Summer Love in the City (Summer Instalove)

The gigantic restaurant was L-shaped, with giant palm trees forming sort of a shield

between the diners and the fairly open kitchen.

It looked like all of the chefs’ friends, many of them friends of mine, were off to the left,

whereas all of the owner and investor types were off to the right.

I wasn’t sure whether it was my expensive clothing, or the fact that there was only one

table left, but we were seated over on the right, directly in front of the window.

Once again, Kim looked impressed, reaching out to give my hand a squeeze across the

table. “This is amazing,” she smiled, her bright eyes taking everything in excitedly.

She kept on grinning as we were brought special cocktails and appetizers, then tasting

plates for the entire new menu. Everything was so incredible that our eyes were practically

rolling back in our heads in delight.

“What a great w

ay to celebrate your first big assignment,” I said, raising a glass of

champagne and papaya juice to Kim. We clinked glasses, her smile absolutely beaming in

the candlelight.

“Sure, you don’t call me for weeks, but when there’s free food, here you are,” a rough voice

said, startling Kim slightly.

I turned to see one of my oldest friends, dressed in a black cook’s uniform. I could see

Kim’s eyes skimming along the skulls and daggers that decorated his forearms.

“Kim, this is Clayton. He’s the chef here. I’ve known him for too many years, so please

never believe a word he says.”

Clayton waved his hand at me dismissively, then leaned down to shake Kim’s hand. “You

seem like a nice girl. So there’s no way you should be with this thug,” he chuckled. “But

more importantly, please give me your honest opinion. Was the ravioli filling too rich?”

I couldn’t stop staring at her beautiful smile. “It wasn’t too rich,” Kim said thoughtfully. “But I was surprised that the filling was sweet. It was amazing, but the first bite was a little odd

until I realized it was sweet potato and orange pepper.”

“But it was a good surprise?”

“Yes, absolutely. And the tiny cheese bites were a great surprise as well – the spicy pepper

was just hot enough to be zippy, but it didn’t burn out my taste buds.”

Clayton took her hand, kissing the back of it. “Brilliant. That’s exactly the sort of input I