The Winemaker's Dinner: Dessert (The Winemaker's Feast) (21 page)

He spritzed on cologne, tucked his brown jacket over his arm and was ready for his dinner/meeting/date with Irena. He couldn’t help but remember the first time he’d known she would hold a special place in his heart. On an impromptu trip to Chicago they’d enjoyed everything the windy city had to offer. The aquarium, stadiums, and pizzas deeper than he’d thought possible were experienced together under a veil of romance. They’d shared countless glasses of wine and so many stories. At the end of one day he’d laid back on the hotel room bed and listened to her talk, her thick accent growing stronger and more pronounced with each drink.

The minute she’d dropped her head, keeping her eyes fixed on him with the sexiest of smiles, his heart had burst forth to profess his love verbally. The three little words rang through a wintery night as she professed hers as well. Then they’d devoured every inch of each other’s bodies. It was a magical night. In hindsight, when it all fell apart, there hadn’t been much of a foundation for the fairy tale they built, but that didn’t make it any easier when he was standing alone in the rubble. The thought of rebuilding all that was tempting and threatening at the same time.

“Ay,” he muttered as he surveyed the room one last time and patted his pockets for keys, phone, and credit cards. He adjusted his collar and headed out into an uncertain night with even more uncertain potential.

Chapter 27

“Won’t Back Down”

T
HE
K
ITCHEN
C
REW
A
ND
W
AIT
S
TAFF
scattered like confetti when Jaden wrapped up the pre-event meeting, and she smiled at the hum of activity around her as the kitchen came to life. But after a moment her smile faltered a bit. The final details she’d been missing about this dinner had fallen into place, but they now hung around her neck like a lead weight.

You can do this
, she told herself. If Irena Stang had orchestrated this whole night in an attempt to embarrass her or put her on notice, she was going to be disappointed. This was
her
house, and if she could just focus on the food and flavors, then no one—not even the infamous Irena Stang—could shake her.

As she deliberated about whether or not she had time to call Tasha to commiserate, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She grabbed it, and once she saw who it was, headed straight through the galley and into the sub-zero.

“Hello, Kevin. What can I do for you?”

“Ahh, hello, Jaden. Just wanted to check in and see if you were all ready for the big night.”

“Just finished a meeting with the staff, and now I need to hop to it. But since you called, Kevin, why didn’t you tell me that this whole dinner was for Irena Stang?”

“Because it’s not, Jaden.”

She sighed impatiently. “But you knew she’d be here, and you knew she was—”

“Whoa. I’m going to stop you right there,” Kevin replied. “Who’s around that table is irrelevant. You just have to wow them. Doesn’t matter who they are.”

Jaden paced the freezer. “Irena Stang at my table makes a difference, Kevin. Don’t you think a heads up might have been nice?”

“Frankly, I wasn’t sure that would do you any good at all,” he said.

“Whatever. Fine. I just have one other question. When you first told me about this dinner, you said someone had specifically requested that I cook.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“So who asked for me? Was it production or someone else?”

Kevin didn’t reply.

“Tell me.”

“Production asked on behalf of…”

She stopped pacing. “Irena Stang.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to,” she said as she shoved open the fridge and returned to the bustling kitchen.

“No matter what, this is an amazing professional opportunity, Jaden. For you and for the show. Please make the most of it.”

“I’m not stupid. And I have to go. I have a kick-ass dinner to prepare.”

“Thatta girl,” Kevin replied.

“Sure thing.”

“Oh, one more thing,” he added.

“What’s that?” she asked, now tapping her foot and itching to get started.

“I hear you’re coming back to L.A. tomorrow.”

“Yep.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” he said with a smile in his voice.

She laughed as she shook her head. “You didn’t think I would, did you?”

“To be honest? I wasn’t so sure.”

“It’s nice to know you have such faith in me, Kevin.”

“It’s not about faith. I just know things can change, and I also know this last season wasn’t easy for you. I really do understand that.” He paused for a moment. “I’m not gonna lie and say I didn’t have a plan B.”

“Always have a plan B, huh, Kev?”

“In this business, you’d be a fool not to.”

“Gotta do what you gotta do, I suppose.”

“Yep. But I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Knock ’em dead, kiddo.”

“Thanks.” Jaden zipped over to the break room where she threw her phone in her handbag, kicked off her high heels, slipped into kitchen clogs, and shrugged on her jacket. “Plan B, my ass,” she muttered as she dressed.
Plan B.
If Kevin had a plan B, shouldn’t she have a plan B too? And what if plan B looked better to both of them than plan A? Jaden sighed and smoothed her jacket. At the moment her only plan was to go out there and cook her ass off. She swung the door open and nearly crashed into Geoff.

“There you are!” he said. “Listen, I wanted to tell you—he made me promise not to give you all the details.” He looked down a bit sheepishly.

“It’s fine, Geoff,” she said. “I can handle it.”

“I never had any doubts.”

Jaden gave him a quick hug. “Thank you. Truly.”

“Come on now,” he urged with a smile. “We’ve got everything ready to go. We just need someone to start barking orders and bossing everyone around.”

“That I can do!” she said with a laugh. She followed him into the work space and made her first stop checking on the sous chefs. Then, free of an executive chef’s usual long-term management duties, she picked up her knives and joined in the chopping, mincing, and dicing of fresh ingredients. It wasn’t long before all thoughts of Irena—or anything else—were banished, and she was lost in her art and her work. By the time the first hors d’oeuvres were prepped and plated for passing, she’d found her groove.

