Page 15 of The Hidden Daughter (The Lost Daughters #7)

PRESENT DAY

Charlotte hadn’t been so nervous about her menu in a long time.

Not when she’d first been put forward for the role at her previous restaurant, Velluto, for the year-long contract as executive chef, or her very first head chef job at a top London eatery.

Creating food for Harrison felt like a much more intimate affair, despite the fact that he was essentially a stranger.

But he’s a very handsome stranger who has Daniel’s ear, and one who could put an end to this opportunity with one phone call.

And the strange thing was, she suddenly wanted this job.

From the moment she’d set foot in the hotel, she’d felt that it was the right place for her, as if it were her chance to come full circle.

She’d last been in Oslo as a young woman with a dream and little else, and now she was an accomplished chef with something to prove. The timing couldn’t have been better.

Charlotte finished plating up, smiling when she heard a tap on the door to the kitchen. She looked up and found Harrison standing there, a bottle of wine in hand and a hard-to-read expression on his face.

‘Is it strange that I brought wine?’ he asked. ‘I didn’t want to turn up empty-handed, but I’m also well aware it’s not a dinner party.’

‘Wine is perfect, and just what I need after three hours in the kitchen,’ she said. ‘If you want to find two glasses, I’ll have a quick tidy up.’

‘It’s oddly peaceful in here,’ he said, as she continued to work and he wandered around opening cupboard doors. ‘I think I could get used to having an entire restaurant to myself.’

‘I could say the same about the kitchen,’ she said.

‘Daniel was worried about me being here alone, but he has a security guard patrolling and honestly, I kind of like how peaceful it is. Kitchens are usually high-stress, chaotic places at this time of night, but for creating something new? The quiet has been nice.’

‘Why do I think you usually love the fast pace?’ he asked, grinning as he held up two glasses triumphantly and walked them over to her.

Charlotte was the one grinning now. ‘Guilty as charged, I’ve always loved it. But I also love being alone when I’m creating new menus like this. The solitude lets me just focus on what I’m doing, but the busy team atmosphere is like nothing else at a good restaurant.’

‘These are all new dishes you’ve created?’ he asked. ‘They smell amazing.’

‘Tonight, I’m trying out a selection of entrées for you,’ she said, happily receiving the wine he offered her.

She wiped her hands on the towel beside her and took off her apron, folding it and placing it on the counter.

‘Two of them are similar to other dishes I’ve made before, but the others are new flavours inspired by coming home.

It’s been a while since I’ve had access to such fresh, beautiful seafood, and I really wanted to pay homage to the produce we have available here. ’

She surveyed each plate and moved them closer to Harrison, who was frowning at the bottle of wine.

‘Now I’m thinking about it, I should have asked the chef which wine was most appropriate. Is Pinot Noir suitable for what we’re eating? I won’t be offended if you tell me to put it away.’

‘I’m sure it will be perfect,’ Charlotte said, holding up her glass. ‘To being in Oslo.’

Harrison held his glass up high in reply. ‘To being in Oslo,’ he repeated. ‘A place that I never considered travelling to before, yet one I find I’m falling more and more in love with each day. And it would be remiss not to toast the hotel’s potential new chef.’

‘Well, let’s see about that, but I’m really pleased you’re enjoying it here so much. I loved London for so many reasons, but I still think Oslo is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Has anyone given you a proper tour? Taken you to see any of the fjords or the lovely little villages?’

Harrison shook his head, looking guilty. ‘I’ve seen nothing more than the city, although I have found myself walking down to the water often, watching the boats go out, and just last week I went for a walk to see the Royal Palace. It’s always fascinated me that it’s so close to the city.’

‘The most beautiful thing about this city is that it’s surrounded by nature.

The forest is almost at our fingertips, or at least that’s how it always felt when I was sitting in class at school and staring out the window, waiting for the day to end.

You’ll have to let me show you around, if I don’t scare you away with my food tonight, that is. ’

They both took another sip of wine. ‘It would be nice to be shown around by a local, so I might just take you up on that.’

