It w"0" width="48"> “I’m not you, you idiot.”
Alex laughed even more now. “Oh this is great. Sal’s got the hots for the new hire.”
“Will you shut up?” Sal peeked through the door to make sure no one was within hearing range. “She’s attractive. I’ll give her that. But you know I can’t get involved with anyone that works here.”
“Why not? Sarah worked here before she and Angel got married.”
“That’s different.” He couldn’t believe he was even discussing this. “They were already involved when she came to work here.”
“Man, you must really be into her to ask her something so ballsy. So what did she say? Is she really seeing two guys?”
“No!” Sal was letting Alex get the best for him. He needed to regain his composure here. “She said they’re just friends.”
Alex laughed again. “I see. So that’s when you asked her if they knew about each other. Good one. I would’ve asked the same thing.”
Sal wasn’t sure if his brother and him sharing the same mentality when it came to reacting to women was a good thing. It was never in his nature to just react. That was Alex and Angel—not him. But the question had just slipped out before he even knew it. Just like his comment about Alex being married, her first day on the job. Now he was going to have to apologize again.
“I was out of line, Alex.”
“Not really, Sofie said the guy picked her up and spun her around last night.”
Sal worked his jaw. As much as that annoyed him, it still came down to one thing. “Friend or not, it’s none of my business.”
“Technically, I’m the boss here, Sal. I think she’s pretty damn adorable. You wanna make it your business? Have at it. I don’t have a problem with it.”
Sal opened the door. That was impossible. There was no way it would work. Not only did she have guy friends who were a little too friendly for his liking, he’d managed to come across as a total asshole more than once now.
“Hey,” Alex added.
Sal turned around.
“Just don’t mess with her, man. That I’ll have a problem with. I like her. She’s a sweet girl and a damn good bartender. I don’t want you giving her any reason to leave.”
He almost walked out without responding then stopped and turned around. “Not a word about this to anyone, you hear me?”
Alex smirked.
“I’m serious, ass.”
Alex nodded in agreement but not before getting in a few more laughs.
Grace was already busy in the kitchen when he got there, and she looked as comfortable as she did behind the bar. “You C baing in a fgot breakfast orders?”
Grace shook her head without even looking up. Obviously, she was still mad. One of the other cooks addressed him. “She’s helping out with the brunch, Chief.”
Sal nodded, watching her for a moment. She was a natural. Julian, the other cook he’d hired, was still fumbling around after more than a week of being here. Grace had been in the kitchen less than a half hour and she seemed in complete control.
He walked toward her until he was just a few feet away. She still didn’t look at him. “I wanna apologize,” he said softly. “…again, I was out of line. What you do outside of the restaurant is your business. I have no place questioning you about it.”
Finally, she looked at him. “Why did you?”
He was hoping she wouldn’t ask that. “I dunno—curious, they both seemed a little too friendly to be just friends.”
“They’re gay.”
His expression must’ve been as blank as it felt, because she laughed. “They’re each other’s boyfriend and my best friends.”
“Oh.” Was all he could think of to say, but he couldn’t help smiling—this changed everything. “So you accept my apology?”
She smiled, nodding. “Yeah, I guess.”
The whole time he’d been standing there she hadn’t stopped what she was doing. She whisked eggs without even looking at them and the cheese filled green chilies she’d dipped in them was something she had put together effortlessly.
“That looks good.”
“They are.” She smiled, smug.
His phone buzzed and he pulled out and read a text from Jason.
On my way. See you there.
Damn. He didn’t want to leave now.
“I gotta go. But maybe Wednesday, we can get you in here again and I can watch you work your magic.”
He watched as her smile slowly evaporated and she glanced at his phone. “Sounds good. Have fun.”
He hated to leave but he did. Now he was going to have to go almost three days before seeing her again. Stupid plan.
~*~
By the end of her shift, Gracie had impressed not only Alex and Sofia but some of the other cooks. She even made a dish that wasn’t on the menu—one of her grandmother’s specialty—a green chili chicken enchilada casserole. They had a whole list of enchiladas on the menu, all of which she could whip up with her eyes closed, but this was something her grandmother had come up with that could be made in huge quantities in half the time it took to roll up equal amounts of enchi Cunt>ladas. The casseroles were big sellers in her grandmother’s restaurant. People bought them for parties back in Juarez.
Sofia walked into the kitchen as Grace finished clearing her area up. “You’re a hit.”
Grace smiled. Alex had already left, but he’d said the same thing before he walked out. As good as it felt, she couldn’t shake the disappointment of not having been able to show Sal what she could do.
“What’s this?” Sofia pointed at the casserole on the counter.
“Enchilada casserole.”
“It looks good. Who’s it for?”
Grace lifted a shoulder. “Alex said he’d have a houseful tonight. My grandmother used to make these for parties. I thought maybe you’d want to take it with you.”
Sofia’s eyes widened. “Yeah, that’d be great. Sal will be there. He can get a sampling of your cooking.”
