Heat 1 (Heat: Master Chefs #1) (4 page)

Chapter 4

Lilly

“
M
iss Cooke,” a light female voice called out to
me.  “Mademoiselle Cooke.”

Eager
to get to the meet and greet, I reluctantly turned to the voice that called my
name.  “
Oui
,” I said.

It
was Marie France, an older student who’d decided to go back to school after a
failed marriage and the death of her elder parents.  Within seconds, I was
trapped in a circular conversation that seemed to have no end.  She slammed her
ex-husband and blamed him for everything, complained about the treatment her
parents had each received in a retirement home and told me of her plans to get
her degree and open up a gourmet restaurant if her lazy-assed ex-husband could
come through and pay the alimony he owed her.  And then she started all over
again.  Marie France had a lot to get off her chest and she’d quickly found an
attentive ear in me. 

By
the time I finally managed to free myself twenty minutes later, the large meeting
hall in which the meet and greet was held was teeming with activity and buzzing
with conversations about food, recipes, new methods and new trends.  I looked
around for a familiar face.

No,
not just any familiar face.  I was looking for Bobby’s face.  He’d left the
class so quickly, I hadn’t even had a chance to explain my firm rejection of
him.  Then again, what had he expected?  Who talks about doing the nasty with a
girl prior to their first date?

Bobby
Cummings, that’s who. A boy too confident for his own pants.

But
instead of finding him, it was his sister and brother-in-law who caught my eye. 
As far as the institute was concerned, they were the royal couple; two talented
and beautiful people brought together in the most seductive, harmonious and
loving way.  They were an enviable couple.

Coming
up behind them, I finally saw Bobby.  He handed a glass of wine to Taryn and a
cup of coffee to Errol.  How sweet.  I took a good long look at him. He cleaned
up good, very good, in fact.  Wearing a dark gray suit with a silver gray shirt
and a deep mauve tie, he was beyond debonair and way beyond handsome.  I
couldn’t take my eyes off him, but then I had to remind myself of the type of
man he was.  The sharp suit and clean shaven cheeks didn’t change the fact that
he was a real python, a man on the prowl, eager to capture his next feast.  I
was sure he saw women as disposable… take one, have his way with her and toss
her aside only to start up with another.

No
one goes drinking alone in the 19
^th
arrondissement just looking to
dance and play.  He was looking to hook up, or maybe he’d already had by the
time I found him.  Oh, gross.  The thought brought a grimace to my lips.  Had I
really picked up and brought home a man who’d just expended himself with a
cheap harlot?  Well, whether he had or not, the fact remained; he was the type
of man who played with women’s heartstrings, who flirted with ease and who
jumped from one bed to the next without a second thought.

Well,
he wouldn’t get into my bed.  There was no way I would get involved with him.  He
was wrong for me in every way… every single way.  I had every reason not to get
involved with him.

Then
why was I trying to convince myself?

Probably,
because just looking at him, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like
to be with him, what it would feel like to touch him, what he would taste like
if I kissed him.

Stop
it.  He isn’t part of your life’s path.

But
still, the thought of his kiss, his touch… It was enough to make me weak in the
knees.  What nonsense.  I was being silly.

He
looked up suddenly and spotted me.  I’d never had anyone look at me with such
intensity.  I was frozen in place as he walked to me, but my brain was running
a mile a minute trying to find something adequate to say.  Should I apologize?  Wait
for him to apologize?

“Hi,”
he said, his hand outstretched to me.  “I’m Bobby Cummings.  I’m in my first
year in fine cuisine technique.”

I
smiled and shook his hand.  “Lilly Cooke, lab technician and substitute teacher.”

“Could
I bring you something to drink?  Wine?  A soda?  Tea?”

“Iced
tea would be nice.”

“Iced
tea it is.  Don’t move.  I’ll be right back.”

He
left me and I followed every line of his body as he walked away.  He was so
sexy and alluring in that suit.  So dashing.  But I wasn’t the only one to
notice.  The head of virtually every girl in the large room turned to him as he
walked on.  They smiled, they pouted, they winked and they perked up their
attributes, anything to win a glance from him.  If he garnered them with the
glance they worked so hard for, I couldn’t tell from my vantage point, but
judging by their disappointed pouts, I had to say he hadn’t.  Adding insult to
injury, he beamed when he returned to me with a tall glass of iced tea and the
girls around me huffed and groaned their discontent.

“I’m
new here.”  Bobby handed me the glass.  “Would you mind showing me around a
bit?”

