that could pay off.”
Jude helped himself to a knife and started to clean hairy mussels. “You’ll be lucky to get a discount from him, long term. He drives a hard bargain.”
“Well, it’s worth a try. To be honest, I’d pay out of my own pocket for the best quality fish when we reopen.” He worried at his lower lip, teeth very white against it. “You know how word-of-mouth works. The first clients are going to make or break us.” He’d make his lip bleed if he bit it any harder, Jude thought as Rob added, “So much rides on their first impressions.”
“You mean on reviews in the local paper?”
“Maybe, if we’re lucky. Any publicity would be amazing.” His huff was almost a laugh. “It’s a bit different from when Dad opens a new restaurant. He gets every restaurant critic for miles clamouring for a reservation. Did you see how many bookings we’ve got?” He formed a zero with a finger and thumb. “Yeah, it turns out that without Michelin stars like Dad’s under my belt, it’s hard to drum up any interest.”
There was no way to ignore such genuine worry. It went a long way towards Jude making an honest offer in return. “It doesn’t all have to be on your shoulders. Coming home to find all of this…” He gestured around the kitchen and towards the window where the headland was visible. “It was all one hell of a shock. All of it. You being here, the storm damage, everything. I can’t say I’m pleased about all of it, but you have to know I’ll help while I’m back.”
“Yeah?” For almost the first time all day, Jude saw the slow blossom of that wide smile directed his way. The ground wasn’t done shifting under Jude’s feet yet, off-balance all over again. Rob set down his knife and grasped Jude’s shoulder. “That means a lot. Thank you.” He slid his hand lower to where Louise had just prodded, the pad of his thumb pressed to the same spot. “Your sister was right, by the way. This is different.” He curled his hand around Jude’s biceps. “I noticed right away.”
Jude met his gaze, lost in its dark depth until Rob stuttered. “I-I mean, you always look good to me.” Rob dropped his hand and shook his head once as if it needed clearing, his expression complex. “Looked, I mean. You always looked good to me before.”
He drew away just as Jude asked, “Yeah?”
Maybe Rob heard something in that one raw word. Instead of putting more distance between them, he drifted even closer. “Yes,” he admitted, just as candid. “From the first time I saw you. It was at that meet and greet at the start of the contest. You were talking to my dad. Or listening to him while he talked, at least.” His brow furrowed. “Yeah, you listened to him. He loves that. He really does.” There was a repeat of that complex expression. “I wanted to know what you were talking about so bad that I tried to butt in.”
“You did?”
“See? You don’t even remember, too engrossed with him to even notice I existed.”
Jude thought back. “Oh. He asked about my signature dish.” Now that he thought about it, Rob’s dad had worn the same rapt expression as Rob did now, gaze so intense the rest of the world faded. “He said he might add it to his lunch menu.”
“Do you have any idea how many times he let me change his menus?”
Jude shook his head.
“Never. He never ever let me; I’d do it anyway, and he’d go ballistic. It’s why we worked in different kitchens. If we were together, it always ended in carnage, he’s so pigheaded.”
That wasn’t how Jude had found Rob’s father. He was passionate about food, all right, but maybe that meant he spoke a language Jude could translate without trouble.
Rob glanced in his direction. “Then later during the competition. You did the same thing to me, and I finally got it.”
“What do you mean, you finally got it? Got what, exactly?”
“I got how you managed him the very first time you met him. How you manage everyone. From my dad to the kitchen porters. Hell, you even do it to your sister.” He selected a knife and filleted sea bass, swift and decisive, slicing through iridescent skin and following the bone so closely that no flesh was wasted. “You don’t talk, Jude. You’re quiet, so people fill your silence. That means when you do