The Spice of Life

The Hand That Feeds You

The Hand That Feeds You

Brynn hummed as she adjusted the table she had set in the middle of the dining room floor. Opening day was next week for the restaurant and everything was coming together perfectly.

With no hiccups that Brynn could see, opening day for the brand new Thyme & Sage would be this coming Friday. It was sure to be the local hotspot for fancy dates and fine cuisine.

Leo was in the back, in the kitchen, setting up everything.

Brynn had already hired their staff. Mostly, it was teenagers who needed a job in town and were willing to help out Leo but the point was she got them. Training would begin tomorrow. The servers and hostess would be trained by Brynn while Leo handled the kitchen staff.

The kitchen staff wasn't mostly teenagers. The people in the kitchen were those Leo hand picked from people living in and around Trenton. They were those he knew could cook, who he knew could follow his orders, and who didn't mind having a job.

The tables and chairs had come easily from the local furniture store. The owner had a weakness for Grace's scones that Brynn had exploited mercilessly. It had been discounted and delivered to them just this morning. Brynn was busy putting everything in its place. When she was done, she was going to put the freshly bleached, white cotton table clothes over them then place little glass bowls that would hold candles on top of that.

She had to admit that she was having a great deal of fun even being in Hick Town, USA. Thyme & Sage had already become more than a pet project to keep her from getting bored. She looked forward to taking off from The Spice of Life to rush over here and get to work.

Part of her wondered how her mother would react to knowing that her irresponsible, immature daughter had started a business with her steady – Brynn shuddered at the word – boyfriend.

Even after all this time, she couldn't get used to calling Leo her boyfriend. It just sounded wrong especially since they hadn't slept together yet.

Maybe if they were sleeping together, Brynn could get used to the boyfriend idea easier. But Leo was deliberately ignoring her advances or rejecting them outright. Instead, he cooked for her and danced with her and sent her home with leftovers that had love notes inside. It was cute and romantic and it drove Brynn insane.

Why couldn't he be like normal guys? No one else she knew would have turned down a free bounce in the sack to be sweet and romantic. She would question whether he could get it up or not, or if he was even into her, but she knew better.

A man who kissed her like he did had no trouble with attraction. A man whose body reacted to hers the way his did had no trouble with performance. She felt him every time their bodies pressed together.

Which made his lack of interest in taking her to bed even more frustrating. What was he waiting for?

Her phone suddenly went off, pulling her thoughts away from Leo.

Brynn cursed at hearing Grace's ring tone. She was technically on lunch break from the bakery and she was fifteen minutes late getting back.

She didn't bother answering her phone, she just ran from the restaurant and starting sprinting back towards the bakery. The good thing about Trenton, she supposed, was that the town wasn't very big. The Spice of Life wasn't very far at all from Thyme & Sage. It only took her three minutes at brisk jog to reach the bakery.

She rushed inside and slid to a stop in front of the counter. Grace was looking at her disapprovingly.

“Lunch break is one hour, not two.” she said primly. “Go put on your apron.”