Those were her thoughts exactly but now it made her nervous. Oscar was in the back room when she walked in to get her stuff. “You’re off, too?”
“Yeah, they switched me last minute to open instead of close.”
Grace didn’t miss the way his eyes wandered. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen him looking at her that way. It was so barefaced it was almost rude.
“Your ride here yet?”
She grabbed her bag out of the cabinet. “Nope, I’m taking the bus today.”
“The bus? Where to?”
“Chula Vista.”
Oscar’s mouth fell open. “You take the bus all the way to Chula Vista?”
“Yep.” She nodded as she walked past him.
Sofia walked in just as she got to the office door.
“I can give you a ride, Gracie.”
Up until now, the only one she’d allowed to call her Gracie was Alex. There was something about him. It was sweet not predatory. With Oscar it felt weird. Still she didn’t correct him.
“You don’t have a ride Grace?” Sofia asked.
Grace stopped at the door. “Yeah, I do.”
“The bus,” Oscar said, as if it were illegal or something. “All the way to Chula Vista!”
“Oh no.” Sofia shook her head. “If Oscar can do it, have him take you. I would, but I gotta close.”
Grace took a deep breath, and agreed to have Oscar take her. Oscar was a talker. Good thing because she wasn’t much in the mood for talking. He told her about the other car he was working on, so CorkOscar wame classic twelve-year-old car his uncle had bestowed on him. Grace was no expert but she was pretty sure it took longer than twelve years for a car to become a classic.
Then he told her about his daughter. “I like to be upfront you know, with any girl I meet about my daughter. She’s not something I’m gonna hide, like some guys.”
Girls he meets? Grace hoped he wasn’t jumping to any conclusions. She knew she should’ve insisted on ta
king the bus. Oscar wasn’t bad looking, but he was definitely not her type. She wasn’t sure what her type was, she just knew it wasn’t him. His blatant elevator eyes weren’t reserved for just her either. She’d seen him do it many times with the other girls that worked there, not to mention some of the customers. The only one he wasn’t so obvious with, but she’d still seen it, was Sofia. She was sure his refraining from ogling Sofia so openly had everything to do with her two big brothers around all the time.
Grace hardly got a word in the entire ride. It’s not like she tried. Most of the way her mind wandered off to the usual. Only now, she had more to think about. Sal’s questions about Joey and Taylor had come out of left field. Why would he act like such a jerk, then apologize and take it back? It made no sense. This was the second time he’d done that. Grace wondered if this was something she’d have to get used to. She hoped not, because the longer she was around him, the more his surly behavior toward her was beginning to get to her.
“Are you?”
Grace came back to earth and realized they’d passed her apartment building. “I’m sorry, Oscar. I live back there. But you can stop here and I’ll walk.”
“No, that’s okay I’ll turn around.” Once he’d made a U-turn he turned to her. “So are you purposely avoiding my question or did you not hear it when you were in la-la land?”
She turned to him, feeling terrible. She hadn’t heard a thing he said for the past five minutes. “I didn’t hear you.”
“I asked if you’re seeing anyone?”
“Uh, no. Not at the moment.” She saw his lips curve into a smile. “But I am talking to someone. So you know… I’m just playing it by ear right now.” She bobbled her head, wondering if he’d bought it. She hated awkward situations like this. The last thing she needed was one more person at her job making her feel uncomfortable. “Here it is.” She pointed at her apartment building.
She thanked him and got out before he could start talking again. Next time, she’d take the bus.
CHAPTER 9
Sal finished his round of golf with Jason. The entire time he’d thought of Grace. He kept thinking about the expression on her face when he’d asked her about the guys who picked her up. At first blank, then defensive, then downright heated.
He was one to talk about first impressions. He had to wonder what kind of impression he was making on her with his accusatory remarks and insinuations. If she thought he might be an asshole before, he’d just confirmed it this morning.
They reached the parking area. Jason turned to Sal before they went their separate ways. “Thanks for another good one. You sure everything is okay? You were real quiet today.”
Sal nodded. “I’m good. I just got lot going on at the restaurants.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“Nah, nah, nothing bad. Just been real busy.”
“All right, man.” Jason tapped Sal’s fist with his own. “I’ll see you next time.” Then he stopped. “Oh hey, almost forgot. I talked to Spence the other day. He’s thinking Vegas for the bachelor party.”
“Really Vegas? I thought you didn’t want anything big.”
“Eh, Spence can be persuasive. It won’t be anything crazy, just a little gambling, drinking, and hanging out with the guys. You better be there.”
“When is this?”
“In a few weeks. I’ll let you know.”
“I’ll be there.”
Sal hadn’t taken but two steps when any thoughts of Jason were obliterated and Grace was on his mind again. It was almost annoying.
Alex’s house was, as expected, loud and overflowing with food. Why his mom thought all this noise and company would make Valerie feel better was beyond him. But Valerie had managed to somehow get Alex to let her move from the bedroom to the front room where she lay in the oversized reclining chair.
