Just One Taste (Topped #2)(26)

Kyle stopped and kissed his mother on the cheek before leaving the kitchen.

Grace remained behind. “You know you’re supposed to be a guest tonight. I knew I should have fought Sean and had this whole thing catered in. I can’t get you guys out of the kitchen. I’ve already hustled Cal and Mark out of here. They didn’t think there was enough spice in the fondue dip. Macon was fussing with the cake earlier, and I swear Sebastian was crying over my taste in wines.”

He put his hands up in defeat. The brisket was fine. His work here was done. He would have a talk with his line chefs about staying out of the boss’s wife’s appetizers. “Sorry. I’ll get out of the way. I’ll talk to the others.”

Grace stepped in. “No, Eric, I’m the one who’s sorry. About a whole lot of things. I haven’t handled Kyle well. Or Sean. And I’m sure I haven’t been very polite to you since I found out you’re the one who talked Kyle into joining the Navy.”

She’d been on edge. He wouldn’t say she’d been impolite, but she hadn’t been as friendly as she normally was. “Grace, it’s fine. And I wouldn’t say I talked him into it. He needed a place to go and I suggested he think about it. He’s your son. I understand. My mom wasn’t thrilled when I joined up, but I think we’ve all learned that bad things can happen at any moment. We have to hold on to what’s good.”

She nodded, her eyes going misty. “Yes, we have to stop looking at the past and hold on to what we have in the now and what good can come in the future. I’m glad he had someone who could guide him, and I would like to thank you for being so kind to my son.”

“It was my pleasure. Your husband has been a hell of a mentor. There aren’t many people who take a look at this mug of mine and hire me to be second in command, much less let me head up a second restaurant.” In a world where chefs were celebrities, having the face of the restaurant be a scarred up vet wasn’t ideal, but Sean didn’t seem to care. He was making Eric a junior partner, giving him his own Fort Worth franchise of Top.

Eric was going to ask Deena to look over his business plans. He knew Sean had approved, but it might be nice to have a set of fresh eyes. Business was her major after all.

His sub was graduating from more than training class in a few weeks. He meant to give her something to do with her degree.

Grace gave him a hug and when she stepped back, she’d composed herself. “Well, I’m happy you’re going to stay in the family. Don’t think that Sean is being selfless by letting you open a second restaurant. He doesn’t want to lose you and given how talented you are, someone was going to snap you up. Don’t think he doesn’t know about that drink you had with Tim Love three months ago.”

He winced. He hadn’t mentioned that to Chef because it hadn’t meant anything. The culinary world was a small place. Tim was one of DFW’s premiere chefs, but Eric was a loyal man. “It was only a drink, Grace. There was never serious talk about moving.”

“And now there won’t be. Go out and have a nice time. I saw Deena and Tiffany sitting and talking to Charlotte. She was giving them tips on how to handle their Doms.”

If anything was guaranteed to give him the chills it was Deena taking advice from Charlotte Taggart. The woman wasn’t averse to shooting people. “Yes, I should definitely handle that.”

“Is everything going all right with you and Deena?” Grace asked before he’d made it out the door.

The last couple of weeks had been fun. Deena had proven to be every bit as curious as she’d told him she was. They’d played around with some bondage the night before. He had the most experience out of the training Doms so he’d been chosen to demonstrate some of the knots he knew. He’d gotten her down to her bra and wound his jute rope around her torso. He’d watched the way she responded, how she’d shivered, her eyes closing when his hands would caress her. She hadn’t been afraid or wary then. She’d relaxed as he’d worked, and she’d seemed almost disappointed when he’d stopped. “It’s going well. We’re taking it slow.”

He was giving her time. It was precisely why he hadn’t punished her for lying to him about her conversation with Big Tag. He hadn’t forgotten, but he was trying to be patient. If they were going to work, they couldn’t run into the relationship without thought. Deena deserved a courtship. They’d had many classes together and after the last three they’d gone to a late night coffee shop and talked until he had to take her home because she had classes in the morning. She was finally talking to him about her childhood and what she wanted for the future. She’d told him about her father and how once he’d decided he was done with her mom, he’d been done with fatherhood, too. It was hard for Eric to imagine not knowing where his father was, but that was the reality Deena had faced at a young age.

Life had taught her that men couldn’t be counted on. He intended to rewrite that lesson with one of his own.

The night before when he’d dropped her off, he’d walked her to her door and kissed her long and slow. When she offered for him to come in, he’d declined. He wanted it to be special for her. Hell, he wanted it to be special for him.

Grace studied him for a moment. “You’ve been dancing around each other for a year, Eric. How much slower can you possibly take it?”