The Wedding Gift Read online

  Enough about the dimples, Julie ordered herself. Just remember what he did.

  It was pretty hard to forget. One review from the city’s most prominent TV chef, and her business had come crashing down around her ears. The faint trickle of new customers Julie had hoped would widen into a stream dried up completely. Her entire dream went south in a matter of weeks, all thanks to the man who was currently sampling Julie’s seafood platter.

  Well, she couldn’t let him ruin this dream too. Which meant Julie couldn’t do anything horrible to his food, even if a small part of her wanted the revenge.

  The truth was, the best revenge would be to show him just how wrong he had been. All she had to do was present him with the best plates of food in her life, and then force him to eat his words.

  Easy.

  Though if it was that easy, why was her hand shaking while she finished the duck? She needed to focus, take her time, and—

  “Is everything okay?”

  Julie jumped at the sound of Andrew’s voice, almost slicing a finger open in the process.

  What was he doing in her kitchen? Had he finally realized who she was? Had he come to gloat?

  Or, maybe, to apologize for what he’d done?

  Knowing anything she really wanted to say to him would get her instantly fired by Rose, Julie settled for, “I’m not sure you should be in here.”

  “No, it’s fine—”

  “Julie,” she reminded him, like he hadn’t just been told her name a few minutes ago. “Julie Delgado.”

  Was there a flicker of recognition in his eyes? Did he even vaguely remember her name?

  Then again, why would he? He was a famous chef. She was a nobody who couldn’t keep her own kitchen open and was now cooking for scraps at a wedding venue.

  “I asked Rose before I came in to see the kitchen where the food for the wedding might be prepared.”

  “Might be?”

  “My brother and his fiancé deserve the best. I promised I’d cast my chef’s eye over it. Which is why I’d appreciate it if you could bring the desserts out with the main courses and stay with us as we go through everything.” He flashed that brilliant smile of his. “After all, I’m sure the two of us will have a lot to talk about.”

  For a moment, Julie wondered if he meant the review, but those darn dimples of his were turning her brain just enough to mush so that all she could manage was, “Will we?”

  “Sure,” Andrew replied, with another smile.

  Oh my God, after all he’d done, was he actually flirting with her?

  Julie just barely resisted the urge to hit him with the nearest thing on hand, but only because it happened to be a saucepan full of steadily reducing plum sauce. Of all the arrogant…

  Again, Julie forced herself to take a deep breath and reminded herself that since she obviously wasn’t important enough for the big star to remember, why wouldn’t he try out the charm that had everybody else fooled?

  “I’d be happy to bring out everything at once,” Julie said, if only because it seemed like the quickest way to get him out of her kitchen. “Just give me a minute or two.”

  Actually, it was more like ten, but at least for those blissful minutes, Julie didn’t have to worry about anything more serious than whether her gateaux had set properly, and how she was possibly going to balance everything. As fun as it might be to dream of ‘accidentally’ tripping and covering Andrew Kyle with food, Julie knew perfectly well that she wasn’t going to do it.

  In the end, she was surprised when Andrew got up to help her with the plates and even made a trip to the kitchen to carry out the desserts.

  Once they sat back down, Andrew examined the plates with a critical eye. Beside him, Rose’s expression was indecipherable. Of course, she was probably as concerned as Julie was that this should go well, and if she’d ever watched Edgy Eats–or read one of Andrew’s restaurant reviews–Rose would know how harsh his judgments could be.

  Taking a spare seat at the table, Julie looked at the plates that held the first course. What reception had Andrew given them?

  It was impossible to tell with any certainty. He hadn’t eaten much of each dish, but he’d clearly eaten some of everything, so maybe that was a good sign. Julie fidgeted, then clasped her hands under the table to keep them still. She risked another glance at Rose, but there were no clues there.

  “I’ve already tried the seafood and salad, but let’s finish trying everything else and then I’ll give you my thoughts at the end.”

  Watching Andrew Kyle eat was an experience. He didn’t talk between bites, as though that would in some way spoil his concentration. Instead he assembled the food carefully on his fork, closing his eyes and letting his nose take in the scent of it for a moment before he finally pushed it into that sensuous mouth.

  Julie found herself briefly entranced by the way he clearly wanted to involve as many of his senses as possible, by the fact that he seemed to treat food as something truly important.

  Of course, that didn’t make up for the way he kept Julie and Rose waiting while he tasted everything. In fact, the only time he spoke at all was about halfway through, when he glanced up and raised an eyebrow.

  “Aren’t you going to join in, Julie?”

  “Worried I might have done something to the food?”

  Andrew laughed at that although Rose was clearly less than pleased by the barely veiled testiness in Julie’s question.

  “Come on, join me. I always feel weird tasting things alone. Rose?”

  Rose held up her hands. “I just had lunch.”

  Andrew returned his gaze to Julie. “Looks like it’s just you and me, then.”

  It was clearly a challenge. Besides, Julie knew she was never going to get away with the same excuse as Rose.

  She picked up a fork and attacked the sample dishes she had produced as best she could. She’d always eaten like that; Aunt Evie sometimes laughingly asked if she thought her food was going to be snatched away in a minute.

