Notorious (NeXt Book 1) Read online

  Grabbing the dough from the mixing bowl behind me, I slam it onto the table and begin working it. I better get used to working alone here because at the rate I’m going, even Hector is not going to want to be around me.

  So much for thinking I’d made so much progress this past year. That was obviously as wrong as wrong can be.

  I look up toward the kitchen door, hoping to see my mother come back so I can tell her I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. I understand what she’s trying to do. I do. She has that whole mentality of getting back up on the horse after it’s thrown you off. It’s how she and my father continue to fight to keep this business open year after year long after other people would have given up.

  That attitude is to be admired, but love isn’t like running a struggling business. Sometimes, a person can’t find the will to get back up and dust themselves off after being thrown. Sometimes, it just feels better to stay down where you are on the safe ground.

  It’s been almost a year since I’ve been down here, and as much as I thought I was getting back to who I was before it all happened, that was just wishful thinking. I’m still that brokenhearted soul Malcolm threw away that beautiful June night eleven months ago. All the hours spent talking to the therapist have added up to one sad truth.

  I’m not ready to get back up on that horse again. I’m still hurting from the last fall.

  Chapter Four

  Cade

  Bright and early the next day, I head down to CK to see what I can find out from my uncles about this Hailey person. Unlike Alex, they should know something since they supposedly tried to lure her to CK as a pastry chef.

  I find Cassian and Kane both in the office, which is a surprise. I’d have been happy simply trolling for information with one of them. Maybe this is a good sign.

  “Hi! It’s your favorite nephew come to visit,” I say to announce my arrival as I walk into the office the two of them share.

  Kane looks up and gives me a big smile. “Hey, what are you doing here? Decide you want to put that business degree to good use finally?”

  Cassian just shakes his head. “What’s up, Cade?”

  I grab a chair on the other side of the room and take a seat. “You sound like my father, Kane. Have you two been meeting to compare notes on how to shanghai me into the club or restaurant business?”

  My question makes him laugh. “The last time your father came here to talk to me, we almost got into a fist fight. Trust me, we are not comparing notes on anything.”

  “Good, because one of him is enough. I don’t need two of you trying to convince me what to do with my life.”

  Kane holds his hands up in front of him like he’s surrendering. “No convincing here. But whoever thought it would be Stefan who turned into the dad who wanted his son to figure out life so young?”

  Cassian laughs, and I’m tempted to ask exactly what Kane means by that, but I’m not really interested in taking a trip down memory lane with my uncles today. I already know a little about how my father was when he was my age. I can hear more another day.

  Right now, I have other topics I want to discuss with them. Other more beautiful and interesting topics.

  Might as well jump right in. “So, what do you guys know about the pastry chef over at that restaurant, Comfort Food?”

  “We were definitely interested in having her work for us, but she denied us cold. No way. Wouldn’t even return our calls, no matter if it was me or Kane.”

  Interesting. Then again, Comfort Food is her family’s restaurant. She probably feels allegiance to them. But to give up the chance to work at the best restaurant in town to stay at the family diner seems foolish.

  “Okay, but what do you know about her?” I ask, hoping to get more than this scratching the surface bullshit.

  “For the longest time nobody knew it was even a her,” Kane says. “A few local food bloggers got a hold of her treats and asked the owners of the restaurant, but they didn’t tell them it was their daughter who made them. Only when the bloggers went snooping around did they find out it was a young woman named Hailey Canton, the daughter of the owners of the restaurant.”

  “Do you know anything else?”

  Kane looks at me like he can’t understand why I’d be asking about this woman at all. Clearly, he hasn’t seen her.

  “Like what? What else is there to know? Have you tasted any of her desserts? It’s not an exaggeration to say they’re the best most people around here have ever had. That’s why we wanted her to come work for us, but she said no. Or more correctly, her father told us she wasn’t even interested in talking about it.”

  “Alex says she’s some kind of artist. He was raving about her like she was the Michelangelo of cookies yesterday.”

  Cassian laughs at his son’s over-the-top response to that dessert. “I saw the pics of the cookies she made. The lace ones. I don’t think he was wrong to rave. He told me they were delicious.”

  “They were,” I admit with a shrug. “I mean, as far as cookies go, I guess. So she makes nice cookies. Why does she act like some kind of diva? She wouldn’t even talk to either of us yesterday when Alex asked to meet her to compliment her on the cookie. It was weird. Then when she came out, it felt like she didn’t even want to bother talking with us.”

  “Artists are like that, Cade. We’ve had some chefs who act like her. They’re passionate about what they create. You have to give them that,” Kane says as he stands from behind his desk.

  “Artists. The way you guys talk like these people are DaVinci or something…I don’t get it. Does that give people license to act like dicks?”

  Both my uncles look at one another and laugh. “Sounds like she got under your skin a little bit. Not used to having women not interested in you?” Cassian asks with a chuckle.

  Well, at least I got a little information out of them before they started busting my balls. Leave it to my family. Too bad Olivia and Abbi weren’t the ones I could ask about Hailey. They’d give me chapter and verse, every detail from what she does in her spare time to how long she’s been single.