Charlotte was surprised how comfortable she felt being alone with Harrison, especially given how many times she’d questioned why on earth she’d offered to cook for him so soon.

‘You know, I thought we’d just stand here and do a tasting, but shall we sit?

I feel like I’ve been on my feet for hours. It’d be nice to relax for a bit.’

‘Excellent idea. I’ll carry the wine.’

Charlotte ferried the first two plates through to the dining area, glancing at Harrison as he deftly put down the two glasses and the bottle he was carrying.

‘I’ll bring the rest, you just—’

Unbeknown to Charlotte, he was right behind her, and when she spun round she almost went head-first into him. But she appreciated the help, and within seconds they were sitting with six plates between them—a private dining feast for two.

‘I was thinking,’ she said, as she gestured towards the plate he was to try from first, ‘that I could suggest a chef’s table in the kitchen if I take the job. There’s enough space, and it would be a special experience for a couple or even a group of four each night. What do you think?’

‘Would they order, or would the chef choose their meal?’ he asked.

‘Hmm, I think the chef would choose. Perhaps a tasting plate so they get to try a selection of dishes, or whatever’s the special that night. I’d like to make it a unique experience.’

She watched as Harrison took a forkful of cod, her eyes fixed on his face as he chewed then swallowed.

Her favourite part of her job wasn’t tasting her own food, it was observing others and seeing their reaction.

It told her everything she needed to know about whether to keep something on a menu or return to the drawing board.

‘Thoughts?’

‘Exquisite,’ he said, and she could tell from the way his eyes widened and his brows lifted that he’d enjoyed it. ‘It was an explosion of flavour. I think Daniel was right about you being the best in the business.’

‘Please, have some more,’ she said, cradling her glass of wine and watching as he ate half of it before sliding the plate over to her. Seeing him enjoy her food was just what she’d needed.

‘If everything else is as good as this…’

Charlotte had learnt to accept praise, and she happily took his.

If he hadn’t liked it, she would have seen it written all over his face, but she could tell he meant it.

She tasted it herself as he moved on to the next dish of clams, pleased with the flavour and happy she’d made detailed notes about how she’d achieved such depth to the sauce.

‘So, tell me why you left Oslo in the first place,’ he said. ‘Had you always wanted to live in London?’

She finished her mouthful, looking up and wishing she’d been quicker to turn the conversation around to him. Talking about herself was not something she did often or was comfortable with.

‘I have what you might call a complicated relationship with my father,’ she said, collecting her thoughts as she swapped the plates around to put the clams in front of him. ‘I haven’t seen him in years, actually, and it’s the main reason I don’t come home often.’

‘Family can be complicated at the best of times,’ he said. ‘I get it.’

‘My mum left when we were young, just walked out on us and started a whole new life, and my dad changed overnight. First, he grieved her, and so did we because it was almost as if she’d died when she left us, but then it was as if someone had flicked a switch, and he stopped being the easy-going father we’d grown up with and became hyperfocused on us achieving to the highest level at school and mapping out our futures for us. ’

‘By us you mean—’

‘My brother and me. My father wanted, no expected, us to become surgeons just like him,’ she said, remembering the way he’d yelled at her when her science grades hadn’t matched his expectations, or how he’d reacted when she’d dared to share her own dreams with him.

‘Thankfully my brother lived up to my father’s dreams, but when I decided to forge ahead with my own plans, the only way was to leave home and do it on my own. ’

‘As soon as you left school?’

She watched as Harrison ate another clam, deciding that she may as well tell him the truth. She had nothing to hide; she’d just always kept most of her story about how she’d ended up training in London to herself.

‘I left home at eighteen, with some money my grandma had saved for me, and I’ve barely returned until now.

I came back once for a funeral, where I saw my dad, and again for a wedding, where I chose not to see him.

’ Charlotte took a deep breath and slowly let it go.

‘Sometimes I feel sorry for him, because of what happened with my mum, but then I remind myself that he was a father to two kids, and he chose to treat us that way. When I didn’t want to follow the path he’d determined for me, he made me feel as if I was no better than the wife who’d walked out on him. ’