I
took the glass and took a sip as I studied him from over the rim of the glass. 
I barely recognized the brash young man I’d met earlier that day.  He was so polite,
calm… a real gentleman.  Taking in a deep breath, I let my guard down and
looped my arm through his.  “Have you visited the courtyard yet?”

He
shook his head and I led him into the hall and out the broad doors that opened
onto the magnificent garden.  Other than the faint glow that spilled from the
surrounding windows, a sprinkling of tiny white bulbs was the only source of
light, but it was enough to impress Bobby.

“I’m
glad you brought me out here.  I probably never would have ventured out here on
my own.  I’ve never really been the type to garden.”

“On
your own, maybe not, but in my class you certainly will.  In addition to the
beautiful and fragrant flowers, we also have a vast vegetable and herb garden. 
The use of fresh produce is so important to the success of any recipe.  It
lifts it up, raising it to a level that no dried herb can achieve.”

Taking
in a long whiff, Bobby followed his nose and headed to the left, took the right
where the path forked and went directly to the herbs.  “Ah, yes.  Now this I
can appreciate.  Rosemary and…”  He took in another whiff.  “Basil.  Is there
anything on God’s green earth that smells better than basil?”

“Your
sense of smell is impressive.” I came up beside him, directly in front of the fragrant
basil.  “There’s also…”

“Don’t
tell me.”  He held up a finger as he let his nose discover the various aromas. 
“Savory.  Oregano.  Sage.  Um… and chives.  Garlic chives to be precise.”

I
couldn’t help but giggle.  He was being so charming and so adorable.  He was
positively irresistible when he wasn’t trying so hard to be suave. 

“I
love coming out here,” I said.  “You absolutely have to come during the day. 
The beauty of the floral forms, the brilliance of the colors and the sublime
scents… it’s almost sensory overload.”

We
strolled side by side on the narrow path until we reached the rose bushes. 
Bobby picked up a perfect white rose that’d been cut earlier and left on the
ground.  “Such a beautiful flower.  Why would someone throw it away?”  He held
it out to me.  “I think it needs someone kind and loving to tend to it.”

With
a wistful smile, I accepted the rose.  “It is beautiful, isn’t it?  No doubt
it’s someone who thought it would make for a romantic gesture.”

“But
the girl was upset with her suitor and cast his token of affection aside?”

I
pouted and twirled the stem of the rose between my thumb and index.  “Could
be.”  The inevitable happened.  Silly me.  I don’t know if it was Bobby’s
proximity that kept me from using better judgment, but I twirled the stem until
a nice spike of a thorn cut through my thumb.  “Ouch.”

Bobby
grinned, took the rose away and held up my thumb to his scrutiny.  “Maybe
that’s why the dreaded rose was tossed aside.”

“So
beautiful, yet with the capacity to cause such pain,” I whispered.  My eyes
were riveted to his, as if staring at him would extract the real Bobby, bring
him to light… warn me of the potential dangers of being so close to such a man.

I
pulled my hand away before he could kiss the pain away.  I couldn’t allow it. 
Already the touch of his hand over mine was enough to make me dizzy.  What
would the touch of his lips do?

“You
have to see the vegetable garden,” I said.  Pulling away, I walked to the rows
of cabbage.  “Such a versatile vegetable, don’t you think?”

“Cabbage? 
I guess.”

“You
can eat it hot in a soup, chop it coarsely and throw it in a stew, or shred it
and serve it cold in a slaw.”

“Don’t
forget sauerkraut.”

“Ah,
yes.  My favorite.  I can’t have a hot dog without it.”

“You
eat hot dogs?”

“Just
because I work at a culinary institute doesn’t mean I eat gourmet food all the
time.”

He
shrugged.  “Yeah.  I know where you're coming from.  I do love my slice of
pizza every now and then, and not some asparagus, béchamel fancy thing.  Real
pepperoni, cheese, mushrooms… the whole deal.”

“Speaking
of asparagus, we have some growing here.  Did you know it takes four years for
them to go from seed to this stage?”

“Four
years?  Who has four years to wait around for a vegetable to grow?”

I
laughed as we came to the zucchini plants that climbed up a trellis.  A few
bright yellow flowers remained, but most of them had fallen, leaving a small,
growing zucchini in its place.  “Did you know that the blossom is edible?”

“Another
lesson learned.  You know, I’m enjoying my first lesson very much,” he said in
a low tone that seemed to imply so much more.

