balls about trying to date out of my sphere, I head toward the back door of CK. Leave it to family to act like I’m the one who can’t get her and not vice versa.
So she’s beautiful and talented? So what? I’m not exactly some loser walking around without any skills here. True, I don’t have my entire life planned out like nearly everyone else in my family. It’s not because I can’t do that.
It’s because I won’t.
Anyway, what woman wants a guy who’s all settled down at the age of twenty-three? Women want excitement and fun, and that’s what I offer in spades.
Leave that life all planned out shit for guys as old as my uncles. I’m way too young to be dealing with that yet.
And I’m betting that Hailey is a woman who could use some excitement in her life.
Chapter Five
Hailey
Poking my head into the kitchen, I give my father a smile. “Hey, what’s new?”
He shakes his head and sighs. “What’s new is it’s your day off. You don’t have to be here every day, honey. You made more than enough desserts yesterday, so why don’t you go out and enjoy yourself on such a beautiful day?”
“Coming through!” Ginger announces as she practically barrels through the kitchen doors, nearly taking me with her.
I quickly step out of the way so the doors don’t come back and slam into my face. After a few seconds, I walk back to where my father is working near my area and answer his question.
“Don’t worry. I’m not here for long. I just wanted to see how the lemon tartelettes did, and it seems they went over pretty big. There are only a few left, and it’s only two o’clock in the afternoon. Did one of those food bloggers post about them and that’s why people came in to grab them?”
He gives me his usual confused look that he always wears when I start talking about the food bloggers. My father simply doesn’t understand why anyone would write about my desserts like they do. When they first started featuring my creations, he read a few of their posts and complained the entire time that they said almost nothing about the restaurant or how good my desserts are but instead talked about their childhoods the whole time.
I tried to explain that’s how they do it, but he wouldn’t listen. Since then, whenever I mention them, he looks at me like I’ve switched from English to Greek and he doesn’t comprehend a word I’m saying.
It’s the same look he used to get when I was a teenager and had a crush on a boy. He didn’t want to understand I was growing up then, and he doesn’t want to understand those food bloggers and their posts now.
So instead of discussing them, he switches to business mode. “We had a bit of a lunch rush pretty early for midweek. It started even before eleven, and it just ended a few minutes ago. I mentioned the dessert of the day, which is what I’m calling them now, to a few people, and from there they took off.”
“I’m so happy to hear that! Anyone new seem to come in?” I ask, more curious about if what I’m making is bringing new customers in than if the tartelettes were a hit with the regulars.
In his stoic way, he nods and thinks about the question for a moment. “Maybe. I thought I saw a couple new people today. But you don’t need to shoulder the responsibility for bringing new people into the restaurant, Hailey. We’re fine with the customers we have right now.”
The two of us know that’s a lie, but I don’t let him see I know the truth. My father is a proud man, and I would never want to hurt him like that.
It doesn’t change the fact that I hope my desserts help people find this place and make it a go-to restaurant for them in the future. He doesn’t have to know that, though.
“Well, I’m going to get out of here then. It’s a beautiful day, so I thought I’d get a little Vitamin D and then catch up with Meadow after her big job interview. She’s meeting with the owners of the biggest design firm in town right now.”
My father’s face brightens at the mention of my best friend. “Tell her we said hi and that we hope she gets the big job. If she does, you have to go out and celebrate.”
I know what