  Julie worked to concentrate on the taste of everything, looking for anything that the celebrity chef might try to pick up on. Were the scallops perfectly seared? Was the texture of the cake right? Was there any little mistake at all that was going to cause a problem?

  She almost sighed with relief as she tasted the results of her efforts. As far as she could tell, everything had come out without any problems at all.

  Poke holes in that, Andrew Kyle.

  Apparently, Rose was as eager to know the outcome as Julie was. “What do you think?” she asked Andrew.

  Julie couldn’t help noticing the way Rose’s tone became so much more formal around an important client.

  “Is everything to your satisfaction?”

  Andrew put his fork down carefully. “It’s all well cooked,” he said. “The scallops are nicely done and the fish goes well with them. The salad is crisp and fresh. The plum sauce with the duck is just right, and I like the richness of the gateaux.”

  “Well, that’s great,” Rose said. “I’m sure that Julie can produce everything to exactly the same standards come the actual wedding day.”

  “I’m sure of that too,” Andrew said.

  But, somehow, the compliment didn’t make Julie feel as warm and fuzzy inside as it should have. Maybe it was the tone in which he said it.

  Rose seemed determined to ignore his less than thrilled tone. Or maybe she just hoped that if she pressed on, everything would be fine. “Why don’t you sign off on the menu, then, Mr. Kyle, and we’ll—”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t do that,” Andrew said, shaking his head.

  “But you just said—”

  “The food is well prepared,” he said, “but, unfortunately, it’s too bland.”

  Bland.

  It was the same word he’d used about her restaurant.

  Julie’s hands closed on the tablecloth. “Bland?” she repeated.

  Andrew nodded. “As I said, it’s fine, it’s just…frankly, it’s wedding food.”


  “That’s what this food is for,” Julie had to point out. “A wedding.”

  “Yes, but it’s for my brother’s wedding, and I’m sorry, this menu won’t work. It’s been done. There’s nothing exciting here. There’s no twist on any of the classic dishes, and there isn’t anything innovative, either. This is my wedding gift to my brother and his fiancée. It needs to be special. But nothing about this menu makes it clear that their wedding is a really special occasion.”

  Julie thought the part where there would be a bride and groom saying “I do” in front of a few hundred people might be a clue as to the specialness of the occasion, but, of course, she wasn’t going to say that. Besides, just then, she was too busy remembering the first time Andrew Kyle had made these comments about her food. Remembering how much it had hurt.

  About as much as it hurt right now, come to think of it.

  “So what is it you want?” Julie asked. She very carefully kept her voice level. Completely devoid of emotion.

  Even so, Rose shot her a look before taking over the negotiations. “Yes, perhaps if you describe exactly what it is you do want, we will be better able to provide it.”

  Andrew smiled at them, actually had the nerve to pull those gorgeous lips of his up at the corners as if nothing was wrong. “Something special. Something different. Something with a bit of imagination to it.”

  He focused his gaze on Julie and she refused to let her heart go pitter-patter, darn it.

  “Something you couldn’t cook in your sleep, Julie.” Another smile. “This wedding is a big deal for our family and I know you can come up with something better than what you’ve served me today.”

  Thank God at least one of them knew it, Julie thought as Rose dove in to try to salvage the situation.

  “Are you sure we can’t—”

  Andrew raised a hand to cut her off. “I’m sorry, but I’ll need to see a completely revised menu before I can agree to sign off on anything.”

  “I see,” Rose said. She didn’t sound happy about it.

  Julie didn’t blame her, especially since right then she was undecided between slipping out the back door and making for the border, or sticking pins in a doll with Andrew Kyle’s “perfect” features—maybe adding a few new dimples while she was at it.

  “Look,” Andrew said, “I’d like to come back so that we can throw a few ideas around. Between Julie and myself, I suspect we can come up with something that’s perfect for the wedding.”

  He’d just demolished her cooking for the second time in a few short months, and he thinks she would want him around?

  “What a wonderful idea,” Rose said before Julie could flat-out refuse to ever see Andrew Kyle again. “Our aim at the Rose Chalet is to make sure the day goes exactly the way the happy couple wants it. Julie would be happy to brainstorm menus with you, wouldn’t you, Julie?”

  Since the question was obviously rhetorical, Julie mumbled something that could be taken as a yes.

  Rose stood. “Andrew, if you have a few more minutes, I’d like to talk you for a walk around the Chalet to get a feel for the place. My full staff isn’t here at the moment, but we can start to discuss a few options.”

  Julie had never been so grateful for anything as when Andrew agreed. Ordinarily, with a guy like him, she would have watched him go just because she couldn’t not stare. Today, however, it was simply to make sure he was well and truly gone before she let out a sigh and slumped down in her seat.

  What had she gotten herself into?

  Chapter Three

  What had he gotten himself into?

  The answer to that question was pretty obvious as Andrew followed Rose around the wedding venue. He’d just agreed to add supervising his brother’s wedding planning to a schedule that already included filming a high-pressure TV show, and working as a guest chef two nights a week at one of his friend’s five-star restaurants.

