HEAT Vol. 2 (Master Chefs: HEAT Series #2) (3 page)

Now,
with the thought of hearing from him, I felt more alive than I ever had.  But
then it hit me.  Bobby was hiking across Europe.  What were the chances he’d
have access to his account?  Out in the wild somewhere, he probably couldn’t
connect to any signal anywhere.  Waiting for a reply could prove to be an
interminable test of my patience.

As
it turned out, though, I didn’t even have time to get back to my lab that my
phone rang.  Breathless, I pulled it out.

It
was a number I didn’t recognize.  It had to be Bobby. I took a deep breath
before speaking.

“Hello.”

“Lilly.”

“Bobby. 
I can’t believe you got my message already.  Where are you?  Italy?  Spain?  England?”

“I
thought I’d never hear your voice again.”

“When
are you coming back?”

“You
look great, Lilly.”

“Bobby?” 
I spun around.  His voice hadn’t come through the phone, but directly from
behind me.

“Hey.”

My
heart burst and my eyes filled with tears.  My God, he looked so good.  His
skin had been kissed every day of the past weeks by the sun and his hair had
grown to where it now fell past his shoulders in thick, luxurious waves that
had also been kissed by the sun.  The pale highlights framed his face and his
eyes seemed more brilliant than ever.  Thick stubble covered his cheeks, but it
wasn’t quite the full beard of a man who hadn’t shaved in weeks and weeks.  Had
he been able to find a razor a few days earlier?

“You're
here.”  I wanted to run to him, to run my fingers through his hair and to kiss
his lips.

“I
didn’t want to just barge in, so I’ve been discreet.”

I
couldn’t help but notice how he made no move to come to me, no attempt to take
me into his arms.  “Discreet?”

“I
wanted you to know I was back, but didn’t think you’d really care.”

My
head must have been spinning, because I couldn’t quite follow him.  Why
discreet?  Why the strange and almost cold stance?

“But
seeing the message you just sent… well, I wanted to avoid that awkward run in
where we don’t know what to say to one another.”

As
opposed to now where I had no idea how to respond to his odd behavior.  He was
back, after weeks away, and he didn’t seem as excited and thrilled as I was.

“Bobby,”
I finally said.  “What’s going on?”

“I
went out and did what Monsieur Franchines told me to do; I grew up.  These past
months on my own, relying on myself, spending so much time with myself, I learned
what was really important to me.  I want to be a chef, Lilly, and not just some
chef, but a world renowned chef. I came back to the institute Monday and had a
meeting with Monsieur Franchines and told him of my journey, the physical and
emotional one.  He accepted me back.”

“You’ve
been back in class since Monday?”  It was Thursday.  He’d been in the very same
building where I worked for the past four days and he hadn’t…

I
took a step back as it struck me.

“Monsieur
Franchines made it very clear.  I can’t have any contact with you.  I wanted to
tell you personally instead of letting you find out from someone else.”

“But
you’ve been here for four days.  Why didn’t you…?”

“You
haven’t answered my calls since the day I left.  I thought it was over for you. 
I thought you wanted nothing to do with me, which, in fact, made things
easier.  If you didn’t want to have anything to do with me, I would have just
left it at that.  But, like I said, when I received your message a few minutes
ago…  I couldn’t just let you go on thinking anything more could happen between
us.”

He
could just as well have punched me in the nose.  In fact, the pain was so
intense, I wish he had struck me.  I had so many questions, so much I wanted to
say, but he didn’t give me a chance.

“I
gotta go.  Just being with you now is a risk, but…  Bye, Lilly.”

Chapter 3

L
ater that same day, only hours after he’d so
casually broken my heart, I spotted Bobby walking out of the institute with a
tall, thin blond wearing a minidress that showed off her super long limbs. 
Toned and tanned, they screamed for sexual attention and I was sure Bobby was
more than willing to oblige her.  He was smiling at her, a smile I’d let myself
believe was meant for only me.

It
hurt.  I couldn’t believe how badly it hurt.  I’d heard of heartache before,
had listened to the numerous songs that spoke of break ups, heart break and
even the bitterness that sometimes set in.

Was
that what was in store for me?  The pain would fester, anger would build
accompanied with resentment until I was a bitter woman who hated men?

The
sound of Bobby’s laughter crossed the parking lot to where I sat in my car,
unable to move, unable to drive away.  I just watched his every move, clung to
every pleasant and happy sound that came from him; and broke inside with every
passing second.

