Taste the Heat (14 page)

Colby had never taken his calls. She had never forgiven him in person. And now she
never could.

Jason pulled her up and over onto his lap, wrapping her in his strong arms. She hadn’t
even realized she was sobbing. “I’m here,” he said, ripping off her blindfold and
pressing his forehead against hers. “It’s all right.”

But it wasn’t. And it might not ever be. Her dad was dead. Reconciliation was impossible.
And it was all her fault.

Colby curled into a ball on his lap, bringing her legs to her chest and burrowing
herself under his chin. Dessert would have to wait for another night. She closed her
eyes and Jason tightened his grip around her, letting her cry.

Eventually her breathing stabilized and exhaustion swept her under, yet he continued
to hold her. And, as Colby absorbed the comfort of Jason’s warmth and his strength,
she realized that she was in serious trouble. Because if she wasn’t very careful,
if she didn’t guard her heart, she would find herself falling hard for this amazing
man. Again.

…

“Dad, you’re hanging with Colby and me?”

Jason rubbed the back of his neck. He glanced at the front door to Robicheaux’s, wishing
he could see through the wood. Would it be weird if he told Emma yes? It hadn’t even
been a full twenty-four hours since seeing Colby, but already he was aching to hold
her again.

Last night’s dinner had been emotional. The second Colby showed up at his door, Jason
knew that she’d had a different agenda for the night. One that was as opposite from
his as humanly possible. He’d nearly scrapped his good intentions when she made that
comment about the blindfold, but he stuck to his guns. And as hard as it was watching
Colby cry, he was glad he did, because at the end of those tears, Jason saw a glimpse
of healing. She’d confided about her father and her regrets, and even thanked him
for the food intervention—albeit with a saucy grin.

His plan was working.

Barging in on his daughter’s one-on-one time to check on Colby may be a little pathetic,
but he was surprisingly okay with that. As long as he got to see her. Touch her. And
maybe, when their audience wasn’t looking, steal a kiss or two from the sexy chef.

“I thought I’d see what junior sous-chefs do in a real kitchen,” he said, ruffling
his daughter’s hair. “You don’t mind my staying for a while, do you?”

Emma’s face lit with a sly smile—though the reason behind it was anything but. Knowing
how much she loved Colby already
almost
had Jason backpedaling to his truck. If he weren’t so confident about how this would
play out, it would have. He’d be crushed if Emma grew attached only to have Vegas
yank Colby back at the end of the summer, but this was going to work. It had to. If
not for him and
whatever
closeness he was starting to feel for her, Jason needed Colby to stay for his daughter.

Emma latched onto his arm. “Nope. I know Colby would
love
to see you.”

He choked back a laugh. Subtlety was not her strong suit. Choosing not to comment
on her presumption, he waved his free hand toward the entrance. “Then lead on, Chef
Landry.”

Jason fell in step behind Emma’s bouncing ponytail, going over his strategy. Dinner
had gone better than he’d dared expect. But his mission was far from complete. He
needed to begin the second phase of his strategy. Secure another date. And that was
the game plan for this afternoon.

Emma tugged open the door, the
ding
of bells giving away their entrance. A young family with a sleeping baby looked up
from their meal along the wall of windows. Beside them, an elderly man flipped the
page of his newspaper. Out on the deck, a group looked as though they were just finishing
a lunch meeting. Soft jazz played overhead. Robicheaux’s was square in the middle
of its afternoon lull, the slow time between the lunch rush and crazy dinner crowd.
Perfect for what he had in mind.

As he and his daughter made their way toward the back, his best friend’s disembodied
head peered around the kitchen door. “Hey, Em. You ready for that job yet?”

“Not yet, Uncle Cane,” she answered with a roll of her eyes. “I’m still only twelve.”

“Oh, that’s right. I keep forgetting. You’re just getting so
old
.” Cane winked at his goddaughter and then switched his attention to Jason. “You here
for free labor, too?”

“Thought I’d see what you people were filling my daughter’s head with. Maybe steal
a free meal while I was at it.”

