The Hand-Picked Bride. Raye Morgan

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СКАЧАТЬ just thought of. “Listen, how would you like to come work for me?”

      “For you?” She drew back suspiciously. She hadn’t expected anything like this. “Doing what?”

      “Believe it or not, I need a pastry chef.” He pulled out his wallet again and found a business card to show her. “I’ve got a restaurant, the Max Grill in Pasadena. Our pastry chef quit last month and we’ve been making do with a local bakery.” He gestured toward her wares. “I like what you’ve got here. How about giving it a try?”

      She studied the card to keep from meeting his gaze. The Max Grill. She’d heard of it, though she’d never eaten there. Her budget ran more to fast-food hamburger stands.

      “I don’t think so,” she told him, holding the card out to him. “Thanks anyway.”

      He smiled at her, bemused. She didn’t trust him. He could see it in her spectacular eyes, sense it in her body language. He’d never seen anyone like her before and he had an instinctive feeling that he shouldn’t let her slip out of his life without at least thinking it over.

      “Listen, just come by one day this week and take a look at our setup,” he suggested, avoiding taking back the card. “I think you’ll like what you see.”

      She was shaking her head, but he didn’t let her get a word in. “I’ve got two big commercial baking ovens. They can be yours every morning. Just think of the things you could try there that you’ve never been able to do before.” His smile was contagious. “Come on by and give us a chance. And after you fall in love with the place, we’ll talk. We’ll negotiate your salary. I pay pretty decently.” He jerked his head toward the playpen. “You might even be able to afford to get a baby-sitter for the kid.”

      Her head snapped around and she gazed at him levelly. Baby-sitting for her kid, indeed! As if she would let anyone else raise her child for her. Wasn’t that just like a man? Suddenly it all seemed much too familiar. Sure, get the kid out of the way so they could get to know each other better. Where had she ever heard that before?

      “I’m afraid I can’t help you out,” she said stiffly, dropping the card into her trash, since he wouldn’t take it back.

      He watched her defiant gesture with a slight frown. “You won’t even come take a look at the place?”

      She held her head high and gazed at him across the bridge of her nose. “No.”

      His frown deepened. “Do you have some other job? Besides this, I mean.”

      He was awfully persistent and she looked toward where Mandy was selling pretzels to a young boy. She might have to call for reinforcements if he kept this up. “Let’s just say my family obligations rule it out.”

      His face cleared. “Ah, I see. Your husband wouldn’t approve?”

      She merely smiled, and just as she’d suspected, his eyes clouded over and he seemed to lose interest fast. She’d seen him look at her empty ring finger before and he did so again now. But he shrugged and began to back away.

      “Well, in that case,” he said smoothly. “I won’t bother you any further.”

      She opened her mouth to say something else, but he was already turning from her and she couldn’t remember what it was going to be anyway. She watched him stop by Mandy’s pretzel stand and buy one of the twisted pieces of bread. She was tempted to take offense when she noticed him munching on it. After all, he hadn’t finished her pastries, had he?

      Hey, stop it, she scolded herself immediately. If you’re going to be jealous of something like that, you might as well give it up.

      He turned and caught her watching, waved the pretzel at her and started off, while she flushed, wishing she’d turned away sooner. Clenching her jaw with new determination. she went back to setting up her counter, carefully avoiding a look in his direction again and a moment later, Mandy hurried over.

      “What happened?” she asked, her eyes bright. “That man I just sold a pretzel to—he was over here talking to you forever. What did he want?”

      Jolene looked up at her friend and roommate and sighed. “What do you think? He actually thought I would fall for the old offer of a job trick. He said he ran a restaurant and needed a pastry chef. Can you believe it?”

      Mandy frowned, considering carefully. “You turned him down?”

      “I had to.”

      “Why?”

      Jolene put a stack of napkins into the holder before answering. “Because he’s a guy.” She glanced at her friend, then toward her child. “And I know all about guys. I’ve been down that road before.”

      “I know, but...” Mandy frowned, biting her lip.

      She tried another vein, hoping to make it clear. “You should have seen how quickly he backed off once he thought I was married.”

      Mandy’s frown only deepened. “But you’re not married.”

      Jolene pushed her hair back impatiently, turning away. No, she wasn’t married. But she might as well be. “I know that,” she said quickly. “But he doesn’t. And once he heard that, he was out of here like a shot.”

      Mandy raised one dark eyebrow, surveying her friend with a glint of amusement. “Maybe he’s a gentleman.”

      “What?” Jolene gave her an outlandish look. Gentlemen didn’t hang around offering jobs that didn’t exist.

      But Mandy smiled, liking her idea. “Sure. Once he found out you were already spoken for, he decided to back off.” She gave her friend a teasing grin. “He just couldn’t bear to tempt himself any further.”

      Jolene threw up her hands. “Oh, puhlease, Mandy,” she said, though she had to admit, in her secret heart, such a scenario pleased her, too.

      Mandy shook her head and flopped down on the camp stool Jolene kept behind the counter. “Well, there’s only one problem with your theory. In point of fact, he asked me if you were married. And since I didn’t know you were giving him that impression on purpose, I told him the truth.”

      The two friends stared at each other, then both started to laugh.

      “Oh, brother, now I feel like an idiot,” Jolene admitted, shaking her head. Her attempt at a tough shell had melted away in an instant. It hadn’t been a very comfortable fit anyway.

      “So I guess maybe his job offer was on the level,” Mandy suggested.

      Jolene shrugged. “Maybe.” But she turned away and began another chore, as though it hardly mattered in the end.

      Mandy was silent for a while, but finally blurted out, “You’re nuts. You know very well we’re not making it. The rent is eating up all the money we make here. We need something else.”

      Jolene winced, knowing her words were true enough, but hating to face facts just yet. “All we need is a couple of good days...”

      “A couple won’t do it,” Mandy told her bluntly. “A month of good days might get us by. You’ve got Kevin. We’ve both got СКАЧАТЬ