The Wedding Gift

CHAPTER ONE

Julie wasn't sure if Rose was going to start yelling or laughing at that point. No question about it: RJ was very charming. But Julie knew that as an employee she'd never dare to speak to Rose like that.

"I have some very important prospective clients coming today and I want to make sure everything is perfect for them-" Rose broke off to look over at Julie. "Oh good, you're finally here. How is Evie doing?"

"Much better," Julie said with a smile. "I'll let her know you asked."

With that, Rose pulled out her phone with her free hand and scrolled through her calendar. "The couple and some of their family will be coming by this afternoon. Before they arrive, I'd like you to produce the tasting samples for the food options, along with an overall menu. I'm going to coordinate all the other things they are here to review, as well as finalize the budget. I've got about a dozen other things to do before I head out for my lunch date with Donovan."

"I'll be ready," Julie promised. "Why don't I hold the ladder and you can take care of your preparations?"

Rose looked at RJ for a moment before nodding. "Thanks."

Julie took her place by the stepladder while Rose bustled off. She always seemed to be in a hurry.

"Good to see you again," she said to RJ once Rose was gone. "So, who's Donovan?"

"Donovan McIntyre is Rose's fiancé. He's a plastic surgeon. Look, I only had Rose holding this ladder to get her to take a break. She's been working since the crack of dawn, and I bet you've probably got more important things to do than stand around and watch me work."

He was right; for one thing, she had a whole menu to prepare. Not that she could cook most of it until early afternoon, of course. That was one of the things about cooking: she could do all the preparation she wanted, but she'd still end up trying to control about five things at once as she rushed to get it all ready at the same time.

Despite the challenges, Julie enjoyed the pressure. No, she loved the pressure-the rush of working with ingredients she could transform into something special while under serious time constraints. It always amazed her that with heat and spices, and unique presentations and food combinations, she could turn something ordinary into something spectacular.

Today, all she wanted was to make sure everything went smoothly so she would have a chance of impressing Rose. Impressive enough to turn a one-shot-deal into a permanent gig at The Rose Chalet.

"Yes, I probably should get going," Julie said. "I would hate to disappoint Rose."

RJ smiled down at her from atop his ladder. "Don't worry about Rose. Her bark's worse than her bite. She just wants everybody's special day to be-"

"Special?" Julie broke in with her own grin.

"I was going to go with perfect. Good luck with the menu."

Julie hoped, as she made her way over to the Chalet's kitchen, that she wasn't going to need luck.

The kitchen was a big space, well up to the task of producing food for several hundred wedding guests. It was quite a bit bigger than the kitchen at Julie's old restaurant, but it was quiet now in the early morning hours in a way that Delgado's had never been. She'd loved the constant activity of her restaurant's kitchen-a half dozen people working together to feed hungry customers.

Julie shook her head. She'd promised herself she wouldn't think about the past. She couldn't allow herself to falter because of everything that had happened. This was not the time for regrets.

Working at The Rose Chalet could be a fresh start-a pathway to getting out of Evie's guest room and back on her own feet.

Purposefully, she turned her focus back to the job at hand. The menu itself was pretty straightforward. After all, when a bride and groom had friends and relatives coming to San Francisco from every part of the country, they would want to serve food and drink that everyone would enjoy. Julie had decided on seafood and a salad as options for the first course. The entrée would be either duck in plum sauce or pesto pasta. And dessert would be a selection of individual mousses that would nicely complement the wedding cake.