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“But I’m leaving.”

Brynn nodded. “And then I am.”

They stared at each other, the understanding of their dilemma strung between them.

“So we leave it here,” Brynn said.

“Yeah. I suppose we do.”

“It’s the smartest thing. Aster, I can’t offer more. My head. My heart.”

“I know. It’s okay. I promise.”

Yet Brynn didn’t turn to go, and Aster hadn’t moved a muscle. It was as if they were holding on to a moment that was slowly slipping away into the history books. That one time they kissed after dinner in Aster’s kitchen. “Don’t forget me,this, okay?”

“Not a chance. Our dogs are related, remember?”

“That’s right. Maybe we’ll reunite them someday.”

“Would be cruel not to.”

Brynn took her by the hand and gave her a playful yank, pulling her in for a good-bye hug. “You take Boston by storm. I’ll never forgive you if you don’t.”

“How about I just work on not upsetting anything there? I plan to walk in and keep my hands to myself.”

Brynn backed up. “Speaking of hands, I had lots of thoughts of what it would be like to touch you, Aster, and though we never got past first base, let me tell you. Your body? Sigh. Yeah.”

Aster’s eyebrows rose automatically. Her midsection went soft, and shocking arousal showed up again, replacing the sentimentality of a moment before. Because after that comment, what she wanted more than anything was to take Brynn by the hand and lead her straight back to the bedroom where they would pick up where they left off. She would kiss Brynn reverently, passionately, and take every stitch of clothing off her slowly until she could worship her body properly. She imagined Brynn naked on top and then beneath. She swallowed. “I can easily say that nothing about you disappoints either. I mean that in every sense.”

“Take care of yourself, Aster Lavender.” Brynn nodded, offered one last regretful smile, and opened the door. “Good-bye for now.”

“Bye, Brynn. You take care.”

Part Two

Chapter Seven

“I need two pork chops, a risotto, and a beef Wellington,” Ed Talbott, their head chef, called to the kitchen.

“Yes, Chef,” Aster yelled back and went to work on the chops, while her fellow chefs on the line handled the rest of the order. When a ticket came in, she didn’t delay, preparing her meats promptly, paying close attention to temperature and efficiency with simply the touch of a finger to the outside. She spooned the citrus sauce over the tops of the chops as they cooked. When her meat sizzled and she achieved the perfect sear, she slid them onto the plate and garnished with more sauce, an orange slice, and patch of fresh slaw.

“Pork chops up.”

“Nice work, Aster,” Ed said, inspecting her work. He was also her instructor and taught two of her classes at the institute. As executive chef, he oversaw the ticket as a whole, making sure each dish was of quality and worthy to serve.

Aster nodded and called back dutifully. “Thank you, Chef.”

No time to dawdle. She prepped her station for the next ticket, adjusting the blue bandana she wore around her forehead. She’d been on her feet for six hours now but loved every second of working at Stone Top, the restaurant owned by the culinary school. Not only was it used to showcase what the school brought to the city by way of fantastic food, but it served as a training ground for the second-year students. Aster could hardly believe how far she’d come since arriving in Boston just fifteen months ago. While she’d carved out a great niche for herself with doughnuts, she had no idea how much she didn’t know about food, its makeup, and its preparation. Until now. Her time as a student hadproved invaluable, and she’d lost herself in a haze of bookwork, quick-fire labs, and hands-on training from enthusiastic instructors. While her passion remained pastry work, her skill set had grown and flourished, and she’d finished first in most of her classes. A badge of pride.

“You killed it tonight,” Nora said, pulling her toque off as they walked through the parking lot after a long night of service. They’d worked side by side that night, Aster on meats and Nora on seafood, which she excelled at. “You didn’t have a single dish sent back by Ed and were constantly on pace.”

“Thanks. I found a good rhythm,” Aster said, leaning against Nora’s car. They’d gotten in the habit of riding to work and school together as classmates who also lived in the same building.

“Oh, don’t tease me with talk of your rhythm,” Nora said. Her eyes shone playfully, and her eyebrows bounced. The streetlight illuminated her face, and Aster was reminded that Nora Delgado was not just a lot of fun, but also very pretty. Jet-black hair, curls when she wanted them, big brown eyes, and a freckle to the side of her right eye that Aster liked.

“Stop that,” Aster said through her own laugh. But she didn’t move out of the small space they occupied together. It felt nice. Why not? They’d flirted here and there. It was fun and kept the long days interesting. Though, Nora was making it increasingly obvious that she’d be interested in taking things farther with Aster. Little touches here and there that were growing longer as time went on. Prolonged stares and then, of course, the innuendoes. Nora was good at those.

But Aster had found the whole thing tricky to navigate. Not that she hadn’t tried to get there, mentally. Nora was playful and light. She valued her work just as much as Aster did, which made them kindred spirits in a lot of ways. Nora was outgoing and ambitious in any given social situation, which was a nice complement to Aster’s more reserved demeanor. Plus, Aster liked her. Nora pulled her out of her shell. There was no good reason for her not to seize this opportunity with Nora and see what might develop between them. The only problem was that whenever she’d decide to give things a try, something got in her way. She could play dumb and pretend to not know what was holding her back, but that would be false. The reality was that there was a woman she’d spent time with once upon a time that she simply couldn’t get out of her head.