I
stared down the row of zucchini filled trellis and tried to get a hold of the
jumble of emotions churning inside me.  A chill traveled up my spine, but at
the same time, a ball of heat burned through my belly.

I
took a final sip of my iced-tea and tossed the plastic cup in a nearby
recycling bin.

Bobby
slipped his hand over mine and let it linger there, his fingers brushing lightly
along mine while he looked at me.  “You okay?”

“Yeah. 
I’m fine.  This is lovely.”

“You
look sad all of a sudden.”

Did
I?  I shrugged.  “There was a garden very much like this at the convent.  Oh,
it wasn’t surrounded by such austerity, and it wasn’t very high tech, but it
was functional and productive.  We had cabbage and tomatoes and radishes;
carrots, snow peas, red peppers, green peppers, yellow peppers.  We had some
flowers thrown into the mix; flowers that were supposed to deter certain
insects.  Some cosmos, capucchinos, moonbeams.  It was great.  A lot of hard
work, but well worth it.”

It
was the first time I’d felt so homesick since arriving in Paris, but I didn’t
want that homesickness to weigh over our lovely stroll.  Forcing a smile, I
sniffed the cool night air and walked on.  I was rattled by so many emotions,
or maybe it’d simply been a long day.  No, a part of me longed to go back home,
but at the same time I was excited by the future the institute offered me.  I’d
met so many new and exciting people since my arrival in Paris… at the institute;
people from all over the world, from all walks of life… People from a life so
far removed from the sheltered life I’d known.

And
of course there was Bobby.  I didn’t know what to make of him.  He’d been a
drunken mess when I’d first found him, but I’d still brought him to my
apartment.  Despite having told him I would have helped any lost tourist, I
certainly wouldn’t have brought any lost tourist home with me. And I wasn’t
really sure what had pushed me to bring him home with me.  I guess there’d simply
been nothing threatening about him; just a poor little lost boy who needed to
be sheltered for the night. But then there was this morning.  He’d become the
brash, almost arrogant Don Juan who chased anything with boobs and a pulse.  He
seemed obsessed with women.  And how many women had he been with?

I
closed my eyes.  Truth was, I didn’t really want to know.

I
glanced sidelong at him.  Not only was he my student, but he was by far one of
the more handsome young men in my class, if not the entire institute.  A
handsome young man that every other girl in school wanted to get their hands
on.

Yet,
here he was with me.  I swallowed a lump of… of what?  Inexplicable emotion? 
Uncontrollable want?

Indescribable
fear?

Being
so close to him was pure temptation, and I knew it.  I also knew it was a
temptation I could not afford to fall victim to.

Chapter 5

B
efore heading to the lab the next morning, I
redirected myself to the institute’s Administrator. He’d left a message on my
desk in my office saying he wanted to meet with me, but had said nothing about
the reason for the meeting.

I
knocked on his door.  “It’s Miss Cooke.”

“
Oui.
 
Entrez
.”

 “
Bonjour,
Monsieur Franchine
.”

He
nodded.  “Have a seat.  I won’t keep you too long, mademoiselle. I know you
have a busy day ahead of you.  First I’d like to commend you on the great work
you’ve done in the lab.  Quite impressive.  I dare say, for one so young, you
have an incredible grasp of what works and what doesn’t, and more importantly,
why.  You’ve concocted something that has impressed everyone at the institute.”

“Thank
you.  I appreciate it.”

“We
know you're a hard worker, but I’ll admit, we didn’t expect you to be so quick
to produce something so worthy.”

“Thank
you again.”

“I
hear you’ve also taken over Monsieur Trepanier’s class until we can find a
replacement.”

“It’s
an honor, really.  I enjoy it.”

“Good. 
I’m glad to hear that.  For the time being I think you should concentrate on
the lesson plan for this unexpected class you have to teach.  As time goes on
you’ll need to put more and more time into your lessons.”

“I
hadn’t really thought of that.  I guess that’s true.”

“So
with that in mind, we feel you should set aside your work at the lab for now
and concentrate on your class.”

Stunned,
I felt I’d been punched in the gut.  “But, with all due respect, Monsieur Franchine,
my work at the lab is important to me.  There’s still so much I want to do… so
many facets I want to explore.  Just last night I had an idea for a new twist
on…”

He
wasn’t even listening to me, but was shaking his head.  “You’ve done enough
already.  The sauce you developed is being marketed to all the specialty stores
in and around Paris and we’re already in the works to get it into a few key
stores in Germany, Italy and Belgium.  Not only will it raise funds for the
institute, but it will be an incredible boost to our reputation.”

