Yes Chef, No Chef - By Susan Willis Page 0,100

as a commis chef he was struggling on a low salary and his commitment to the business definitely warranted a pay rise.

Later that night Jenny called into the apartment, she said, “Well, Bro, if I was any good at cooking I’d come along to help you?”

Tim made a sign of a cross guarding against her offer to which they both roared with laughter. Remembering an occasion when they were students and she’d tried to bake a cake which had all gone horribly wrong, he joked, “Er, thanks but no thanks.”

Jenny had started to call at the apartment once a week now to see him and although they still had the odd tiny spat they were getting along so much better which pleased him greatly. He loved having the support from his big sister now and at one time where he’d resented her and confused this support with interference, he now thought of her as one of his biggest allies.

Chapter Twenty Five

Katie had crept home at five o'clock in the morning after waking up still wrapped in Doug's chest and with one of his huge hands resting on her thigh. For one split second she'd thought she was with Tim and a tear had leaked from the corner of her eye while she’d begun to focus on the memories from the night before. Quietly she’d untangled herself, gathered her clothes from the floor and guiltily left a scribbled note on the window ledge. She knew it was bad form to run out but simply couldn't help it; all she wanted to do was get home and consoled herself with the fact that she could ring and apologise later.

The water from the shower was steaming hot when it pounded down onto her scalp making her wince but she wanted to vigorously scrub her body and hair and wished the shower gel could clean away the memory of last night from her mind too. Wrapped snugly in a big bath towel she stepped over the earlier discarded red dress and underwear lying in a heap on the floor and crawled onto the bed. Her hair was still wet and she knew it would be frizzy later if she didn’t style it, but at the moment all she could think of was trying to sleep the drunken, guilt-fuelled memories away.

Feeling refreshed after a few hours’ sleep, a pot of coffee and warm croissants inside her, she made the call.

“Doug, I’m so sorry for running out on you this morning. I panicked which was silly and just felt desperate to get home,” she said and could hear him pause in consideration.

“It’s OK, Katie. You not being here probably spared me some embarrassment too.”

They talked briefly and decided that being friends would be the best solution, he would settle her account online, and when the prints of the recipe leaflets were ready he'd send her some copies.

Relieved and feeling much better she rang Lisa and Sarah to change the venue from lunch at the bistro, to her flat which would allow her the whole morning to assemble the picnic hamper for her next booking.

Michael’s friend, John, was in a bit of a predicament. His ex-wife had agreed to go on a date with him and he was taking her for a romantic picnic in the countryside. Until last month, they’d had no contact since their divorce but had bumped into each other at an old friend’s wedding, and surprisingly had spent the whole day together without one argument or recrimination. It was the end of the evening when they’d smooched the last dance together, John had realised he was still in love and desperately wanted to be with her again.

Katie had agreed to make and supply the full contents of the picnic hamper where all he would have to do is collect it, and return the empty hamper the following day. She’d bought a luxury wicker hamper deciding it would be a good investment for future bookings and when she lifted the hamper from the box and opened the lid she was suitably impressed with the inside contents. Utensils, plates, crystal wine glasses, and white cloth napkins were all neatly fastened with leather straps and she was sure John would like it. He'd told her in his email that he knew this type of thing was important to women and he was determined to make a good impression because he wanted to establish a better track record than when they were first married.

Grinning to herself, she