  Or maybe she’s not single. Is that why she was so cool yesterday?

  No, that doesn’t work because she was fine with Alex.

  I stand from my chair and push it back against the wall where I got it from. “Well, thanks guys. I better get going.”

  As I turn to walk toward the door, Cassian asks, “Why do you want to know about this pastry chef?”

  His tone says he knows exactly why I want to know about her. Alex probably told him everything that happened yesterday.

  When I don’t answer his question, Kane chuckles. “Alex told us what she looks like, Cade. Guess the whole diva thing isn’t that much of a turn off.”

  I look back over my shoulder and throw him a cocky smile. “I’m not against a challenge.”

  “Oh yeah? Turn over a new leaf or something?”

  He’s not wrong mocking me on that. I do have a history that indicates the exact opposite of liking a challenge when it comes to women. I’ll admit that.

  But something about Hailey makes me think I might be interested in one with her.

  “I actually like the idea of having to work through whatever she has going on. Personally, I’m not sure it’s not a shy thing instead of a diva thing, and if that’s the case, I’m all in.”

  My uncles look at one another in disbelief. So maybe my history more than indicates challenging women haven’t been my thing. Fine. A guy can change, can’t he?

  “You know what they say about shy girls, don’t you?” I ask them.

  Kane stares at me blankly, and Cassian shrugs. “No idea.”

  I shake my head at the state of the two men I thought were the coolest guys in the world growing up. “You two need to get out of this office more. Seriously.”

  “Well, I’m wondering if you aren’t aiming above your level, Cade. Alex couldn’t say enough about how gorgeous she is. Good looking and talented? Maybe she was cool because she’s
just not into you,” Kane says with a laugh.

  “Yeah. I mean, she might have told you everything you need to know yesterday. You just don’t want to see it,” Cassian adds.

  Before they have a chance to bust my balls about trying to date out of my sphere, I head toward the back door of CK. Leave it to family to act like I’m the one who can’t get her and not vice versa.

  So she’s beautiful and talented? So what? I’m not exactly some loser walking around without any skills here. True, I don’t have my entire life planned out like nearly everyone else in my family. It’s not because I can’t do that.

  It’s because I won’t.

  Anyway, what woman wants a guy who’s all settled down at the age of twenty-three? Women want excitement and fun, and that’s what I offer in spades.

  Leave that life all planned out shit for guys as old as my uncles. I’m way too young to be dealing with that yet.

  And I’m betting that Hailey is a woman who could use some excitement in her life.

  Chapter Five

  Hailey

  Poking my head into the kitchen, I give my father a smile. “Hey, what’s new?”

  He shakes his head and sighs. “What’s new is it’s your day off. You don’t have to be here every day, honey. You made more than enough desserts yesterday, so why don’t you go out and enjoy yourself on such a beautiful day?”

  “Coming through!” Ginger announces as she practically barrels through the kitchen doors, nearly taking me with her.

  I quickly step out of the way so the doors don’t come back and slam into my face. After a few seconds, I walk back to where my father is working near my area and answer his question.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not here for long. I just wanted to see how the lemon tartelettes did, and it seems they went over pretty big. There are only a few left, and it’s only two o’clock in the afternoon. Did one of those food bloggers post about them and that’s why people came in to grab them?”

  He gives me his usual confused look that he always wears when I start talking about the food bloggers. My father simply doesn’t understand why anyone would write about my desserts like they do. When they first started featuring my creations, he read a few of their posts and complained the entire time that they said almost nothing about the restaurant or how good my desserts are but instead talked about their childhoods the whole time.

  I tried to explain that’s how they do it, but he wouldn’t listen. Since then, whenever I mention them, he looks at me like I’ve switched from English to Greek and he doesn’t comprehend a word I’m saying.

  It’s the same look he used to get when I was a teenager and had a crush on a boy. He didn’t want to understand I was growing up then, and he doesn’t want to understand those food bloggers and their posts now.

  So instead of discussing them, he switches to business mode. “We had a bit of a lunch rush pretty early for midweek. It started even before eleven, and it just ended a few minutes ago. I mentioned the dessert of the day, which is what I’m calling them now, to a few people, and from there they took off.”

  “I’m so happy to hear that! Anyone new seem to come in?” I ask, more curious about if what I’m making is bringing new customers in than if the tartelettes were a hit with the regulars.

  In his stoic way, he nods and thinks about the question for a moment. “Maybe. I thought I saw a couple new people today. But you don’t need to shoulder the responsibility for bringing new people into the restaurant, Hailey. We’re fine with the customers we have right now.”

  The two of us know that’s a lie, but I don’t let him see I know the truth. My father is a proud man, and I would never want to hurt him like that.

  It doesn’t change the fact that I hope my desserts help people find this place and make it a go-to restaurant for them in the future. He doesn’t have to know that, though.

  “Well, I’m going to get out of here then. It’s a beautiful day, so I thought I’d get a little Vitamin D and then catch up with Meadow after her big job interview. She’s meeting with the owners of the biggest design firm in town right now.”