Cane stepped through the pocket door, scratching his stubbled jaw. “The food is my
sister’s domain, but something tells me she’ll hook you up.” His mouth tightened;
clearly, he was still conflicted on his best friend and little sister
hooking up
. But then he shook his head and said, “She’s been going to town in the kitchen all
morning.”

Jason’s ears perked up. He couldn’t help hoping their culinary adventure was the inspiration
for her newfound zeal in the kitchen. A huge-ass smile broke across his face, and
Cane’s eyes sharpened.

“Interesting.”

Emma turned to look at Jason too, and he quickly wiped the smirk off his face.

“What? That’s good, right?” he asked. “I’m just happy to hear it’s going well.”

Jason smiled, adding a pointed look that clearly told his friend to drop it. So far,
with help from his parents, he’d kept Emma from learning about his date with Colby—and
he wanted to keep it that way. Right now, all Emma knew was that Colby had gone on
the camping trip, at her request, and then attended her assembly, again at her invitation.
Her hopes of a relationship working out between them were already high enough
without
her knowing anything was actually going on. The last thing Jason needed was for his
friend to nose around now and stir up his daughter’s curiosity.

With a discreet nod, Cane poked his head through the kitchen door. “Anyone order a
preteen chef and a fire captain?” He glanced back at Emma and grinned. “If not, I’m
tossing them into the bayou.”

From inside the kitchen Jason heard a squeal, then an exasperated
shh
, followed by Sherry’s unmistakable laugh. A moment later, both women scooted out
behind their brother.

“Hey, Emma,” Colby said nonchalantly. “Here to learn more about the restaurant biz?”

She nodded. “Sorry for not calling first. Dad said you wouldn’t mind.”

“Don’t be silly, you’re welcome here any time.”

Silence fell. One that Sherry miraculously didn’t feel the need to fill with endless
chatter. Colby wiped her hand on a stained white towel, looking at Emma and the straggling
customers—anywhere but at
him
.

Jason had seen the woman upset. He’d seen her laughing. He’d seen her stumbling and
confident and angry. But he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her nervous.
Instinct told him that her being nervous around
him
might just be a very good thing. And the exultant look on Sherry’s face confirmed
it.

Colby shifted her feet. Her eyes finally met his and twin flushes of pink blossomed
on her cheeks. It was adorable—and a hell of a turn on. Fiddling with the buttons
on her chef jacket, she asked, “Dropping her off?”

“Actually, I thought I’d hang around.” He leaned back on his heels and grinned. “If
you don’t mind, that is.”

Her blush deepened. “Of course I—
we
don’t mind.” She jutted her thumb in the direction of the kitchen and widened her
eyes. “Emma, wanna introduce your dad to the world of prep work?”

“Awesome.”

Colby wagged her head for Emma to follow, and all four of them walked through the
pocket door. She looked around at her audience with a frown. “Sherry, don’t you have
some tables to check?”

“Nope,” she answered with a sweet smile. “All cleared out and taken care of. They’re
camping.”

She pressed her lips together and turned to her brother. “And you? Don’t you have
numbers to crunch? A bar to stock?”

“Already crunched,” Cane said, pushing himself up on a countertop, settling in. “Already
stocked.” He raised an eyebrow, dark eyes shining with amusement. Jason scratched
the side of his jaw, trying to hide his smile.

This was why he loved being an honorary Robicheaux. He wouldn’t trade his own family
for anything in the world; he just counted it as a blessing to be a part of both.
The Robicheaux family teased as fiercely as they loved. They stuck their noses in
each other’s business, and they didn’t even try to hide it. Colby was obviously flustered
and didn’t want an audience, and that was exactly why they stayed. Even with his lingering
concerns, Cane couldn’t pass up an opportunity to make his sister squirm. His best
friend looked at Jason over Colby’s head and grinned.

“All right, then.” Blowing her bangs off her forehead, Colby pulled a binder down
from a shelf on the wall. “These are the lists for the tasks that must be completed
daily, or before each shift. Depending on the night or the shift, we have three or
four cooks back here, including me, who are responsible for getting these things done.
As you see, most of these are already completed. So, Emma, what should we do next?”

“Um…check the food prep sheet?”

“Excellent,” she affirmed. Pure delight lit up his daughter’s face and Jason’s chest
tightened. “You’re a fast learner, girl. You’re gonna be running this place soon.”

