Mountain Storm

Chapter 10

Malik got to the bar before I did and grabbed the pint of Rocky Road. He opened it and dug his spoon in. He took a bite, "Mmm, this is so good, you should try a taste." he teased. He placed another spoonful in his mouth and and rolled his eyes as he leaned back on the bar. "Oh, this is soooo good."

I came up in front of him and gave him a pouting lip and puppy eyes.

"I'll give you a taste of mine if you let me taste yours," I said.

He looked down at me and winked. "You promise?"

I took a spoonful of Tin Roof Sundae and placed it to his lips as he placed a spoonful of Rocky Road at mine. I watched as he licked his lips slowly then parted them as I slipped the spoon into his mouth. "Mmm, that is so good," he said after devouring it.

"I agree." I said as I finished the Rocky Road.

"Do you want more?" He said with a smirk.

My heart was racing, was he talking ice cream or something else?

I looked down at my ice cream and swirled the spoon in it. "Nope, I'm good." I said with a smile, and bounced my way out of the kitchen and onto the deck with Logan.

The sun was starting to set, but it was still so hot. After I finished my ice cream, I excused myself, went inside and called Rebecca.

"Hi Rebecca, how is everything going?"

"It's fine Leec. How was the service?"

"It was beautiful. She would have liked it."

"I have a menu I'm going to email to you then, but I want you to pick an appetizer and main course."

"Are you sure, Lisa? This is, of course, your restaurant." She said.

"Yes I'm sure, Rebecca, you have been such a great help and inspiration these past few years. I want him to see that it's not just 'my' creations, but yours as well."

"OK, well if it's ok then I would like to make an Arancini - Italian fried rice ball appetizer and for the main course Smoked Duck Breast - Red Flannel Duck Confit Hash, Raspberry Jus."

"Sounds perfect. I'll send an email with my recipes for Strawberry and Cucumber Salad with Oil Cured Black Olive, Calabrian Chili, Goat Cheese, Mint. Wild leek Billi Bi Soup with Mussels, Saffron Potato, Oyster Cracker, and Lovage. And for dessert, Financier cakes with Lemon Curd."

"This sounds amazing, I think this combination is going to work well together." Rebecca said. "Where do you want me to get the muscles from?"

"Go to Jack's seafood market on 80. This is the time of year he has the best muscles."

"OK, will do Leec. What time will you be getting in on Friday?"

"My flight leaves at nine and is to touch down in Savanah at 12:45. I will be heading straight to the restaurant as soon as I get back. I want to get as much as possible prepped for Saturday."

"OK, we will see you then. Have a safe trip on Friday."

"Thanks Rebecca."

I hang up the phone and start typing the email with the list of ingredients we will need for each dish. I was completely engulfed in my email that I hadn't noticed that Malik was standing behind the couch. He dangled a beer in front of me. "Want a beer?" He asked.

"Sure, I could use one" I said as I reached up and took it from him.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I am sending an email to Rebecca with ingredients and a menu that we are serving on Saturday to a Michelin Inspector. His office contacted me a month ago and made a reservation," I said as I continued to type away.

"So, when are you leaving?"

"Friday morning." I continued to type without looking up at him.

"When were you going to tell me?" he said gruffly.

I looked up at him with a puzzled look on my face. "What do you mean, Malik? I have a restaurant to run and need to get back."

"I thought that you would be sticking around at least a little longer."

"I can't, if this dinner goes as planned, 'Hush' will become the first 5-star restaurant in Savanah, putting us on the map."

"So that's it then, you're just going to jump ship again and take off?" He spat out.

I placed my laptop on the coffee table and stood up to look at him. "What did you think I was going to do, drop everything and come back here forever? I have a business to run just like you. I would never expect you to give up your dream, and I would hope you would not want me to give up on mine." I said with my arms crossed.

"For your information, Lisa, 'Boots' wasn't my only dream." He picked up his keys and walked out the door.

Logan came in from the deck "Hey where did Malik go?"

"He left. I'm going to bed." I said as I closed my laptop and headed upstairs.

Lisa POV

I knew it was not good to be staying this long. I should have left right after the service today. I left ten years ago without saying goodbye to him. I should have known it was going to get weird. Ugh, why did I flirt, why did I let him kiss me? I was so angry with myself that tears started to run down my face.

I was such a coward when I left before. I regretted that decision, and I tried multiple times to rectify my actions, but everytime I picked up the phone, I would just sit there staring at it, not sure what to say. What do you say to someone you know you hurt? I was hoping that we could put the past behind us and that time would heal wounds, but I had hoped wrong.

I grabbed a quick shower and went to bed.

I lay there half the night tossing and turning. Everything kept playing over and over in my mind like a broken record. I should have kept him at arms length, and not gotten close again. What was I thinking? 'You're such an ass Leec!' I said to myself.

I finally woke up around noon after being awake until four when exhaustion finally claimed me. I got dressed and opened the door of my room to hear Logan on his phone downstairs.

"When can I meet you? OK, I'll be there in 20." He said as he hung up.

"Hey," I said as I entered the kitchen, "What's going on?" I asked.

"Nothing, I have to meet a friend in a little bit, I will be back."

"Can I come along?"

"Um, not this time, Leec, I will be back in an hour, and then we can get ready to head to Zimmermann's for the reading."

I watched him get in his car and pull out of the driveway.