Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Never get close. Never leave a trail.
Then Derek—my new boss—offers me a place to stay, a place to hide.
I want to tell him why I’m running, but the truth could destroy us both.
When my past catches up, Derek refuses to let me go.
Sparks fly, secrets unravel, and leaving feels impossible.
But how can I stay when my past could destroy everything?
Especially now that my pregnancy test just came back positive…
And for the first time, I can see a future worth fighting for.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
DEREK
Sundays were often the easiest day of the week. While there was always a brunch service at the restaurant, by two it was all over, and I packed up my knives, changed into comfortable clothes, and gave Ally a ride back home to the place she shared with my brother Noah and their little toddler, Bella. That was if Noah and Bella weren’t already hanging out at the restaurant.
The rest of the day was for us, the King brothers and our growing families. Noah was engaged to my sous chef, Kane was with one of the wine authorities and had had a baby with her, and Alex had just begun to settle down with a sweet woman named Camilla. That left Cameron, the de facto CEO of our business, and me, the chef.
I had a feeling I would be the last among us to fall. While Cameron spent an impressive amount of time obsessing over numbers, he was at least out and about on a regular basis. I preferred my tiny universe of the kitchen, where I saw the people who mattered, occasionally people who helped us, and absolutely no one else. I liked it that way.
It wasn’t that I was a loner—far from it, really. I just knew what I enjoyed out of life, and it was cooking. I loved the adrenaline of a rush, the creativity of plating new and unique dishes, the collaboration with respected peers like Ally, and the satisfaction that I got to do my job as part of the family empire. With all that, I didn’t find a need for other people, though I was often told I was charismatic and outgoing. I didn’t push to be that way.
That was a reason why having a major family get-together that took over the entire rest of the day on one of the few days a week I had any time to myself didn’t bother me. It wasn’t like I was going to go out to a bar, especially on a Sunday night. I would rather spend it with my family, their ladies, and their kids.
On this particular Sunday, there was a game on in the living room, and we had opted for delivery rather than cooking ourselves. Most often, Noah was the one cooking, usually out on the grill, though Ally almost always chipped in. Oftentimes I would find myself in the kitchen in spite of myself.
But with pizza delivery, there was no chance for me to do that. Aside from going to find some extra pizza seasonings and red pepper flakes, that was. I had those at the ready for when the delivery came later in the evening, snacking on the chips Ally had put out as an appetizer. The beers had been flowing since I opened the door, and Noah stuck one in my face. It was the traditional seasonal brew from one of our favorite breweries. I was on my third or fourth one when Ally and Danica sat on the couch on either side of me. Immediately, I knew something was up.
“Oh no,” I said, starting to stand. Ally pushed me back down into the seat, and the two girls turned halfway toward me.
“Sit down, dickweed,” Ally said. I wasn’t sure if it counted as a full-on nickname or not, but it was certainly the most common name she had for me in the kitchen, and occasionally it spilled over to regular life too. She might have been a lady outside of the double swinging doors at the vineyard restaurant, but inside she was one of the guys. Hell, she was the guy. She gave me a run for my money on casual vulgarity in the midst of flame and cooking oil.
“Why?” I asked, looking between them. “What did I do now?”
“It’s not what you did,” Danica said. “It’s what you haven’t done.”
“I don’t follow,” I said, tipping back my beer. “But I need another beer. I’ll be right back, I promise.”
“Nope,” Ally said. “No more beer until we finish.”
“Dammit,” I muttered.
“When are you going to get a steady girl?” Danica asked. “You aren’t getting any younger, you know.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I hardly find thirty-two to be an aged spinster of an old man, but I can agree I am running a little behind. Not like Kane and Noah were spring chickens, mind.”
“But they found people. Us,” Ally said. “You deserve a person, Derek. Wouldn’t it be nice to have something else other than the kitchen and these Sunday dinners?”
“What is this?” I asked. “Are you trying to get me to join a cult?”
“One of us, one of us,” Danica joked. It got a laugh out of me.
“Seriously,” Ally said. “It’s sad, man. We watch you wander around all lonely all the time, and it bums us out.”
“I am so sorry my lack of a love life bums you out,” I said. “I do fine, by the way. I just don’t do serious.”