CHAPTER FOURTEEN Maisy

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Maisy

"Thanks for your help Saturday," Mad Bell said gruffly the moment I walked into the kitchen.

I'd just clocked in. I was in an irritable mood for some reason and didn't feel like being here today. The weekend had been good, and nothing bad had happened, so I wasn't sure what was going on with me. Maybe it was just a case of the Mondays. It was annoying as hell.

However, hearing his words, which clearly he had to pull from the depths of his soul to utter to me, kind of made me perk up a little.

"Well, I did put you in that position. It was only fair—"

"Why didn't you tell me you were vegan?"

He took me off guard by interrupting me, but the look of shock on my face was from the question he asked. What? Why did it matter? It wasn't like I was hiding it.

"Vegetarian, actually," I said as I grabbed a clean apron and hurriedly tied it around my waist. I pretended to move about the kitchen like I was getting ready to work even though my brain was a little scrambled. "And I didn't think it mattered."

"It does," he muttered, but I caught it. I also caught the way confusion settled in those two words. "Is that the reason you won't eat… my food?"

I whirled around hearing the hurt in his tone that he was so obviously trying to cover up. I studied him with narrowed eyes, waiting for the punchline of the joke. His eyes were on the ground, jaw working in a way that told of how uncomfortable he was.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I'd hurt him by not eating the things he cooked. Most everyone grabbed at least one meal while they were on shift. I never did. Not even cheese nachos. I just was never hungry. Probably had a lot to do with the fact that this place smelled of cooked meat and grease. It never worked too well for my appetite since I'd been off the animal stuff for over fifteen years now.

I cringed, thinking about the burger he made me that one night. The one that he probably went out of his way to make special for me. The one I handed off to the prospect, thinking I could help mend the gap between the two of them. Shit. I must have seemed like the biggest bitch ever.

The sudden urge to fix this bubbled up inside of me.

"Yeah," I finally said. "But I wasn't sure it really mattered. I didn't know you noticed."

"I did," he grunted, eyes lifting to meet mine. "At least I know it wasn't me now."

With that, he turned his back to me.

The room grew cold despite the heat from the grill and the burners.

Yeah, I'd really fucked up.

"How did you…" I started, staring a hole between his shoulder blades.

"The chili that the prospect brought back," he said so low I almost didn't hear him. "I tried some. The prospect clued me in that I'd probably been being a dumbass."

I snorted, sure the prospect hadn't put it so bluntly. He wasn't exactly scared of Mad Bell, but I got the feeling there was a level of being subservient and taking shit one had to do as a prospect. The prospect wanted that patch and he wasn't going to do anything to mess it up.

"I should have asked," he muttered.

"If I'd know it would have been such a big deal, I would have told you. I didn't think you cared. I'm not one to share pieces of myself with people who don't want them."

I snapped my mouth shut and held my breath. I couldn't believe I'd given away that much.

Did I want to be closer to Mad Bell? Did I want him to have pieces of me?

Maybe the better question would have been: could I trust him not to hurt me?

These questions were too fucking heavy.

Nope. I wasn't going there.

He was hot. Even his grumpiness had its sex appeal. None of that mattered, though. Fantasies were allowed. Trying to bring them to life when I knew it would only end in disaster was not.

I was so lost in my head that I didn't register him moving across the space in my direction. I only snapped back into reality when the sound of stoneware hitting the metal of the prep table grated in my ears.

I blinked down to see a plate sitting there with a burger and fries. The top of the bun was off, leaving the nice, crisp wedge of lettuce and bright red tomato visible. I tilted my head, taking it all in. The patty was very obviously not made from any kind of animal product, though I wasn't sure exactly what was in it.

"What, no cheese?" I teased, sending him a smile.

He stood there, looking so horribly uncomfortable that it almost made me laugh.

"Well, since I thought you were vegan…" He sighed. His shoulder slumped with the sound. "I bought a bunch of that vegan cheese but that stuff is shit, so I left it off."

I snorted.

