Page 8

Hannah

It’s been a week since Leo kissed me and I don’t know if he’s avoiding me or what, but I haven’t seen him since my first actual day of work here at Somerville’s.

I mean, we have both been working at different restaurants on the property and I’ve spent most of my days working in catering while Leo handles the lunch rush.

And then in the evenings, I tend to be stationed at Somerville’s while Leo is at Apple Jacks.

Is he ignoring me?

I shouldn’t be this weird over it. I told him we’d just go with it, and honestly when I sent that text, I didn’t even know what I meant by that.

Go with it like the kiss never happened?

Or go with it like it was the best kiss that I’ve had in months, possibly years, and pray that it happens again?

Or go with it like when I see him again, we should definitely kiss.

“Fuck my life,” I mutter, dragging a hand through my hair, looking out at the beautiful scenery of the Somerville property.

I flop down on a bench, taking my lunch break outside and away from the noise of the kitchen.

It’s actually nice to even get a lunch break and a moment to wind down before the dinner rush begins.

I’m not used to being treated like a normal person, but I’m certainly already getting used to it.

No one has screamed at me for at least a week and if anything, I’ve gotten tons of compliments from Jack and Lauren on my work ethic and the food I’ve made.

It’s weird, but weirder yet is this whole thing with Leo.

Why did I tell him we would just go with it? And why the hell did he respond like he knew what that meant? Oh my fucking god, I need to get my shit together. Even with all this awkwardness, it’s still better than working for Roy Langston.

“Hey,” I hear a voice call and I immediately recognize it as Tessa’s.

Looking over my shoulder, I see her waddling over, her belly growing with each passing day.

She’s the perfect pregnant person though, always smiling and dressed so cute.

If I ever decide to have a kid, I’m going to look miserable and sloppy; I can just feel it.

“Hey, Tessa. How’s it going?” I ask, shifting over so she can have a seat next to me.

“Good, good, other than the fact that I’m blowing like a rhino making my way over here,” she jokes, sitting down next to me and letting out a hard breath. “This damn property is getting too big for me to be walking all over it. I need a golf cart.”

“You look great, and you absolutely do not sound like a rhino. How are things going with the restaurant expansion?” I ask, knowing this is one of the things that I hope keeps me here at Somerville’s for a long time.

Expansion means job security. That is if I can keep my hands off Leo.

I’m sure my bosses would not appreciate me seducing my superior.

I must be silent for a bit because Tessa calls my name and I quickly turn to look at her. It’s obvious I’ve missed something she said, and she laughs a little.

“Distracted?” she asks and all I can do is nod. “I’d have thought you’d be used to crowds given you came from such a high-end restaurant in San Francisco. This should be easy for you.”

“Oh, it’s not the job. The job is great.

I mean who wouldn’t love working here?” I toss a hand out, gesturing to the expanse in front of us.

“They should consider opening a bed and breakfast or building some little cottages. People would be flocking here even more than they already are. It’s the perfect getaway from the city. ”

“So that’s what you’ve been sitting here thinking about?” Tessa says with a bit of skepticism in her voice. “How to expand the Somerville name? It feels like it’s something else.”

“It’s something else, that’s for sure,” I mutter.

“Dylan better not be being a jerk to you,” she says, wrinkling up her nose, a glare on her face. “Living together is a lot of togetherness, but he better be being nice to you.”

I officially moved in with Dylan and Tessa a few days ago, but it is definitely temporary. I’ve been on the hunt and will find something soon, at least I hope I do or I’m going to be sleeping in my car once the baby comes.

“He’s fine. His typical douche self,” I tease, winking at Tessa. “It’s…” I don’t finish my thought, catching my tongue and wondering if it’s best to just keep the whole thing a secret. It’s already a secret and it’s kind of eating at me keeping it bottled up.

“I can tell something is bothering you, Hannah,” Tessa prompts, “You were so bubbly and excited about the new job and now you’re just…”

“Weird?” I ask filling in the break in her sentence.

“Yeah, I guess weird works.”

“Well, it’s weird, let me tell you.”

“I think you should tell me,” Tessa now says, smirking, knowing I’m about to unload some gossip on her.

“You have to promise not to tell anyone,” I say, an insistence in my voice, my head cocked to the side, waiting for her to acknowledge me.

“Oh, it’s that kind of secret. Got it. My lips are sealed,” She pretends to zip her lips shut, which only adds to the ridiculousness of this situation.

“I kissed Leo,” I blurt out, covering my face with my hands. “Or maybe he kissed me. I don’t know.”

“Leo, your boss?” Tessa asks and I don’t miss the shock in the way she says it. She thinks I’m a complete idiot.

I spent all this time trying to find a new job, to be free of dealing with the bullshit of horrible bosses and now I’m probably going to find myself fired and looking for a new job.

“I swear, this place,” Tessa mutters, shaking her head, a smirk on her face.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, my curiosity piqued.

“It means that there is something about this place that makes people…” Tessa trails off and again I fill in the gap.

“Stupid?” I comment and Tessa bursts out laughing.

“I was going to say fall in love.”

Whoa, she needs to pump the brakes. No one is falling in love, certainly not me.

