She stopped what she was doing but only for a moment and nodded her head. “No need to apologize. I know lying on my application was wrong and I get it. You don’t trust me. But I’m okay with it. I know I can prove myself to you and Alex and I will.”

“You don’t need to prove anything Grace—uh, Graciela,”

Her perpetual glare finally eased up a bit. “You can call me Grace.”

Feeling he’d made a small but significant bit of progress, he smiled. “Thank you, Grace. You don’t need to prove anything, just show up and do your job. That’s good enough for me.”

She chewed the corner of her lip like she had earlier in his office. This time he noticed how perfect her lips were. Like the kind you see in drawings. The top one perfectly arched, the bottom soft and round. Not wanting her to notice him staring at her lips, he brought his eyes back to hers. Just like the day of the interview, she wore no makeup and now that she was finally not glaring or crossing her eyes at him, he could appreciate how pretty they were.

“Alex said he’d give me a shot in the kitchen… ” She glanced away.

“I said that, too. Remember?”

She looked back at him, the corners of her lips lifting. It wasn’t the same as the smile he’d seen on her face earlier when she’d actually laughed at whatever Alex said to her, but it was a start.

Something behind him suddenly got her attention and talk about a smile. Her eyes brightened in an instant. She almost seemed excited. Sal turned to see what it was. A guy with his hands against the window of the locked front door peered in. He smiled also when he saw her and he waved a hand holding keys.

“I’m all done here. Can I go now?”

Sal turned back to Grace who was already undoing her apron. “Sure.”

She rushed to the back room. Within minutes she walked out, purse in hand. Sal followed her to the door to unlock it. The second he opened the door she was in his arms. “Thank you so much for coming, Joey.”

Joey squeezed her tight. “Of course, sweetie. Anything for my Gracie.”

The guy was clean cut and bit too generous with the cologne. It wasn’t until he let go of Grace and she turned to say goodnight that Sal noticed how tight he was gripping the door handle. His knuckles had nearly gone white.

The guy glanced at him and smiled. Sal managed a smile before closing the door and locking it. He walked back to the office trying desperately to shake off the ridiculous unsettling tension he suddenly felt.

This entire day had been a roller coaster of emotions. From his frustration about the less than qualified applicants that morning, to the meeting gone wrong, to finding out Alex had gone against his wishes and hired Grace. Everything he felt when he saw Grace again was understandable. But what he felt now was infuriating because it made no sense—no sense at all.

CHAPTER 4

“Holy cow, Gracie is that one of the married ones or the single one?” Joey clicked the button on his keychain, causing his car to chirp and headlights to blink.

Grace walked around the car and opened the door. “He’s the single one but he’s kind of a jerk.”

“What do you mean?” Joey said, climbing in the driver’s seat. “Those bitches weren’t lying when they said the Moreno brothers were hot. That is one hot papi, girl. How bad can he be?”

Grace wouldn’t admit how breathless she’d been when he first walked in and stared her down, looking amazingly sexy in his suit. “Bad.” She frowned as she put her seatbelt on. “He obviously wasn’t happy about Alex hiring me. Apparently, he’d made up his mind about me already. Even went as far as to insinuate that I flirted with Alex to get the job.”

“No! He said that?”

“Well, not exactly but he made a stupid comment—‘you do realize Alex is married right?’ That says a lot about his brother if he really thinks the only reason he hired me was because I flirted or something.” Gracie crossed her arms in front of her. The more she thought about it the madder it made her. “You have no idea how hard it was for me to hold back what I really wanted to say. If I didn’t need this job so bad…”

Joey rubbed her knee. “Let’s focus on the positive. You got a job at one of the most upscale restaurants in La Jolla, of all places. And you said they’re gonna give you a shot in the kitchen right? This is what you’ve been waiting for.”

Grace smiled. Joey always had a way of making her see things in a different light. “You’re right. This is my opportunity.”

Joey wanted her to come over and hang out with him and Taylor and a few other friends. But Grace knew Rose was home alone with her stepdad. Her mom let her know earlier, that she was going to meet a few friends for dinner and might be home late. Grace knew what that meant—she was on the prowl. Dinner equaled drinks at a bar, looking for potential husband number four.

To her surprise, not only was her mom home, they had company. Rose gave her a look as soon as she walked in. A man who looked thirtyish in a suit, sat on the sofa, holding a beer. The place had actually been cleaned up. Ruben stood behind the sofa. He was showered and shaved for a change. Her mom rushed over to her. “Oh, here she is now.”

Grace smiled, glancing at the man who smiled as he stood then back at her mom. “Grace, this is Mr. Fuentes.”

“Call me Frank,” he said reaching his hand out.

Grace shook his hand and smiled. “I’m Grace.”