Sofia unlocked the door and smiled at Joey as Grace walked out. “You working tomorrow, Grace?”

“Yeah, I close.”

“Alex said maybe we can get you in the kitchen this week. I think tomorrow would be good. Most of the day it’s a brunch but we do get some people ordering off the menu instead. Might be a good time to get you in there since menu orders are at their slowest on Sundays.”

Grace glanced at Joey, he was already smiling. Grace nodded, feeling the sudden excitement. “Yeah, for sure.”

“So come in early. We got enough people to cover the closing shift.”

“Okay.”

“Great, see you in the morning.” Sofia closed the door.

Grace didn’t even wait for her to finish locking the door. She turned to Joey who looked ready to burst and jumped in his arms. He picked her up and spun her around. Grace saw Sofia laugh.

“I told you, Gracie! This is it. There’s no way they won’t be impressed with your cooking.”

Suddenly, everything she’d been obsessing about all day took a back seat. She was going to be cooking in Moreno’s kitchen tomorrow. This was a dream come true. She leaned her forehead against Joey’s. “Oh. My. God. How am I gonna get any sleep tonight?”

Joey laughed and she pulled away. They started walking to his car hand in hand. “You need to bring your A game tomorrow, so you better get some sleep. Don’t blow this Grace.” He squeezed her hand. “Oh, what am I talking about? You got this.”

The whole drive home she talked Joey’s ear off about the way she’d seen them prepare certain dishes and how Alex and Sofia had both said Sal was so anal about everything. She had her own way of cooking and she didn’t do recipes. What if Sal insisted she did? She almost wished he wouldn’t be there tomorrow, but at the same time she wanted him to taste her cooking.

By the time they got to her house, she was all talked out.

“Relax. You’re gonna do great.” Joey squeezed her hand then kissed it. “I’m so excited for you. Call me as soon as you get their first reaction. I’m sure they’re gonna be floored.”

That night Grace lay in bed, trying not to toss and turn too much. Her sister was sleeping soundly as usual. She’d told Rose about getting her chance in the kitchen tomorrow and she’d been just as excited about it as Joey had been.

As exciting as finally getting her opportunity to prove herself was, and as much as she tried to focus on that and that alone, her thoughts kept swaying in one direction. It wasn’t about would they be impressed? All she could think of was, would Sal be impressed? She reasoned that it was because he was the one who initially dismissed her as inexperienced but in her heart she knew there was more to it. For some reason the thought of impressing Sal Moreno in any way had suddenly become a priority.

~*~

Sunday morning Sal rushed in early to get the week’s inventory done as quickly as possible. He wanted to be out of there before the closing shift came in. He’d already called Jason. Sal was meeting him for a round of golf then he was stopping by Alex’s. His mother was preparing a Sunday dinner over at Alex’s house since Valerie couldn’t get out of bed and she wanted everyone to drop by.

Staying busy was good. It helped keep his mind off of other things. He’d finally admitted to himself that maybe he was a little attracted to Grace, but after seeing her with boyfriend number two, it squashed any possibilities. Besides, it was out of the question. She was too young for him and she was an employee, it would never work. He was stupid to have even considered the thought.

He sat back staring straight ahead at the cabinets against the wall. It was just a physical thing. Even though at first he hadn’t been very impressed by Grace, after being around her he noticed a few things about her that could be construed as attractive. Her big innocent eyes, the curves he hadn’t been privy to on their first meeting because of the unflattering dress. The way there was no hiding her excitement even over the smallest things—a ball cap. And that laugh… there was no way he could hear it and not smile.

Alex walked into the back room. “What’s with the cheesy smile?”

Sal straightened out. “I was just thinking about something.” He spun his chair around to face the computer. “Are Angel and Sarah gonna be there tonight?”

Sofia walked in. “I heard dad on the phone last night so they better be.” She giggled. “Is Grace here yet?”

Sal turned around. “No, she’s closing.”

“Well, she was,” Sofia said, grabbing an apron out of the drawer. “I told her to come in early. We’re gonna give her a shot in the kitchen. I figured Sunday is a good day for her since—”

“Wait,” Sal said, feeling uneasy. “Who okayed this?”

Alex laughed. “What do you mean? We said we were gonna give her shot so we’re giving her a shot.”

Sal couldn’t care less about her in the kitchen at this point. He’d figured this attraction thing would go away with a few days of not seeing her. He’d planned it, damn it. Easy peasy. Monday and Tuesday were her days off. If he scheduled a few more interviews Wednesday and Thursday at Angel’s, it would be almost a week before he’d have to be around her again. He would’ve been home free by then. Now they’d thrown a wrench in his plans.

“Yeah, and you should’ve seen how excited she was last night when I told her.” Sofia added. “Even her boyfriend was excited. He picked her up and spun her around. He’s a cutie!”