His face softens at the mention of Lin. I confessed to him a few nights ago that she and Kade’s relationship started out fake, but then turned serious fast. He’s had a soft spot in trying to help her recover ever since.
“How is she?” He asks.
“Trying to pretend she isn’t as sad as she is, hence, the chocolate cake.”
“I’ll put it in the fridge.” He says, and then steps aside.
Without another word, I head into the lobby to meet Daniel. He’s pretty easy on the eyes, dressed in dark jeans and a button-up shirt. I smile at him, but his eyes dart over my shoulder. When I turn around, I find Jasper behind me.
“Hey, I’m Jasper, the chef here at Sunset.” He says and holds his hand out to Daniel.
“I’m Dan.” He says.
“Jasper is the temporary chef here.” I give him a pointed stare.
“Sorry I kept her, had a few kitchen issues to make her aware of, before she left. Enjoy your date and beware of flying fruit.” Jasper smirks, and I’m very proud of my self-control for not hitting him with my purse, like I want, too.
I turn to Daniel and smile. “Shall we?” I ask.
I follow him out to his car, and of course, the restaurant he takes me to is Samuel’s Southern Seafood, one of Jasper’s restaurants. I can’t help but laugh, when we pull up.
He looks at me with a confused look on his face.
“Is this okay? It’s always been my favorite, but we can go somewhere else.” He says, looking unsure.
I place my hand gently on his arm to reassure him.
“It’s fine, I promise. The Jasper you just met. Well, this is his dad’s place, and now his place I guess, since his dad passed.”
Dan’s eyes go big. “That’s Jasper? Why is he working at your place?”
“Let’s go inside, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
The food is good as always, but I find myself not eating much, because Daniel is just so boring. I want the date over as soon as possible, and when Lin texts me the agreed upon text at the agreed upon time, I’m thankful for the out.
I pull out my phone to check it.
“Sorry, it’s just we are short staffed, and with Jasper helping out, I need to make sure everything is okay,” I tell Daniel, as I pull out my phone.
“I understand.” He says, and then launches into some story about helping his parents, during the season. I type back to Lin about how boring he is, and she sends me back laughing face emojis.
“Daniel, I hate to have to do this, but we need to get back. There’s an issue with the sales system.” I tell him.
He doesn’t need to know we just replaced it, because of the issues we were having, but it’s always been my go to, when I need an out of any situation.
“Oh, of course.” He says.
I offer to pay my half, but he won’t let me, so there’s that at least. The entire way home he tells me about the time the sales system went down at the pharmacy.
“I hope to see you again soon.” He says, once we are back at The Inn.
“Yes, maybe. With the season coming up, I know we will both be busy.” I tell him.
He doesn’t try to kiss me, so he gets another point, and I hurry inside, before he can launch into another story.
I make a beeline for the kitchen, because now that the boring stories have stopped, I’m suddenly starving. Unfortunately, Jasper is still there, wrapping up for the night.
“What are the chances I can bribe you into making me a burger?” I ask him, as I sit on one of the freezer chests. It’s something I haven’t done in a long time. I’d always sit here, when my dad was in the kitchen talking business. He’d normally give me a Popsicle or some ice cream to keep me busy.