to run some errands before his meeting, leaving her and Barrett alone.

“What do you want to do first?” Barrett asked.

“I have no idea. I’ve never been here, so I’m going to rely on you to be tour guide for me.”

“Okay. Let’s roll on out of here.”

Harmony couldn’t wait to see everything—or as much of everything—that San Francisco had to offer.

After running some errands, Flynn came back to the restaurant and met with his new manager, Ken, prior to the interview with the proposed chef. And since Ken had a lot of years of restaurant management experience, they discussed some inventory items and went back and forth on the layout. Since the place was gutted right now and no walls were up, he had some time to decide on placement before he met with the architect and contractors.

Right now they had a folding table and four chairs situated in the middle of the concrete floor. All he had was a vision.

“The windows out front afford a lot of light,” Ken said, “which will be great for your daytime crowd. You’ll have to decide what kind of ambience you want for evenings.”

“Cozy. Inviting. And we have the space out back that will provide ample seating. I’d like to do garden seating. Since we’re on the corner, I think that’ll attract people walking by.”

Ken nodded. “Agree, and it’s a good idea. Our weather permits almost year-long outside eating, and if you put heat lamps out there during cooler weather, the diehards won’t mind eating out there at all.”

“That’s a great suggestion.” He plugged that into the notes feature on his tablet so he wouldn’t forget.

“When’s the meeting with the architect?” Ken asked.

“Monday.”

“I think you have a good idea of what you want. And he’s done the walk-through with you, right?”

“Yes. We’ve talked at length, so he knows what I’m looking for in terms of seating space and cooking area. He said he’d have some mock-ups.”

“I’m already looking forward to this place opening. And you know you didn’t need to start paying me, since it’s going to be at least four to six months until you’re operational. I could have kept my old job.”

Flynn smiled. “Trust me, I’m going to need you around, especially once football season starts gearing up and I’m on the road and busy with my job. I’m going to need you on the scene to manage the day to day, work on staffing issues and inventory, plus keep me updated.”

Ken nodded. “You got it. And speaking of staffing, Amelia should be here soon.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

“I think you’ll really like her. She impressed me during our initial interview in Portland.”

A car pulled up out front and a woman got out. She was tall, slender, with long blond hair pulled into a high ponytail. She was wearing jeans that fit tight to her body, killer high heels that made her legs look miles long, and a silk blouse that ruffled in the wind outside.

Flynn couldn’t believe that was Amelia, but when she pulled
the door open, it couldn’t be anyone but her. He supposed he had a different picture in his mind of this accomplished chef. He figured she’d be older, though he had no idea why. This cool beautiful woman was about his age.

He and Ken stood.

“Amelia,” Ken said, walking over to shake her hand. “Great to see you again.”

She gave him a generous smile. “It’s good to see you, too, Ken.”

“And this is Flynn Cassidy.”

She turned to him, giving him more of a polite smile as she held out her hand. “Amelia Lawrence.”

“Nice to meet you, Amelia.”

“Same here. Thank you for inviting me to interview.”

“I’ve heard good things about you. You have an impressive résumé.”

“Thank you.”

They went through her background as a chef, from her education to her work experience. Flynn had already read that on her résumé, and Ken had discussed it extensively with him, but it was good to hear it from Amelia.

“Beyond the education and work experience, I’ve been cooking since I was a child. My mother was an avid cook and allowed me to be in the kitchen with her. Much of my love of cooking came from her. She allowed me to experiment from an early age, to try my hand at creating different dishes. It was that freedom of culinary expression that gave me my love of food and the desire to become a chef.”

Flynn smiled. “I cooked a lot with my mom, too.”

She arched a brow. “Really.”

Not the first time he’d been met with an incredulous look like that. “You think football players spend all their time either on the field, in a club or playing football video games. But you’d be wrong. Which isn’t surprising given that the media plays up that aspect of
players. As far as it relates to me, the reason I’m opening up this restaurant has a lot to do with my love for food.”

“I’ll be honest with you. I thought you were just in it for the money and the name aspect.”

“And I appreciate your honesty. But you’re wrong about me.”

“I wouldn’t have come to work for Flynn if he was some dumb jock only in it to stick his name on a restaurant,” Ken said. “That’s not what I’m about, either.”

Amelia nodded. “Okay. I’m glad to know that.”

He got the idea she was still withholding her opinion about him. Not that he much cared. She didn’t need to like him. She just needed to be a kick-ass chef.

They talked for a while about Flynn’s planned setup for the restaurant, but didn’t get into too many details about the menu. He wanted to wait to see if Amelia would be a good fit before they started planning it out.

“What would you think about cooking for me tonight?”

She looked around. “I wouldn’t mind it, but you’re not exactly set up here for a demonstration, are you?”

His lips curved. “Not yet. I was thinking about you cooking dinner at my place. My brother and his girlfriend are in town for the weekend. I was going to cook for them tonight, but since you’re here, and if you’re available tonight, you could come over.”

“I’d be happy to.”

“Great.” Flynn looked over at Ken. “Ken? Are you available?”

“Sorry. Adam’s brother’s engagement party is tonight, so we have to go to that.”

“Oh, that’s right, I forgot about that. You two have a great time.”