“Not
that the institute needs much of a boost.  It’s already highly praised.”

“Thank
you.  We do what we can.  So, to get back to this semester.  It might be a good
idea to relax and have a good time with it.  You seemed stressed last night at
the meet and greet… a little stiff and awkward.”

Really?

“There’s
nothing worse than a stressed out teacher.  Take it easy and enjoy the sights.”

“All
right,” I said, though hesitantly.

“And,
on that note, I think you should also take this opportunity to get to know your
students.”

“Oh. 
Okay.”

“I’d
like to know how you feel about mentoring.”

“Mentoring?”

He
nodded.

Didn’t
he just say I should take it easy and have fun?  Mentoring seemed like an
enormous responsibility.

“As
a young woman who has her act together as you do, I think you could bring a lot
to individual students.  You're easily an inspiration.  Young, intelligent,
accomplished.”

If
he was trying to boost my ego, he certainly was doing a great job.  Another
compliment and my head wouldn’t pass through the door on my way out.

“One
student in particular stood out last night,” he went on.  “A good head for
cuisine, though quite unconventional, a hard worker with plenty of experience
in the kitchen, but… well, maybe a little personal guidance wouldn’t hurt.  A
little culture here, a little dinner there, maybe even a tour of the city… not
your usual
Tour Eiffel
or Louvre, but the other side of Paris so few people know about.  We wouldn’t want a student to get homesick and long to
leave Paris, would we?”

I
shook my head.  “Of course not.”

“Good. 
Your student should be here any minute now.”  He grinned. 

Oh? 
Had he been so sure I’d accept?  Or did I not even have a choice in the matter?

“Not
to add any pressure, but you are the first mentor in our new mentorship
program.”

Great.

“Our
hope is to churn out more students along the lines of Errol King.”

Right. 
No pressure there.

A
knock sounded at the door and I bolted from my chair, my entire body stiff with
anticipation.

“Relax,”
Monsieur Franchine whispered.  “You're not on trial. 
Entrez
,” he called
out.

I
turned and found myself face to face with Bobby Cummings’ beautiful blue eyes.

“Hey,
fancy meeting you here,” he said.  “Sorry to burst in on your meeting.  I just
dropped in to meet my mentor, right Monsieur Franchine.”

“
Exactement
.”

After
taking a moment to recover from the irony of it all, I held out my hand.  “Monsieur
Cummings.  I believe we met in my basic science class yesterday.  It will be a
privilege to be your mentor.”

His
eyes popped wide open with surprise then narrowed with interest, even a bit of
cunning.  His gaze almost revealed the multitude of thoughts that ran through
his mind, and a lot of those thoughts seemed to be of a sexual nature.  “I’m
looking forward to it.  I think I need someone who knows the city well to show
me around.  Who knows what trouble I could get into if I happen to wander off
to seedier parts of Paris.”  He winked.

“Well,
you two seem to get along fine, so I’ll leave you to it.”  He stood, his cue
that we leave his office.

Out
in the hall, I turned to Bobby.  “Was that just to impress Monsieur Franchine
or do you really want to get to know Paris?”

“You
saw where I landed when I went out on my own.  What do you think?”

“Okay,
but just to warn you; I’m your mentor, not your babysitter… and not your
designated driver.”

“Understood.” 
He grinned as we walked down the hall and out to head to the academic
building.  It was a boyish grin filled with mischievous innocence.  “Looks like
we’ll be going on that date after all.”

I
stopped on the steps outside and planted my hands on my hips.  “No.  This is
not a date, not by any stretch of the imagination.”

“Okay. 
I  gotchagotcha.  Not a date.”

Darn
it.  There I was getting all rejection on him again.  “I mean, this is
serious.  I’m your mentor.  That’s a big responsibility.”

“Sure. 
Then mentor away.”

“First
get to class.  Mentoring will start Saturday.”

“Why
wait so long?”

“In
case you haven’t noticed, I do have work to do.  In addition, I’d like to take
a little time to research what Paris has to offer you.”

“I’m
disappointed.”

“It’ll
pass.”

He
looked intently at me. 

“What?”
I said.

“I
wish you’d explain the blush on your cheeks.”

Instinctively,
I brought my hands to my cheeks.  “The what?”

“You're
blushing.”

“I
am not.”

“You're
totally blushing.  Look at you.  You're getting redder and redder.”

“Then
stop it and get to class.”