Julie's busy. She's going to college to be a veterinarian, and working two jobs to pay for it and the bills. The last thing she needs is the complications of dating. Sex? Oh, yes, please, but the one guy she wants is her boss' nephew. Blake's a hot ex-solider with a surprising love for cooking. Like Julie he's working his way through his education—culinary school. When her car breaks down and he offers her a ride home, Julie can't resist the chance to get him alone...
*
ONE WAY TO DO IT
"God, I hate this job." Julie groaned and peeked out the swinging shut door. "It's a madhouse out there."
Blake turned from the line, where he was putting the finishing touches on plates. He was always hot, right then, he was actually hot. The heat coming off the steaming hot equipment had tightened his shirt to his trim, toned upper body. His muscular arms, tanned and tattooed, paused in mid-air.
"You're not kidding. Everyone's substituting and changing their minds tonight—I'm losing it over here."
Julie sighed as she checked tickets against slips of paper. "Table six? They're monsters. Just so you know. The woman insisted she can't have white wine, after she ordered white wine."
Blake gave her a long glance. "She ordered the scampi?"
"Yeah."
"It's got white wine..."
Julie patted at her blonde hair to make sure it hadn't come loose form the bun she had put it into earlier. Blake's black hair was under a silly little net, and it didn't make him any less sexy. God, how could he be so four alarm fire hot even while wearing a net to keep his hair from falling into food?
She said, "She's a scammer. She drank a whole glass, filled it back up partway with the water in her glass and claimed an allergy. Said she'd asked for Pinot Noir, not Grigio."
Blake shook his head. "Wow. It takes all kinds."
"I know." Did she ever.
He grinned, showing solid white teeth behind full, imminently kissable lips. "It could be worse. It has been worse. Are they making you pay for it?"
"You know it. It's supposedly my mistake and it was rung up so somebody's paying for it."
Blake said, "Sorry."
"Yeah." Frustration set in. The job was garbage on days like that one, but it was also a great place to pick up extra shifts and tips. They worked with her on her crazy schedule, which included another job and hectic classes at the nearby college. Julie grabbed dishes and slid them on trays and dashed back out, calling as she swung through the door in case anyone was going through it. She delivered the food and gathered up checks and cards and then passed out more drinks and extra napkins and grabbed more dishes. The shift wound onward. Her feet hurt and her back too.
Table six was horrible. Julie had to go back four times. The wine scamming woman was even more terrible than she had imagined. The scampi wasn't good. She didn't want it. She'd eaten half. The dish sent out to replace it, meh. But okay. Whatever. She'd eat it. The woman said that with a roll of her eyes that said she would complain the whole time.
Julie wasn't shocked when they left her a bare ten percent tip and a mess on the table. At least they were gone. She raced back and forth. Finally, the place emptied out.
Blake was in the back, stacking pots and pans in a huge dishwasher. Julie swallowed hard as she surveyed the way the tight jeans cupped his ass cheeks and outlined each high, firm cheek.
He straightened up and turned. He spotted her. "Hey Julie. I thought you were gone."
"I wish. The busser left an hour ago and I got stuck with the tables." She held out the huge pan filled with dirty dishes and utensils. "Sorry."
He took the plastic tub and hefted it toward the dishwasher. "No problem."
"You do know cooks aren't supposed to do the dishes?"
Blake rolled his eyes. "In this joint, the rules never apply."
"How's culinary school?"
"Great." His smile lit up his handsome face. "I got my money from my military service finally, so the tuition's handled. That's a lot off my mind. And working here sucks, yes, but it also gives me a good idea of what really goes on in a restaurant kitchen. That will look good on a resume, one day."
"My only excuse is that I'm too broke to say no to working here." Julie grimaced as she spoke. "But at least I'm not stuck with a huge amount of student debt yet."
His words finally registered all the way in her brain. Her belly fluttered as the vivid image of him in a uniform filled her mind. "That's right. You were in the military for a while."
"Five years." He stacked dishes in the cavernous machine.
Julie said, "Here, I'll help. We're the last two here, anyway. The sooner we get done, the sooner we get out."
They finished the work. he flipped switches. he asked, "How's vet school?"
"Great. hard. Ugh. I don't know. Both. Is that an option?"
"Yes."
"Then both."
They flipped off lights and turned on the alarm. Outside Blake surveyed the parking lot and asked, "Did you park somewhere else?"
"No, my car's in the shop, again." She pulled a face. "Go figure. I'm waiting for a car share, but it isn't here."
He said, "Cancel it. I'll take you home."
That was exactly what she wanted but she wanted a lot more than a ride in his car. "I can wait. You have to be tired. I know your uncle works you harder than the rest of us."
"He's killing all of us." His grin was easy, but she saw a little tightening in that smile. "And he's my stepdad's brother, so not really my uncle."
"Right. Sorry." She looked up and down the street and whipped out her phone. The car was still fifteen minutes away. "If you don't mind?"
"I don't."
"Cool." She cancelled and followed him to his car, a very nice sedan. She said, "You never said why you got out of the military and decided to go to culinary school."
"I like to cook. I used to think that was not so manly thing. I never admitted it. If I had, I never would have joined up in the first place. I have a small problem with getting up at five in the morning to run a lot of miles with a lot of guys who drank a lot of beer the night before."
"Oh." A grin surfaced and then laughter. "I see." She slid a glance at him. "And I doubt that anyone would ever accuse you of not being manly." he was a man. Every inch of him was hot. his broad shoulders, his tight waist. The strong jaw, the piercing brown eyes. The long legs that moved with real power when he walked. A thought came. "You went to Afghanistan, didn't you?"
"I did." he shrugged. That shrug said he didn't want to talk about it.
She studied his profile. She said, "You have to take that right up there and go down a mile or so. It's Briarcliff Place."
"I know where that is." his hands rested easy on the wheel. The dashboard light illuminated his face. "Why vet school? I meant to ask you that."
"I like animals."