Sal walked over to greet her as soon as he walked in. “Hey sweetheart, how we doing?” He rubbed her huge belly.
She gave him a half smile. “I just want all their little parts to finish growing already, so they can take these babies out.”
Every time he saw her she was much bigger than the last, but he wouldn’t tell her and make her feel worse. “Almost there, Val.” He kissed her forehead. God, he felt sorry for her, she looked so damn uncomfortable.
Alex doted over her, bringing her another pillow and Sarah stood behind her, massaging her neck.
His mom had made too much food as usual. It was overkill. Sal leaned on the island in the kitchen, trying to decide what he’d try first. Sofia walked in with a tray and the first thing out of his dad’s mouth was, “More food?”
“Yeah, our newest cook made it.”
Just like that, she had Sal’s undivid Klquoteed attention. Eric, her fiancé, walked in behind her and waved at everyone
“You got another cook?” Angel sounded almost annoyed. “Didn’t you just hire one last week?”
“Actually, this is the bartender Alex hired last week,” Sofia said, setting the tray in front of Sal. “She’s just as good in the kitchen.”
Sal glanced at Alex who was smirking. “Try it, Sal. Alex and I had some of her cooking today. She’s a keeper.”
Alex finally moved away from Valerie and made his way to the kitchen, smiling. “Yeah, a keeper, Sal.”
Real discreet. Sal didn’t even look at him, he grabbed a fork and took the foil off the top of the tray. “What is it?”
“An enchilada casserole.”
It looked good. Sal put a forkful in his mouth. It was good. Really good. He nodded, not wanting them to see just how excited he was about this. Of course, this was just one dish, but damn one thing was for sure—she could cook. “Pretty good.”
He knew Alex wasn’t buying his nonchalant act. Alex took the fork from him and dug in. After chewing for a second, he spoke with his mouth still partially full. “This is going on the menu.” He turned to where Angel was sitting. “Angel, try this.”
They were all standing around now, digging in and Alex took a plate over to Valerie, when there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Alex yelled.
Isabel, Valerie’s best friend and roommate before she married Alex, walked in. “Oh, honey,” she said, as soon as she saw Valerie and rushed over to her. She obviously hadn’t seen her in a while.
Romero walked in behind her. “Damn, you’re big!”
Alex shot him a look that shut him up before he could say anything else. Sal couldn’t help laugh. Both Romero and Eric had grown up with Sal and his brothers. They lived right up the block from them. Since they were Angel’s age they were closest to him, but they’d always been like extended family.
Romero and Isabel met at Angel and Sarah’s wedding shower. It was almost funny how fast Isabel had brought womanizing Romero to his knees. They were married within months, something Sal hadn’t been able to fathom but was now beginning to understand.
After eating, the girls all huddled around Valerie, chatting, including his mother who hadn’t acted too impressed with Grace’s cooking, but was on her second helping of the casserole.
The guys all stepped outside to the backyard minus his dad who nodded off on the sofa, after overeating, as usual.
They all stood under the patio. Alex had upgraded to a bigger house after he found out Valerie was pregnant with twins. This one was twice the size of his old one and had a pool and Jacuzzi. Since Valerie was an agent and managed her own real estate office, she’d gotten them a good deal.
“Say it, Sal,” Alex said, after passing out beers. “I hit a home run hiring Grace.”
The w Kth=rie ay he said it, Sal got the double meaning loud and clear.
“Who’s Grace?” Romero asked.
“It’s one dish,” Sal said. “And Sundays are slow for specialty stuff off the menu. We still have to see what’s she’s like under pressure.”
“Who’s Grace?” Romero asked again.
“Dude, I saw her today. Things picked up after brunch and she handled it beaut
ifully. That jerk-off you hired could barely keep up with her.”
“Who the hell’s Grace?”
“The new bartender at the restaurant.” Eric answered Romero for them. “Sofia said she’s real good. Not just at bartending but cooking, too.”
Sal took a swig of his beer, ignoring Alex’s smug grin. His brother was loving this.
“But that’s a hell of a commute she’s got,” Eric added. “Sofia said all the way to Chula Vista, and on the bus?”
Sal stopped before taking another swig. “She gets picked up, though.”
“No. Well, not today, Sof said she almost took the bus, until one of the guys offered her a ride.”
Sal squeezed his bottle. “What guy?”
“I dunno, she just said one of the waiters.”
There were only two male waiters on the payroll and Oscar was the only one scheduled today. Sal exchanged glances with Alex. The smug grin was gone. He was sure they were thinking the same thing. Oscar was a cool dude to hang out with—a guys’ guy. He was funny as shit even, but he didn’t know the first thing about treating women respectfully. He said they were only good for one thing. He openly joked about it. It was all in fun, so long as he didn’t disrespect anyone at the restaurant. So far, he hadn’t.
Sal took that swig of beer he’d held off on. The beer didn’t go down as smooth as his first swig. He’d get things straight with Oscar first thing tomorrow.