Safari Island Shifters: The Complete Collection(55)

“You and Polly can see yourselves out. I’m going to hop online and get the emails started right now.”

Clem went to the kitchen. Polly had everything cleaned up and was sitting on the counter. “Well?” she asked.

“I might have a job for the winter.”

“Yay?”

Clem nodded. “That’d be really good. I’m still pissed about losing this wedding, though.”

They picked up the bags and left Ward’s house. “You didn’t lose it,” Polly said as they walked away. “You just need to share.”

“Same thing.”

Polly shook her head. “Not the same thing. You could share, and everyone would be happy.”

“I doubt Parker would be interested in sharing the job, either. It’s so weird.”

“All the more reason to do it. You guys would be making waves. Starting a new trend. Why not work together?”

“I guess I could ask him tonight.” Clem put her bag down at the bus stop and wiped her brow. “It’s so damn hot out here. I can’t imagine what it’s like in the summer.”

“Good thing you got a winter job. I bet this place is downright dreamy in the winter.”

“You can come visit all the time,” Clem declared happily. “It’ll mean I’m finally in one spot long enough for you to stay with me again.”

Polly hugged her. “I think the community can get along without me for a month or two.”

*

The dinner at Wild Eats was fantastic. Clem was surprised by how much she liked it.

Meat was her favorite part of every meal, and she’d always focused on those dishes. Vegetable dishes were a rarity for her. She’d done vegetarian dinner parties for Polly’s friends back in college, but those had been few and far between. She could see how teaming up with Parker could work out.

At the end of the meal, she and Polly went back to the kitchen to find Parker. One of the line cooks pointed them toward the small office in back. The door was closed, so she knocked.

There was rustling inside, and a man opened the door. “Sorry.”

He pushed past her and Polly without a word before Parker appeared in the doorway. “Hey, sorry about that. How was dinner?”

“It was incredible,” Clem told him.

“Thanks for saving us a table,” Polly added.

“Not a problem. I’m happy you liked it. I know it can be a little strange at first. I hope to enlighten people about vegetarian cooking and how tasty it can be. So it’s always glad to hear when a meat lover enjoys the food.”

“I actually came here to ask you a question,” Clem said. “I don’t know if Ward has talked with you yet, but Maura and Branch want us to collaborate for the wedding.”

“Where’s the question?” Parker touched her arm and laughed. “I’m kidding. That’s an interesting question. One of my servers told me that Maura was vegetarian. I thought I had that locked up.”

Clem laughed. “I thought the same thing when I came in. This is one high-maintenance couple.”

“That’s my fault,” Parker said. “I forced my way into this whole thing. It was supposed to be your job. I’m going to leave this up to you. If you want to keep it for yourself, I’ll bow out now.”

“You’re so sweet,” Polly said. “Clem, you were wrong. He isn’t an egotistical mega-chef. Those reports about you were all wrong, Mr. Travers.”

“Parker, please.” He smiled at Clem. “The reports were right. I just came to my senses.”

Clem thought it over. He was being much more gracious than she had expected. She did want to do it on her own, but that wouldn’t be the right choice for her clients. “We should do it together. My vegetarian dishes are good, but the couple really like yours. Who knows, maybe you’ll teach me a thing or two. I haven’t done a vegetarian menu in years. It couldn’t hurt to have a little help.”

Parker rubbed his hands together. “Wonderful. Want to come over tonight and get the menu worked out?”

“Sure.”

“Great.” He gave her his address and said goodnight to Polly.

The girls went back to the bus stop to ride back to the resort. It had gone much smoother than Clem had expected. Parker might turn out to be an asset after all.





Five


Parker couldn’t remember the last time his cheetah had been happier. It hadn’t so much as batted an eye when Shane came to apologize for a second time. He could have used some anger or fierceness, but nope. His animal had all but turned its back and fallen asleep.

When the young hyena shifter showed up to talk, Parker had wanted to turn him away. He wasn’t mad or anything; he just wanted to stay focused on the job, especially since one of the waiters had told him that Maura was a vegetarian. He’d thought he had that job in the bag.

How wrong he had been. Shane had barely left when Clementine Blue came waltzing into his office. He was glad he’d made their reservation at Wild Eats as soon as he’d left Ward’s. Thanks to his ninety-minute talk with Shane, he’d forgotten all about the women, and it wasn’t like him to forget about beautiful women.

Clem told him about the collaboration offer and he’d stayed very calm. His animal had taken interest when Clem came into the office, but it seemed neutral about the offer. He took that to be a good sign. He left it up to her and was very glad when she said yes.