Chapter 28

“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”

I
VAN
M
ANEUVERED
C
ANDY
T
HROUGH
S
IDE
S
TREETS
and back alleys, avoiding the rush on Miami Beach as he picked his way across the island to pick up Irena.

“Well, let’s see how late she’s going to be.” He messaged her during one of his many stops along the way.

There in 5. Are you on your usual schedule?

Her time-management skills had always been an issue for them. But immediately his phone rumbled with a response.

Smartass! I’m ready.
Message me when you’re here and I’ll come out.
Go to side street entrance.

Surprised, he smiled as he typed a quick response.

Apparently being a big shot makes one punctual.

Was he being too flirty or just friendly, he wondered
after
he hit send. When his phone buzzed again, he saw a smiley face giving him the finger. He laughed and almost skimmed a parked car.

As he turned down the side street that led to the Setai, an influx of nerves bombarded him, and he realized that, apart from the brief whatever-that-was in his office the other day, he hadn’t spoken to her, let alone seen her, since the proverbial elevator doors closed on their relationship three years ago. The twenty minutes in his office were powerful and intriguing, but not nearly enough time to prepare for an actual evening together where conversation was required and the visual contact might be more than he could bear.

He slowed to a stop, looking down the alley where he was to pick her up. If he turned around now, he could be back to his place in fifteen minutes, bottle of wine open in twenty, and a good buzz going in forty-five—the easy way out. Or he could pick her up and pull a night like he’d had with Jaden a few weeks ago—the evil and fun way out. Or he could man up and take an old girlfriend out to a casual dinner—just to catch up and maybe steal a bit of closure along the way.

Man up it is.

He typed out a text.

Outside.

“Let’s rock,” he mumbled as he put the car back in drive.

He rounded the corner and stopped just short of the entrance, where he put Candy in park and began to play the waiting game. His phone buzzed again. He half expected to see a message asking for fifteen minutes, but instead it was a note from AVOID:

I hope you have a great night, Ivan. xoxo

He froze as if he’d been caught, and the heat of adrenaline flared through his chest. But he wasn’t breaking any rules—well, maybe his own—but nevertheless, a small sliver of guilt wormed its way through him as he composed a response.

I hope u have a better one, Jaden. xoxo

After he responded, he went into his contacts and changed AVOID to Jaden. That’s the way it should be.

“Hi, Papi!”

At the sound of her voice he dropped the phone like it was on fire. He wasn’t even sure he’d finished updating Jaden’s information. When he looked up, his eyes came to rest on near perfection. Irena, clad in a blue dress, leaned in the window with her cleavage practically spilling into the front seat. Her eyes sparkled like always.

“Ay! Hey, girl. You scared me.” He stuttered as he struggled to retrieve his phone from the floorboard.

“Really? I didn’t think I had that effect on you.” She laughed, but her eyes never left his. “Not any more anyway. But I remember a long time ago…” She stood, leaving him staring at her stomach.

“Oh, shit! Sorry. Let me get the door.” He nearly broke his leg trying to get out of the car and stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing a mountain of a man standing behind her.

“Don’t worry, sir. I’ll get it for her.”

Irena smiled at the gorilla and rolled her eyes at Ivan.

“Fair enough, boss.” He spun himself back into the car. Once her door shut, Irena leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for coming out tonight. It’s great to see you.”

He could feel the heated imprint of her lips on his cheek. “It’s my pleasure, girl. Good to see you too. Damn, you are all done up! Am I underdressed? You said small and casual right?”

“Oh, you’re fine. You look great, and I have to say the beard is…it’s very sexy. You never wore a beard when we were together.”

“Well, I don’t know if I was ready for a beard back then,” he said with a bit of a giggle. “I’m a big boy now.”

She sighed. “You and your jokes. How I’ve missed them.”

Dammit. What is this? Flirting? Friendly? What? Just laugh.
“Hahaha. So what do you feel like? Sushi? Italian? Greek?”

“Actually, there’s a great little restaurant I’d like to try out. I have some friends meeting us there.”

“Irena, this sounds a bit more than casual.” He looked at her with one eyebrow raised. “This sounds planned—organized and reserved in advance.”

“What? It’s just a few friends. You’re dressed fine. Don’t worry.”

“Ay, ay, ay. You and your mystery. I’m not sure I miss that.”

She dropped her jaw and smacked him on the shoulder. “Papi!”

“Just a joke.” He laughed and let the spontaneity of the moment ride, then found himself patting her bare knee. He pulled his hand back.

Her open-jawed gaze turned to a playful smile. “I know you were. You’re too easy.”

Beep-beep!
A valet in the car behind them glared through the window. Shifting Candy into gear, he accelerated out of the alley and toward an unknown venue.

Irena flipped on the music and Dave Matthews came blaring through the speakers. She shot a look of surprise at him, followed by a sly smile.

Ivan played it cool. “What? He’s still one of my favorites. That didn’t change.” He matched her sly smile with a wink and a cocky grin.

“Me too.” Her smile faded, and she continued to stare at him as he drove.

Approaching an intersection, Ivan inquired, “Heading?”

“Take a left. We’re going to a restaurant called Bianca.”

Nerves bounded through him. “Why? Why are we going there?”
Agh
. He silently cursed himself and his growing queasiness. He sounded frantic.