I let out a slow breath, and as I do, Leo reaches over and tucks a few stray hairs behind my ear.His touch sends my body into a tailspin, as my mouth goes dry and any chance of answering him is long gone.
Chapter Four
Leo
And yep, I’m pretty sure I’m officially fucked when it comes to my new sous chef.
Fucked in that whole, I think she’s really hot and I seriously want to get in her pants kind of way.I amnotsupposed to be thinking about my sous chef like this.And I’m especially not supposed to be thinking of her in this way when she also happens to be the sister of my friend.
But I am and fuck me, if I don’t want to lean in and kiss her right now.
We are standing only inches apart; her hands are resting on my chest and my hand is lingering near her neck after I actually tucked some strands of hair behind her ear, like that is a totally normal thing for a boss to do to his newest employee.
And fuck my life, but all it would take now is me leaning in, closing the gap and my lips would be on hers and I could find out exactly what she tastes—
My dirty and highly inappropriate thoughts are suddenly cut off by the sound of something smashing on the floor.Hannah and I jump apart, as though we’ve both been sprung doing something naughty, which is sort of true.But when I glance around, no one is looking at us.
“Shit, sorry, Leo,” Tony, my third-year apprentice says, looking up from where he’s crouched on the floor, a broken plate and spilled food at his feet.
“All good,” I say, walking over.“You okay?”
“Yeah,” he says with a sheepish grin.“Didn’t realize the plate was hot.”
I tip my head toward the counter.“Heat lamps didn’t give it away?”I ask, smirking so he knows I’m only giving him shit.I could care less about a broken plate or some spilled food.In the grand scheme of things, this kind of thing is nothing.The only thing I care about is fuck ups when it comes to the actual cooking of food.
“Yeah, yeah,” he says, his cheeks reddening as he stands, the broken plate in his hands.
I laugh.“All good, throw that out and get a replacement out quick,” I tell him.“And here,” I add, handing him one of the plate cloths, “you might need this.”
He laughs at that, shaking his head as he throws the mess away and turns back to the food prep area.Knowing I don’t need to stand over him while he prepares a replacement dish, I make my way back over to where Hannah is working, both grateful and weirdly annoyed at the interruption.
Stopping in front of her, I notice Hannah has been watching the whole incident, a strange look on her face.
“You okay?”I ask, confused.
She shakes her head.“Man, if that had happened in my old job, it’s…wow.”
I chuckle, grabbing a spoon from the drawer.“Wouldn’t have been good?”
“Shit no,” she says, her cheeks flushing a little as she adds, “I mean, I’m pretty sure my boss’ head would have exploded and the person would’ve been immediately fired.But that…you, that was just—”
“Inspiring?”I tease with a wink.
Her cheeks darken as she bites on her bottom lip.And just like that, all those dirty thoughts I was having come flooding back.Fuck me,Iwant to bite that bottom lip.
“Yeah,” she eventually whispers, her eyes dark as they stare back at me.“Something like that.”
The rest of the night passes without incident and even though I don’t spend much time chatting with Hannah, I do discover that not only is her soup perfect for the upcoming seasonal menu, but also that she isn’t afraid to jump in and help with the boring tasks, like chopping onions or garnishing dishes, when we get a sudden rush on orders.
She’s exactly the kind of addition I want to my kitchen, from a completely professional point of view, obviously.
“So,” she says, as I wander over to where she’s wiping down the huge stainless-steel counters of the prep area.
“So,” I reply, leaning my hip against the counter as I cross my arms over my chest.
Hannah straightens, a smile on her face as she meets my gaze and holds it.“Do I make the cut?”
“Do I?”I immediately throw back.