I don’t fall in love overnight. That’s for dreamers and wishers and hopers.

I’m the girl who is just getting by, living with her brother and finally working a job she enjoys.

Falling in love is not even on my radar, even if Leo is epically hot and an amazing kisser and I can’t stop wondering what he looks like naked.

“Um, no one is falling in love, Tessa. It was a kiss and I haven’t been laid in a while.” I drag out that last part, widening my eyes to really drive home the point that I’m pretty much a born-again virgin.

“Keep telling yourself that, but once Jack and Lauren get wind—”

“Tessa!” I whisper-shout, looking around to make sure I haven’t drawn attention to us and attempting to control the urge to slap my hand over her mouth. “Jack and Lauren cannot know about this. I need this job and I don’t want them thinking Leo did anything wrong.”

“Good luck with that,” she says, laughing.

“They can’t find out.”

“Oh, but they will, and they will enjoy every second of it. At least Jack will. He thinks he’s some kind of matchmaker, and to be honest, he’s pretty good at it. He knew Dylan and I were hooking up before we even told anyone.”

“Oh my god, Tessa! I’m gonna have to quit my job and go back to that nightmare of a restaurant and beg Roy Langston for my old job back.

I can’t do that. I tossed him the double bird and told him I didn’t ever want to see his stupid face again,” I say, basically melting down, everything coming out in a whine-wail combo.

“I think you might be overreacting,” Tessa now says. “It might be a good thing. Leo is pretty hot and just imagine him all sweaty in that hot kitchen, taking his shirt off.” She fans herself, her mouth open in a perfect O shape.

“Tessa, he can’t take his shirt off in the kitchen. There are health and safety regulations, not to mention it’s just not hygienic. He’s very into making sure there’s no cross contamination. Like when I licked my thumb, he told me I needed to wash my hands.”

Tessa is listening intently, but I’m not sure if she realizes I’m serious or if she’s about to make fun of me. Kitchen hygiene is no joke.

“Hygiene or whatever, Leo is hot and if he’s interested, go for it. Jack and Lauren will not care, seriously. Haven’t you noticed almost everyone who works here is either married or together?”

“Whatever. That might work for you and Dylan, but the last thing I need is to start hooking up with my boss, only to have it go to shit. Then what do I do?”

There’s no way this could ever work, and I do not want to find myself out looking for a job again.

Leaving one job off a resumé is one thing, but two?

That feels like a red flag. No one will hire me, especially after my epic quitting and then possibly hooking up with my boss.

I’m not sure which is worse and having to explain it to anyone is not something I want to do.

I look down at my phone, noticing I have five minutes left on my lunch break and all I’ve done is whine about kissing Leo and never really solving anything.

“I gotta get back to work. Please don’t tell Dylan,” I say, scrambling off to the catering barn.

“It’s not that big of a deal, Hannah,” Tessa calls out and I know she’s laughing at me and all my stupidity. I’m like a fifteen year old girl wondering if a boy likes me.

Grow up, Hannah!

I walk into the quiet kitchen, letting out a sigh of relief, strangely enjoying the alone time I’ve had in here over the past week. But when I round the corner, there he is in all his gorgeous hotness, and I’ve suddenly forgotten why I thought kissing him again was a bad idea.

“Hey, Leo,” I say, trying not to sneak up on him since his back is turned. It’s easy to startle a chef in a kitchen.

“Hannah,” he replies, but my name sounds like sex, almost a purr, an invitation to definitely kiss him again. “I thought I would come check in on you, but it looks like you’ve got things under control. No surprise though.”

“Thanks for checking in on me,” I answer back, making things awkward with weird small talk under the guise that if we’re talking work, I can’t possibly be thinking about what his lips felt like against mine.

“I just have a few more croquettes to put together and then I’ll be back over at Somerville’s for dinner. ”

“So will I,” he replies with what I hope is enthusiasm. I replay the way the words leave his mouth in my head, trying to decipher if I’m confusing dread for excitement.

I don’t respond, I’m standing here, trying to decide what to say, trying not to make things even more awkward, but failing miserably.

I step over to where he’s standing and when he turns around, I do what we said we were going to do.

I just go with it.

Before I know it, our mouths are on each other and his hands are tangling in my hair. His tongue slides against mine and I moan embarrassingly loud, Leo smirking against my mouth.

“Hannah,” he growls, gripping the back of my neck and making me moan out loud again. “You smell like vanilla and cinnamon and holy fuck I want to taste every inch of you.”

“Holy fuck is right. Is this us just going with it?” I ask, making Leo let out a low chuckle. “I have a confession,” I now say, as Leo begins to suck at my neck.

“What’s that?”

“I have no idea what I meant when I sent that text,” I admit, my hands sliding under his chef’s coat and along his perfectly toned abs.

“Neither did I, but if this is what going with it means, I’m so fucking in.”

“In for what?” I ask, my heart hammering in my chest, because like when I quit my job, I had no plan for what that meant for future me. And here I am again, not worrying in the least about future Hannah and what this means for her current job situation.

My impulsivity is out of control. Maybe I have ADHD.