She took a taste of the finished product.
“Mmm, that’s good.” She picked up her phone to check the time. Just enough time to put the food away in her freezer and clean up the mess she’d made before she had to get ready for work.
She’d spent the majority of her day cooking, cleaning pots and pans and then cooking again, but today was the day she’d set aside for trying recipes for her cookbook. She’d ended up creating three dishes. Two worked out well. One was a throwaway. All in all, not too bad.
Once she’d done all the dishes, she dashed upstairs and into the shower, dried her hair and tossed it into a high ponytail. She got dressed, put her regular clothes into a bag and drove to the restaurant.
She liked to get there about an hour before they opened so she could get a feel for the menu items on tap for the day, plus check in on her staff, who would prep the night’s meals.
Her new prep cook, Eugene, was working out well—and he was always on time, which was a bonus. If his probationary month worked out well, he would be getting a raise.
She went over tonight’s menu. They didn’t have enough stock of the giant prawns, so she crossed those off the menu and replaced them with a new scallop and pasta dish she’d wanted to introduce.
Once the menu for tonight was finalized, she set her staff to work.
“Can I see you for a minute, Amelia?” Ken asked.
“Of course.”
She stepped out of the kitchen and into the main dining room.
“What’s up?”
He pulled up his phone and handed it to her, a grin on his face. “It’s a boy.”
She looked at a photo of a red-faced newborn. Her eyes widened. “He’s here? I thought your surrogate wasn’t due until around Thanksgiving.”
“He came a little early. Like early this morning, as a matter of fact. But he’s perfectly healthy. He weighs six pounds, ten ounces and is nineteen and a half inches long. And he’s gorgeous.”
She heard the pride in Ken’s voice and she couldn’t blame him. His son was beautiful.
“He definitely is. But what are you doing here? Get yourself home and to your new baby.”
Ken laughed. “Adam’s with him now. I just dashed in to check on things and to ask if you wouldn’t mind pulling some double duty tonight. The other manager couldn’t make it in tonight, but I’m working with her to cover my other shifts for the next couple of days since George made an early arrival. The temporary manager I hired will be able to start on Sunday.”
“Of course I can handle things. I’ll make sure the assistant chef handles the kitchen. Let me run home and change into something more managerial.” She couldn’t hold back the tears that pricked her eyes. “And you named him George—after your dad.”
Ken smiled. “Yeah. George Louis after my dad and Adam’s.”
She squeezed his arm. “That’s so sweet. Now, you—go home. I’m so happy for you and Adam.”
Ken couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “Me, too.”
She threw her arms around him and hugged him. “I can’t wait to come by and see him.”
“We can’t wait to show him off. But give us some time to get used to being parents.”
“Of course. You just call or text me and let me know when you’re ready to have people come by.”
Ken’s eyes glittered with tears. “I’ll do that. Thanks, Amelia.”
She squeezed his hands, her own eyes welling with happiness. “You’re welcome. Give Adam my best. And give that baby a kiss for me.”
“I will.”
Ken left. Amelia ran into the kitchen to let Stefanie know she’d have to take over management of the kitchen tonight. Then she drove home and changed out of her work uniform and into a skirt, blouse and heels, fixed her makeup, pulled her ponytail out and flat ironed her hair. Now she looked more presentable. She finished off with some jewelry to complete the look.
By the time she hurried back to the restaurant it was nearly time to open. Fortunately, she’d made it in time. She stepped into the kitchen to check on things and found that Stefanie had it all under control, just as Amelia knew she would. Amelia only hired assistants who could do her job as well as she could. Stefanie was a couple of years younger than Amelia and might not have Amelia’s level of experience, but she was a damn good cook and an exceptionally strong manager. Amelia had every confidence in her abilities. Plus, she’d still be right there at the restaurant to oversee things.
She checked on the bar and waitstaff, went to the front reception area to make sure the reservations and greeting area was prepared, and checked on tonight’s reservations. By then people had started filing in, so she got out of the way and let the more than competent staff do their jobs.
It was hectic, but manageable. She managed to dash into the kitchen a few times to check on things, but Stefanie was managing fine despite being one person down, which allowed her to deal with the overall managerial duties of the restaurant.
“Amelia, Flynn’s on the phone for you.”
She nodded and went to grab the phone.
“Hi, Flynn.”
“Ken called me. Is everything all right there?”
“Everything’s perfect. I have Stefanie taking over head chef duties in the kitchen and I’ll be managing tonight.”
“Okay, thanks. My brother’s at the house with my sister and me. We were going to come in for dinner, but if you think all of us being there will be a hassle for you, we can go somewhere else.”
Her lips curved. “Flynn, this is your restaurant. Of course you should come.”
“How full up are we tonight?”
“About as busy as we typically are for a Friday night.”
He cleared his throat. “Can we get a reservation for eight, then?”
She shook her head. “You come in whenever you want. I’ll make sure there’s a table for you.”
He laughed. “Okay. See you then.”
She hung up, smiling as she made her way back to the dining area. It was sweet of him to call, but ridiculous that he’d even consider not coming to his own restaurant. Then again, that was Flynn—always concerned about how things affected her or other people.
He was actually a really nice guy. And she wasn’t going to think too much about that because there was work to be done, and that’s where her mind should be.
They were at least three hours into the dinner hour when Flynn came in, accompanied by Mia and a striking-looking man who looked remarkably like Flynn. That had to be Grant, because the resemblance was close. Same dark hair, same intense look. They were roughly the same height except Flynn was more muscular.