“I’ve been trying to rope her into a job here for years,” Cane replied, lightly swatting
Emma with a clean dishcloth. “She
says
she has to finish school first.”

They all laughed and as the gentle teasing and outright pranks continued, the worry
lines on Colby’s face softened. The five of them, along with the other staff, readied
the kitchen for the dinner service and then they moved into the front of the house
for wait-staff prep.

It was during the time Emma was instructing her old man on the proper way to roll
silverware that she spoke up. “Y’all should totally cater the firehouse celebration
next month.”

“The firehouse celebration?” Colby asked. “What’s that?”

“It’s gonna be
huge
,” she answered, balancing the last wrapped silverware on her self-created pyramid.
“Dad even got the Joey Thomas Band to play!”

“Thus making me a hero,” Jason declared with a grin. “Actually, that’s a great idea,
Em. Robicheaux’s should cater—if you’re interested.”

Colby’s teeth sunk into her full bottom lip. Her eyes widened as she turned to Sherry.
“We could introduce the new items.”

He grimaced. Colby’s new
Italian
items had been the talk of the town for weeks—and not in a good way. Seeing the look
of concern on his face, the youngest Robicheaux explained. “Tapas, but with a Cajun
twist. Chica came in this morning bursting with new ideas.”

Cajun tapas
, he thought, catching Colby’s eye. Jason liked it. Even more, he liked that their
dinner together had evidently inspired it.

Phase one was officially complete.

“What’s the party for?” she asked.

“A century of service,” Jason said with pride. “Magnolia Springs Fire Department was
first established as a volunteer department a hundred years ago. We’re celebrating
our years of service to the community with games, jumpers for the kids, fire truck
tours—”

“And bands,” Emma interrupted.

“And live music,” he added. “We were just gonna do ice cream and drinks, but a full
spread would be great.”

Cane folded his arms across the back of the booth. “Will all the firefighters be there?”

Jason couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s interest. “You mean Angelle? Yeah, she’ll
be there.”

The question was where
wasn’t
Angelle these days. Since her surprise—and frankly, uncomfortable—pop-in during his
and Cane’s dinner the other night, the woman was everywhere. At the firehouse, at
the gym. He half expected her to show up at Emma’s school. She didn’t give off any
stalker vibes, and she really was a sweet girl, but he wasn’t interested…and she clearly
was.

Colby narrowed her eyes as she looked back and forth between them. “Who’s Angelle?”

“Just a woman I work with,” he quickly replied. There was no way in hell he was letting
worry over Angelle screw things up between them. “No one important.”

A strange look settled on her face and Jason rushed to change the topic. “So, I’m
curious. If weekends are so busy in the restaurant business, when do chefs ever get
time off?”

Obviously, he knew she had Mondays off. But he wasn’t waiting a whole week to take
her out. Cane and Sherry exchanged a look.

“It varies restaurant to restaurant, I suppose,” Colby answered. “For myself, I normally
take off Mondays and Thursdays. Some weeks I change it up and take off Wednesday instead,
but those days are typically the slowest.”

Quickly going over the calendar in his head, Jason nodded. He could work with Thursday.

“Hey, Bug, do you mind running to the truck? I borrowed
Talladega Nights
from Uncle Cane and forgot it in there.”

His daughter was no idiot. The same sly smile she wore when they’d arrived snuck back
on her face, and she nodded. “Sure thing.” She dashed across the restaurant without
another word.

Sherry sank into the booth across from him, plopping her chin in her hand with an
exultant look. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

Jason’s lips twitched in amusement. There was no point hiding anything. Sherry already
caught them making out, and Cane knew the score. Or, what he
thought
was the score. With a quick glance at his friend, Jason swiped the sugar container
from Colby’s fingertips and said, “Thursday night I’m taking you out. A real date
this time, out of the house. By some miracle, the both of us are off on the same night
and we’re jumping on it.”

A mischievous spark lit her gray eyes. “Oh we are, huh?” A smirk twitched her lips,
telling exactly what kind of
jumping
Colby had in mind. And when he nodded, at both the question and her unspoken innuendo,
the smirk turned wicked.