Stepbrother Bad Boy's Baby Boxed Set(28)

In my heart, I could feel a warm ball of hope blooming. Was there really a chance for me? Could I be more than just the * I'd always been? "You really think there's a chance for us?"

"I do. Now, I know what I should say at this point. You two are family, even if it is stepsiblings, it's wrong, yada yada yada. You know what? I don't really care about any of that. What I care about is Krystal being happy, and Julian, you're the closest any man has ever come to making her happy since Danyal Aksoy died. And yes, she's causing you to become a better man too, so that's kind of a nice side benefit. But the ball's in your court now, dude. What are you going to do?"





Chapter 13





Krystal





"And the winner is.... Chef Shannon!"

Although the producers had me and the rest of the Alinea team off to the side, we were celebrating just as hard as Shannon was as she was congratulated by the Iron Chef. Turning, we were allowed to come back onto the stage and shake hands and embrace her too. We celebrated like we'd just won the Super Bowl, which in a lot of ways, we did. After leaving the stadium, I stopped to watch as the production crew quickly cleared away all the mess, setting up the next battle. They filmed three or four episodes a day, and had to work hard to get Kitchen Stadium spotless in between.

"Shannon?" I said, turning around. Shannon, who was shaking hands with a producer, came over.

"Great job out there, Krystal," she started, giving me another hug. "What's up?"

"Uh, I wanted to hang around a bit longer, just watch and see if I could get an autograph from Iron Chef Morimoto. You mind if I catch up with you guys at the hotel later?"

"Of course not. How about you do what you want, and we'll all catch up in the lobby at six or so. Drinks are on me, and then if you want, we can light up the town a bit."

I nodded politely. "Okay, but I may have to crash early. I'm exhausted after the past few weeks, and could look forward to a spa treatment and a long night's sleep."

"Done deal. Drinks at six, you've got a spa appointment at seven, on me. You did good Krystal."

Shannon left, and I turned back around, leaning against the wall to watch the production crew. I was just about to see if I could find a seat when there was a tap on my shoulder. "Miss Aksoy?"

I turned and was almost left speechless as Masaharu Morimoto stood in front of me. He was dressed in his competition uniform, and looked just as cool in person as he did on television. His accent was strong, but easy to understand. "Alton Brown said you were looking for me?"

"Chef Morimoto, it's truly an honor," I said, shaking his head and bowing. He returned the bow, smiling softly the whole time. "Wow, I didn't think I'd be this star struck."

"It happens," Morimoto said. "By the way, I saw your effort during the last battle. You do good work. Am I correct in that you are a newly promoted line cook at Alinea?"

"Yes Chef," I replied. "I just got a place on the line about two months ago."

"With work like that, keep going, you'll be a sous or executive chef very quickly. Now, what can I do for you?"

I quickly explained Yuki's request for him, and his smile grew the entire time.

"You must be a good friend. All right, I'll sign something. Hold on just a moment." He turned and left me standing where I was, still somewhat star struck. He came back a few minutes later with a bag in his hand and handed it to me.

I opened the bag and felt my jaw hang open. Sitting inside was another of Chef Morimoto's jackets for Iron Chef, complete with the Japanese flag patch on the left arm. Across the chest were a bunch of Japanese calligraphy, along with his name in what I guessed was both Japanese and English. "This is.... this is amazing."

"To the victor goes the spoils," Morimoto replied. "Just remember, if you ever come across me in the stadium, I won't be so kind." He smiled, and I could see both the good humor and the competitive streak within the man. I bowed deeply, and he returned the gesture.

Good luck, Miss Aksoy."

"Thank you, Chef. You too."

He headed out towards the stadium to do a last minute walkthrough with the production staff, and I went upstairs, looking for a seat. One of the production assistants pointed towards a small area behind the main cameras where I could sit without being in the shots for the episode, and I relaxed for the next two hours as the next battle continued.



* * *



Julian



Getting back to the apartment the next day, I still felt like my mind was whirling from everything Kimberly had shown me and told me. She'd let me crash on her floor that night after I spent the next four hours reading her files on my father, and I'd woken up with my legs and lower back in pain, but my heart lighter than ever. My entire soul felt like it was in a liquid state of change, and the world contained more possibilities than it had in years. I'd thanked Kim and caught a taxi back to K Station, still trying to decide what I wanted to do next.

As I stepped into the spartan interior of the apartment, I knew. I had to tell Krystal the way I felt about her, that was for sure. However, she wasn't supposed to be filming until later that day, so I didn't want to tell her before the taping. I knew the sort of emotional bombshell I had was not the sort of thing to tell someone right before a competition. Instead, I picked up my phone, and saw that the battery was dead. I'd left the stupid thing on for too long last night, and had forgotten to charge it the night before. Plugging it into the wall, I went into the bathroom that Krystal had said was mine and showered and shaved.