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“Already fired!” Bran shouts back as he moves rapidly, grabbing a finished halibut off his pan and carefully throwing it onto the landing zone. “Halibut up!”

I watch as it moves onto the pass, a smile creeping up as my newest recruit plates it.

She looks so different now, a far cry from the woman I found with Durian in that alley a few years ago.

“The sauce is breaking!”

My attention snaps away from her to find the source.

My newest sous chef is in a panic, his glasses dipping to the bridge of his nose precariously.

Grabbing heavy cream off the counter, I spring into action.

“Behind you!” I bark, enjoying the way he jolts.

Reaching around Kale, I lower the temperature and add a splash of the heavy cream to the sauce. “Pull it off the heat and whisk,” I advise him. “If it separates too much, we will need to drain the fat, but it might be easier to just refire it.”

He doesn’t hesitate, listening to me without any question. When he asked to work here, I never expected him to mean in the kitchen, but it had been fun to train him. To watch his eyes dance with pride as I slowly taught him everything I knew.

The energy behind me charges, a coiled spring launching towards me.

I feel Orzo before I hear him.

He moves at my back, wedging me between himself and Kale. “Wifey, I told you, it’s time to take our honeymoon.” He nips at my ear.

It takes every piece of professionalism I can muster not to jump at the sensation that rockets out to my toes.

Orzo knows exactly how to get a reaction out of me.

I set the heavy cream down.

“Let me out,” I whisper into Kale’s ear.

He carefully readjusts to allow me to escape the sandwich Orzo had put me in.

Kale never stops whisking in the process and a jolt of pride warms my chest.

But I don’t take my single second of freedom for granted, navigating through the kitchen of moving elbows and plates of food, I march towards the walk in cooler.

I know it’s better to take this interaction somewhere more private. Just as I know Orzo will follow.

And he does just that.

Once inside, I whirl on him, ignoring the cold that dances across my skin and leaves goosebumps. “Orzo, I told you I needed to finish up the reservations. They booked months in advance, I can’t just leave. But after tonight, I am yours. All of yours for the next week.”

He eats up the space between us, the intensity of his gaze causing my knees to buckle. He brings his fist up, his knuckles gently caressing the curve of my cheek. The desire is instant. The warmth in my chest expands like honey in hot tea. “I wanted to make it elaborate. To wait until our honeymoon. To make it your most memorable.” Orzo growls as he releases air heavily through his nose.

Confusion causes my eyebrows to draw together, and the cold which was bothering me moments ago falls to the back of my mind. “What do you mean?”

“My love confession.”

“You’ve told me you love me, Orzo.”

Orzo shakes his head, his hand drops as he falls to his knees at my feet. “I realized on our honeymoon, I won’t get much alone time with you. And that’s okay, but that just means I need to tell you now.” He stares up at me with his typical intensity but there is something different.

A vulnerability. A dash of unease.

“Cinnamon.” He gathers my hands, his forehead resting on them as he breathes hot air onto my fingers. “When I met you as a child, I simply didn’t want you to become a victim as I was. The first person I ever wanted to keep safe. To protect.”