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“Sanity, dignity, money, what?”

“A woman.”

“A woman?” He chuckled. “Bartender? I’m going to need two shots of your best whiskey for me just to get through this.”

We waited for the drinks, and I licked my lips, watching him slam the first shot back, dying for another. “Okay, I’m ready. How did Rex Maximillion Buchanan, New York’s biggest playboy, lose a woman?”

“Through my own stupidity. She’s the most beautiful thing to ever land in the city and I fucked it up. Mom said she’d let me remodel the building if I got married. So I propositioned Chelsea, and she turned me down.”

“Propositioned? Oh-ho.” He howled. “What, like a fake marriage? Jeez, if Miriam found out it was fake, she’d lock you out of the building.”

“That’s the thing, though. It wasn’t fake. I think I wanted it to be real. But it’s too late now.”

“Too late? You’re giving up?”

“You didn’t see the look on Chelsea’s face.”

“Come on. We’re Buchanan’s. We don’t stop in the face of adversity. We keep going. If there’s something we want?—”

“We take it, I know, I know. That’s what got me into trouble in the first place.” I sighed and swayed, the bar spinning now. “But sometimes what we want isn’t what we need.”

Wow, that actually made a ton of sense to my drunken brain.

“You’re really going deep, dude. How many drinks have you had tonight?” Rich was far too amused by my predicament to be of any help.

“Not enough.” There would never be enough alcohol to fill the gaping hole in my heart.

“Look, if you really want her, don’t give up.”

Somehow, his words both encouraged and saddened meat the same time. He was right, though. I shouldn’t give up on her. She was the best thing that ever happened to me.

But…was I the best thing that ever happened toher?

23

HER THANKSGIVING

CHELSEA

The only thingI remembered about November, after Rex’s fake proposal, was working night and day nonstop between the deli and the TV station. Who knew filming segments would be grueling? There were recipes to select, shop for, and try. Blocking on set and script writing, and coaching for how to present myself on camera. Wardrobe, makeup, and a dozen other things that needed my time and attention.

I took extra care to include homey touches or bits of history. Like how one of my ancestors created this recipe, or how many generations of my family had been cooking another recipe. Fans wrote in sharing theirs, and eventually we started featuring a few.

So much was involved in doing one five-minute segment per show, but oh, it proved more fun than I had anticipated. I fell in love with the temporary job.

Apparently, the station’s upper management, andviewers loved it, too. By the second week of my appearances, ratings of the Morning City Show had doubled, and they asked me to appear every day, Monday through Friday, making it more like a full-time temporary job.

Being busy suited me fine, because it meant I didn’t have extra time to think about Rex. I promoted Annie to watch over the deli when I wasn’t there. I didn’t want to be there as often to take the chance of running into the man who broke my heart. But there was still an empty hole there where Rex used to be, and something felt off balance in my life because of it.

The day before Thanksgiving, during the last show for the week, I completed an extra long live segment, all about fixing the traditional turkey dinner with all the side dishes. I managed to pull it off without a hitch.

At the end of my segment, before the commercial break, the hosts and weather person crowded into my stage kitchen. We hadn’t blocked this out in advance, so they took me by surprise.

Nancy Bauer, long-time hostess and anchor, talked first, her blue eyes and blonde hair perfection as she spoke into the camera. “Chelsea, you have been so fun to have on the set with us. Of course, we have an entire month with you still ahead where you’ll showcase all new recipes for everything from Christmas cookies to pies, and even what to do with leftover ham.”

Raul James, the other main anchor of the show, exclaimed, “Yes, and my stomach is thankful for getting totaste test everything right here every day in December.” Everyone laughed.

“But today, we have a special announcement that we think you’ll be extra thankful for, Chelsea,” Nancy shared. “Drumroll please.”