Ah shit.Marianne had been left by Amira to fend for herself. And now she was being screwed around by Joey.
“I’m sorry. Sometimes I find things too hard. And I retreat and try to feel better. I promise, I’ll try to tell you if that happens again.”
Marianne’s brows drew together. “I’m sorry. I thought you were just avoiding me. You do what you must to stay well.” Her hand rubbed along Joey’s arm. “Do you want to talk about what went on between us?”
“No.” Joey tried to smile. “And yes, if it fixes things between us. I’m sorry for what happened.”
“Are you?” Marianne lowered her voice and moved closer, although there was no one around. “I enjoyed it very much. And I’d love to pick up where we finished, but we both know that’s not the right thing to do at the moment.” She ran her finger along Joey’s jaw. “So, I’m going to have to resist my attraction, and it’ll be hard. Because you’re a beautiful person, Joey.”
Joey hoped she couldn’t feel the trembling that spread though their body when she touched them like that. They cleared their throat. “I’ll be on my best behavior too.”
Marianne removed her hand and stepped back. “So, how about we get the rest of my meager possessions into your truck and find our new home?” Her smile was a little shaky.
Joey looked down to where Denny had emptied the contents of his toy box into the bed of the truck. “I think we need to repack first.” They laughed along with Marianne as they helped tidy the mess.
As they drove Marianne and Denny across the island to the rental cottage on the north coast, they finally relaxed a little. If Marianne felt the attraction, too, at least they hadn’t created some fantasy in their own head.
But Mari was right. She’d just been through a messy end to a long-term relationship. She certainly wasn’t in the right place to get into something new. She had her whole life to sort out. When she did, Joey didn’t want to be left sitting alone nursing a broken heart.
SIXTEEN
The kitchen was bustlingas Kasia, standing in the doorway, caught Marianne’s eye. “I know you’re getting ready for evening service, but I’d like a few minutes when you have a chance.” Her voice carried over the noise of the kitchen. When Marianne waved five fingers, she nodded and left.
Marianne didn’t want to leave the kitchen, and she was a little apprehensive about her summons. She was in the middle of a lobster risotto, but she’d found her new team to be very capable and she had no concerns handing over to one of the young commis chefs. This might be a very different kind of kitchen, but the creativity and the teamwork were what had always made her tick. And there was plenty of both here.
Kasia’s office was quiet in comparison to the kitchen and Kasia looked up and smiled when Marianne entered. When she was relaxed she was a different person entirely.
Marianne sat down in front of her and Kasia’s smile widened. “Bookings for the restaurant are up twenty per cent on last year.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Your fans have a lot to do with that, as well as your amazing food.”
Marianne waited.
Kasia folded her hands. “We said we’d give this a month, and I’ll be happy to extend your contract to the end of the season, but I want to know that you’ve thought about your other options.”
Marianne sighed. “I have. I’ve talked to my mother, and I told her from the beginning I’m not going back there.”
“But surely, you’ve spoken with other restaurants? It seems unlikely no one’s approached you in this last month.”
Marianne shrugged. “I can’t say I haven’t heard from a few people, but they’re all back in Dublin. And most of them already have head chefs. I won’t be a part of someone losing their job because I might bring in more profit.”
“I don’t mean to interrogate you, Marianne. I just need reliability. And I don’t want you to take on something you’ll regret.”
She shrugged. “I get it. I’ve been giving it plenty of thought. I like working here a lot, but I’m still not sure if it’s the best thing for Denny and me to spend a summer on the island.” She thought of lovely Joey, though, and how much she enjoyed their company. That made the idea much more attractive.
“Have you talked to your wife about any of this? We’re a long way from Dublin and she’s Denny’s mum, too.”
Marianne wondered if Kasia’s own imminent parenthood was the reason for her concern.
“I’ve tried. She’s being really strange. She had a couple of video calls with Denny, to begin with, but she won’t agree to meet up. And now she’s not answering my calls.”
“So, she hasn’t seen him in a month? She must miss him so much.”
Marianne studied Kasia for a moment. She was her employer, and they hadn’t got off to a great start, but she appeared to be asking out of genuine concern. She didn’t have many friends. She tended to develop intense relationships with some of the people she worked with, but when she or theymoved on, the relationships rarely survived. The one person she thought that wouldn’t happen with was Colette, but she’d destroyed that.
Kasia leaned forward. “If you need to talk about anything, we can take this off the record.”