  My father’s face brightens at the mention of my best friend. “Tell her we said hi and that we hope she gets the big job. If she does, you have to go out and celebrate.”

  I know what he’s doing. My mother has rubbed off on him and now he’s slyly trying to get me to go out more. He’s just not as obvious about it.

  “We will. Don’t worry. You know Meadow. If there’s a chance to celebrate, she’s there. She’d celebrate days ending in y if she had the time,” I joke before waving goodbye to him. “See you tomorrow, Dad.”

  “Have fun getting your vitamins!” he calls after me, thinking he’s funny.

  I do have to admit it, though. He is cute when he tries to be amusing.

  On my way out the front door of the restaurant, I give Ginger a smile, which she doesn’t return. She saves the niceties for the customers. That’s good, I guess, but it would be nice if she sometimes didn’t act like everyone else who works here is a sworn enemy of her family who she must growl or bark at every chance she gets.

  Even my parents and I don’t get a break from her rudeness, and my family owns this place. But she’s good with customers, so she stays, snappy attitude and all.

  As I head toward my car, I see a red Jaguar with tinted windows pull into the parking lot. Maybe those food bloggers are helping. It’s pretty rare we get that kind of clientele here. Maybe they’ll like the lemon tartelettes and tell some of their wealthy friends. That would help my parents.

  I watch as the driver’s side door opens and see Cade, the guy from the day I made the lace chocolate cookies. My attention switches to the passenger side door while I wait to see if his friend came back with him, but it doesn’t open.

  He’s alone. But why is he here at all? He didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who’s a big fan of cookies. His friend maybe, but not him.

  Unsure what to do, I hurry to my car. I fumble with my keys to get my door open, and while I’m silently wishing I hadn’t locked the damn doors in the first place since it’s the middle of the day and I’m at my family’s restaurant, I hear footsteps behind me.

  When I turn to look, there he is coming toward my car. What does he want to talk to me about? We don’t know one another. I barely spoke to him the other day.

  God, he’s good looking. Like the kind of good looking that makes you wonder if he’s real. Men like that don’t tend to come looking for women like me. So what is he doing walking this way?

  Maybe he is a guy who loves cookies. Too bad I have to tell him all we have are tartelettes today.

  “Hey, Hailey? How are you?”

  I stop dead and slowly turn my entire body around to face him. Jesus, up close he’s even better. I didn’t think he was this good looking the other day. Then again, I spent most of my time looking at him through the dingy kitchen door window and barely made eye contact with him when I went to his table.

  He’s wearing a light blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans, but I swear I’ve never seen anyone look this good in clothes like that before. It’s got to be the muscles. He looks like he works out.

  That’s what he is. A gym rat. But a gym rat who cheats by eating sugary desserts? That doesn’t sound right. Or maybe it is. I don’t exactly have a wealth of knowledge about that kind of man.

  All of this runs through my head as I stand there staring at him and then realize I haven’t answered him. How am I? Not good, Cade. A nervous wreck would be the appropriate description, I think.

  “Hi. What are you doing here?” I ask, knowing how rude that must sound, like I’ve been taking nasty lessons from Ginger. But I can’t help but be curious at what’s brought him back for the second time in a week to a restaurant he’s never been to before the other day.

  “I came to see you.”

  The way he says that, as if it’s the only answer and I should know that, makes me even more nervous. He’s way too confident. That I can
tell already.

  He smiles, and I think my insides begin to melt. I’m like chocolate morsels in the sun looking at that sexy grin. Oh, yeah. Way too confident. I bet women really like that smile.

  Then again, why wouldn’t they? Nice teeth. White. Straight. What’s not to like?

  Out of nowhere, my brain switches into idiot mode, and I ask, “Do you mean you came to see me because of the cookies?”

  Cade looks confused for a moment but shakes his head. “Not really.”

  “Because I didn’t make any today. It’s my day off. I made a different dessert yesterday, though, and if you love lemon, you should definitely go in and check it out.”

  “I didn’t come here for food.”

  Now I feel foolish and uncomfortable, so I blurt out something I know is a lie. “Oh, because I thought you and your friend might be food bloggers. Some of the local ones have been doing write-ups about what I make.”

  He smiles and shakes his head again. “No. My friend is actually my cousin. Alex is a chef like you. I do nothing with food other than eat it. That I’m very talented at.”

  I can’t help but let my gaze roam down his muscular, toned body as I decide he’s a liar like I am. Or maybe he just eats really healthy stuff to get to look like that.

  When I don’t say anything to what I’m sure can’t be the truth, he says, “So it’s your day off? Want to go do something?”

  “You mean you and me? Us do something?”

  “Yeah,” he says and then chuckles. “I thought maybe we could hang out and get to know one another. I saw you looking through the window at me the other day. It’s fine that you’re shy. I have enough confidence for both of us.”

  “It seems like you do.”

  “That’s not a bad thing, though. I mean, the shyness. I like that. I bet once you get to know someone you aren’t so quiet anyway, so I thought we could start on getting to know one another today.”

  “Are you always like this with women?” I ask, unsure if I’m put off by how forward he is or intrigued that he truly is this confident.