  All because he couldn’t stand for food to be anything less than spectacular.

  His family wouldn’t even have noticed the difference at the wedding. He would, though.

  Andrew had always loved food and cooking, so much that he’d forcefully ignored enormous amounts of family pressure to attend medical school as his brother had. Which was why, if there was one thing Andrew couldn’t stand by and watch, it was food being prepared without that commitment.

  “Now this,” Rose was saying, “is our rose garden. Some couples like to have their vows out here under the arch, but I think you were saying your brother and his bride are looking for an indoor ceremony?”

  Andrew nodded. The garden was beautiful, but he’d spent some time talking to both Phil and Nancy before he’d agreed to help out. They might not have time to get here for all the wedding preparations, but they still knew what they wanted. Andrew couldn’t help noticing how quickly they’d assumed he’d have time to spare, however.

  “We’ll arrange time for you to sit down with Phoebe, our florist, and talk through the arrangements for that. Anne, our dress designer, is already hard at work on a design based on the ideas Nancy sent over. Your future sister-in-law will be able to make the last fitting, won’t she?”

  Andrew spread his hands. “That’s definitely one part of the wedding I’m not having any input on.”

  His phone went off just as the gardener wandered past and gestured for Rose to come over for a moment. Obviously assuming he was going to take the call, Rose excused herself and stepped away. He thought he heard her say something to the gardener about not bothering her while she was with a client, at which point the gardener simply grinned and replied, “Don’t worry, I won’t get any dirt on you or your clients,” before gesturing to the flower beds at the corner of the building.

  Andrew looked down at the screen on his phone and saw that it was his assistant, Sandy, most likely contacting him to let him know about some small details for the filming later.

  His new show was doing away with most of the usual gimmicks in favor of Andrew cooking in front of a live studio audience. It was this very simplicity that worried the producer, which was why he was insisting that Andrew be consulted on every minor detail. His last issue had been the arrangement of the salt and pepper containers on the set to make sure they didn’t create shadows with the lighting.

  For once, Andrew let the call ring through to voicemail. Sandy might not look like much–the producer had already made the mistake of expressing the opinion that twenty-five year olds with too many piercings couldn’t possibly be real assistants–but she was extremely capable.

  Besides, Andrew had another woman on his mind right then. One who didn’t pick colors for her hair based largely on what was most shocking that day...and one he’d just agreed to closely work with.

  Julie Delgado.

  He’d recognized her instantly. She wasn’t exactly easy to forget. And it wasn’t just that she was beautiful. Working in TV, Andrew was more than used to beautiful women being around by now. He’d had his share of relationships with them too. Generally, they lasted either until Andrew worked out that they were more interested in his celebrity status than in him, or until the women decided that there were better things in life than food.

  Usually both.

  There was something different about Julie. Andrew couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly it was, yet, but he still knew it was there.

  It had been there even when he’d gone in to review her restaurant. He’d taken one look into those deep brown eyes as she’d come out into the restaurant’s dining room to check on his meal and it had almost, almost, been enough to make him change his mind about his review.

  In the end, though, he’d had to behave with integrity.

  What was Julie doing here?

  He’d heard that her restaurant had closed, but thought she’d pick up a spot in a great restaurant somewhere in the city. She certainly had the technical skills. Back when he’d run his own restaurants, Andrew would have been happy to offer her a spot in the kitchen, if he h
ad known that she was available and thought she would accept.

  In your kitchen? Or in your bed?

  The truth was, Andrew silently admitted to himself, Julie Delgado sparked his interest in a way other women didn’t.

  Rose came back and gave him more details about the wedding, but Andrew was only half listening. He was too busy thinking about the wonderful darkness of Julie Delgado’s eyes, the curve of her lips, the way she’d looked stunning, even in clothes that had obviously been chosen more with the kitchen in mind than with impressing anyone.

  Andrew had barely been able to take his eyes off her. Normally, he would have asked her out in a heartbeat, yet things were more complicated here.

  “Tell me about Julie,” Andrew said, playing things as cool as he could.

  A worried look flashed across Rose’s features. “I know the food wasn’t quite what you were expecting, but I really think that if you give her a chance—”

  “Her cooking skills are excellent,” Andrew replied. “I like knowing about the people I work with. Has she been here long?”

  “Just a few days.” Rose kept moving as she talked. “Her aunt, Evie, used to run the catering for us, but, sadly, she had to retire due to poor health.” Rose paused, and for a moment, she did look saddened by it.

  “So this is the first wedding Julie will have catered?”

  “Yes, but I assure you she comes to us well recommended. She used to own her own restaurant. Delgado’s. I imagine you’ve probably heard of it, given what you do.”

  Andrew could tell that Rose not only wanted the wedding to go ahead without a hitch, but that she also cared about the people who worked for her quite a bit. If she knew about what had happened with Julie’s restaurant and his review, she might try to stop him and Julie from working together. But Andrew was too used to getting what he wanted to allow that to happen.

  He and Julie would work together on his brother’s wedding, and if Andrew judged it right, they might also be able to explore that spark that had been so obvious between them.