"That's the reason I'm not vegan," I said playfully with a smile. "I can't give up the good cheese."

For some reason, that made his eyes light up.

"Maybe next time," I said as I placed the bun on top and grabbed the hefty burger with both hands.

I paused just before I took a bite. I wanted to eat this for him. He'd made this for me after all. He'd gone out of his way to make a non-meat burger, which I knew was a big fucking deal. But the thing was, most people didn't think about cleaning the grill. Who wants cross-contamination with meat juices?! Ew! That was the reason I only had a handful of restaurants I ordered from. I didn't want to be a bitch, but it was a thing for me. The same went for the fryer, which he dropped wings into.

Could I stomach it just this once? Could I do it for him?

I closed my eyes and took a huge bite.

"Oh!" His forced tone made me snap my eyes back open. "I cleaned the grill off and emptied the grease in the left fryer. From now on, that one is strictly for fries and tortillas. The right one can be used for anything once-living related."

I blinked at him, so shocked that I forgot to chew for a moment.

Did this mean he planned on making more food for me in the future? Or was he wanting to add a few things to the menu? I was pretty fucking confused by this whole thing.

"What?" he asked, looking sheepishly. Well, as sheepishly as a grumpy, tattooed, hot chef could look so. "The Dipshit Prospect might have clued me in on that part."

But he'd done the work. I could see it in his eyes.

I hid my smile by chewing hard.

It was… good. Really good. The patty wasn't like anything I'd ever had before. It was homemade, but not like a beef substitute as so many places did. It was grains and…

"Tell me what I'm eating," I demanded, the curiosity getting to me. "It's fucking amazing!"

I caught the slip of a smile before he reeled it in.

"I kind of took a few different things I found and put them together. A lot of the recipes sounded boring." He shrugged, and I smiled. "I used black beans, farrow, and oats. After I blended them, I added in some sesame and sunflower seeds. Tossed in some spices, and done."

"It's really good," I said, still stuffing my face. I wasn't even ashamed that it was over halfway gone now. "What's this sauce on the bottom? Is that…" I licked a glob of the red stuff hanging on the edge of the bun. It was in need of rescuing, so I didn't even feel like a pig about doing it. There was no way that sauce deserved to be wasted. "Raspberry?"

There was something else there too, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Yep," he said, reaching out and swiping his thumb across the corner of my mouth.

Holy shit!

I needed to get laid or something because that one touch set me on fucking fire. On. Fire! From the top of my head to between my legs. I had no doubt my nipples had perked up too and he couldn't miss it if he looked down.

Fuck!

Yes, I thought Mad Bell was hot. Objectively, there weren't many people who could argue that. He was sexy. But that was all it could be. His body made for a good fantasy. But my body was telling me that there was life behind his touch, and that wasn't good.

I grit my teeth to keep my tongue trapped in my mouth. I didn't need it getting ideas too and trying to lick his thumb for whatever reason.

I saw it the moment he realized what he'd done. His hand left my bubble so fast, falling to his side as he wiped whatever mess he'd collected from me off on his apron.

"Um." He cleared his throat and turned his back on me. His feet quickly carried him across the kitchen to the grill. "It's raspberry, lime, and sugar."

"It's good," I said, though I didn't think he heard me over his fiddling. "Thank you."

"Yeah. No biggie, ya know. I just—"

"I appreciate it."

He didn't say anything for a long moment. He didn't even appear to be breathing.

"I need more potatoes," he finally grunted.

"Right on it, Chef." I shoved the last bite into my mouth. Inside, I let out a huge sigh. As much as I wanted to overanalyze what the fuck had happened, I thought it was better if I just got to work. Clearly, he thought the same. "I'll make sure to scrub them good this time ."

I didn't miss his sigh at my words. Except, I wasn't sure if it was from frustration or disappointment.

Only one of those I could handle right now.

Knowing that, I decided we needed to get back to Grumpy Chef and Annoying Prep Girl.

I'd have to work on that title, it sounded too much like someone who worked behind the camera in porn.

I had to get us back on even ground before the world exploded.