The Wedding Gift

CHAPTER FOUR

I'm not a loser, she thought as she tossed a metal pan into the sink and it made a satisfyingly loud clanging noise. But he doesn't know that, does he?

Suddenly, Julie knew exactly why she'd been feeling so low since he'd left. It wasn't because she didn't think she was up to the task of preparing a great meal for his brother's wedding...but because she hadn't stood up for herself. In any way, shape or form.

It was one thing to be a loser with a failed restaurant.

It was another to be a coward, too.

Phoebe stared worriedly at her. "Julie?"

"I'm pretty much done here for today, but if Rose asks where I am, could you let her know I had a very important errand to run?"

"Of course I can," Phoebe responded, "but are you sure you're okay?"

Julie gave the only answer she could let herself believe. "I will be."

Yanking off her apron and grabbing her bag, she hurried out to the parking lot just in time to see Andrew climbing into a silver Porsche convertible and pulling out. She leaped into her aunt's car and set off after him.

On the open road, Julie would never have been able to keep up. After all, Andrew's car was a speedy, nimble sports car, while her aunt's old Volvo had been designed for family-style driving, accommodating the maximum number of passengers and groceries.

Andrew wove between lanes on wider sections of road, darted in and out of traffic, ran through lights just as they were turning to red, and took corners in a way that would probably have gotten him arrested had there been any police around. Julie had to use all her driving skills just to keep up with him. The last thing she wanted was to get in an accident as she tailed him.

He turned a very tight corner. Refusing to be bested by him, she placed her hand firmly on the horn by way of a warning and drove through a couple of gaps in the traffic. Gaps that the average bike courier would have been hard pressed to get through. She made it through only because the drivers around her steered out of the way.

At this point, Julie could still see Andrew's car, but it was way off in the distance. So when his Porsche made another turn, she took her very next right, hoping a shortcut might just put her ahead of him. It certainly couldn't make anything worse.

Or maybe it could.

Julie slammed on her brakes, as did the cars coming toward her. She threw her aunt's car into reverse as the other drivers started to blare their horns. She scooted lower behind the steering wheel, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

Who went and put a one-way street there?

That wasn't the important thing right then, though. Neither was getting out of there before things got any worse, or taking the time to hope that the ground would open up and swallow her.

The only thing that mattered was the fact that she could no longer see Andrew's car.

He was gone.

Any other day, Julie would have given up. But, she realized, there came a point when you had to keep doing the monumentally stupid thing, if only because, without some payoff at the end, it meant you were simply acting monumentally stupid for no reason.

That might be good enough for plenty of reality shows, but it wasn't good enough for her.

Driving more carefully, she headed in the direction she had seen Andrew go, hoping for some faint glimpse of the Porsche. Five minutes later she finally spotted what she was looking for: his fancy car was parked outside a large unattractive building that looked as if someone had just dumped a random load of concrete. On top of the building was a large sign that read Cuisine Channel Studios.

Julie drove into the lot, found the last available parking spot, then stepped out of her car. As she did so she could feel her nerves rising up. What exactly was she going to say once she got in there? If only she'd worked that out on her way over here rather than acting like a NASCAR driver hoping to arrive in one piece.

A security guard walked up and asked, "Do you need some help, ma'am?"

Julie decided to try the truth. "I'm here to see Andrew Kyle."

"Another one who didn't get the message about them starting the taping early, huh?" The security guard pointed toward the building. "I just saw him head inside a minute or two back. The studio's on the second floor."

Julie didn't bother trying to decipher what he meant by not getting the message about taping as she headed upstairs. Nobody tried to stop her, if only because everybody Julie passed seemed to be incredibly busy. Two men were arguing over a frighteningly tangled collection of wires. Others were running around with cups of coffee and stacks of papers clutched in their hands. Everyone looked terribly stressed out.

On a day like today, Julie felt as if she fit right in.

Was Andrew Kyle the center of all this? If so, it went a long way to explaining why he thought he could behave like an arrogant, pigheaded jerk.

With so many people running around on his behalf, he probably thought he could do anything he wanted.

Julie was certainly going to enjoy informing him otherwise...assuming she could find him, that is.

The entrance to the studios on the second floor was being guarded by a bulky stagehand who made Julie wait a couple of minutes before letting her in. The chaos outside had been bad enough, but this was, if anything, even worse. There was a kitchen set up in the middle of a small circle of cameras, wires and spotlights. Facing the stage kitchen was the audience. Every seat was full of excited, chattering foodies. The taping hadn't started, mostly because several harried staffers were still making final touches to the set.

In the middle of it all, exactly where Julie had known he would be, stood Andrew. He was leaning against one of the kitchen counters, deep in thought.

Julie started toward him but found her way barred by a young woman with fire-engine-red hair and multiple piercings. She was holding a clipboard.

"Sorry," the woman said in the tone of someone who'd had practically everyone in the room try her patience at some point that day, "we don't allow audience members on set. If you'll go back to your seat, please, there will be a quick meet-and-greet with Andrew after taping."

"I'm not an audience member. I'm Julie Delgado and I've been set up to do some cooking with Andrew, only-"

"Wait a minute, you're cooking with him?" The young woman looked puzzled as she rooted through the sheaf of papers attached to her clipboard, then shot a glare over at a gaggle of arguing stagehands that suggested they should probably be glad she didn't have any weaponry close at hand. "I can't believe the producer is trying to put something else in at this late stage. I've told them, we're not putting up with any more of this."

"No," Julie tried to explain. "It was all Andrew's idea. He-"

"Andrew put in a new segment? Without even mentioning it to me? Wait here, please, I need to have a little chat with him."

Julie was more than a little surprised when Andrew smiled and waved her over a minute later. As she headed toward him, she reminded herself to remain firm in the face of his dimples...and to ignore the fact that he seemed to be terrifically happy to see her. Why on earth would he be happy to see her?

Julie psyched herself up to let Andrew know in no uncertain terms that while she was committed to her work at The Rose Chalet, he couldn't walk all over her. But before she could say a word to him, a voice from somewhere outside that circle of oh-so-bright lights hollered, "Okay, everybody, let's go for a take!"