He
turned left, away from me, and casually wrapped his arm around the tall
blonde’s waist as he guided her toward his dorm.  Only when he disappeared
around the corner did I finally drive away.  It took every ounce of discipline
for me to have a bite of dinner when I got home.  The macaroni and cheese, one
I’d made the night before with a special blend of four cheeses, sat there in a
lump on my plate, but after four or five bites, I just stared at it as tears
filled my eyes and quickly blurred my vision.  They trickled down my cheek and
onto my uneaten dinner.

Was
this to be my life at the institute?  Watching Bobby fall in love with another
girl?

I
couldn’t let the pain take over.  I couldn’t let it destroy what I’d worked so
hard to build, but he made it almost impossible.

The
following week, he paraded around the institute with a pert brunette, a girl I
remembered from my class; Chantale.  She was smart, funny and sexy, in an
athletic way.  Every time I saw Bobby with her, I wanted to cry.  Every time I
saw him at all, I wanted to die.

Concentrating
all my efforts into a new cheese sauce I wanted to develop, I tried to push all
thoughts of Bobby aside.  The sauce was coming along.  Inspired by the macaroni
and cheese I’d prepared for myself the week before, the sauce would be easy to
use and delicious to eat, if only I could get it right.

I
had my four cheeses set out on the stainless steel counter in the lab.  Two had
already been shredded and I was in the process of shredding the third when I
heard a knock at the door.  Through the frosted window in the door I could see
that more than one person stood there waiting.

What
was it now?

Wiping
my hands on a towel, I headed to the door and opened it to find Gaetan and his
entire class.

“
Bonjour
,”
he said.  “I thought I’d let my class see how a food technician creates new
dishes.”  Beaming, he took a step inside before I could say anything.

His
class followed in, including Bobby.

My
heart pounded and I was sure my cheeks turned cherry red… and right in front of
an entire class of students.

“What
are you working on, Miss Cooke?” Gaetan asked.

Bobby
barely glanced at me as he shifted over to stand before his new flame,
Genevieve.  Standing behind most of the students, he reached for her hand and
let his fingers play through hers as she beamed at him.

Of
course she beamed at him.  Just look at him.  He’s everything every girl dreamed
of.  Good looking in a way that actually hurts, a sexy body that is neither too
muscular nor too gangly, and a smile that can at once light up a room and heat
up any woman’s libido.

What
was I thinking?  I had to get my act together and think of the task facing me;
enlightening these students to the at times tedious and solitary work of a food
technician.

But
damn, being so close to them, to this couple who simply shouldn’t be… it was
like starving to death while the person beside me ate to her satisfaction.

“Miss
Cooke?” Gaetan said.

“Yes…
Oui
, this is a four cheese sauce.  My main goal is to make a savory,
gourmet cheese sauce that will turn every day, ordinary macaroni and cheese
into a gastronomical experience for the person who doesn’t have time, or the
inclination to make their own sauce.”

“Interesting. 
And what cheeses are you using?”

I
really wasn’t eager to give away my secrets, but they were right there on the
table.

“I
see you have some swiss here.”

“Yes.”

“And
is this provolone?”

“I
would have thought a good strong cheddar would be better,” a student said.

“I
remember a sauce I ate once that was made with gouda.  I think there may have
been some blue cheese, too.”

“Interesting,”
I said.

“How
long have you been working on this?”  The young female student stood directly
in front of Bobby and my eye went straight to him.

“This
particular sauce has been brewing in my head for a month or two and I actually
started testing various ingredients last week.”

Aside
from a quick glance my way, Bobby concentrated on Genevieve.

When
would this hell end?

“Could
we taste test your sauce?” a student dared ask.

“Yeah,
we’d be the perfect guinea pig,” another one added.

“I’m
not quite at the taste testing stage yet.”

I
wondered if Monsieur Franchines was aware of this little visit.  My sauces were
usually kept pretty hush hush.

“I’ve
really enjoyed having you visit my laboratory, but I really need to get back to
work now.  Perhaps you could continue your visit at the institute’s pantry. 
It’s quite impressive.”

Gaetan
made a funny face, one that seemed to indicate he wasn’t impressed with the
suggestion.  Or maybe he was a little miffed that I was trying to cut his visit
short.

“All
right, class.  Let’s leave Miss Cooke to her creation.”

The
class slowly filed out, but Genevieve seemed particularly interested in the
variety of tools and cooking implements I had at the far end of the stainless
steel counter.  Bobby stood at her side, explaining something or other.  She
seemed intent on his every word and even leaned into him with a light giggle
when he finished.

By
that time, the entire class was gone.  I stood there, in my lab, practically my
haven in this heartbreaking institute, watching the man I loved, the man I’d
lost my teaching position for, while he giggled and flirted with a pretty
student.

In
their own little bubble, it took them a while to realize they were the only
ones left.  I could have said something.  Maybe I should have, but I couldn’t. 
I had no voice.  My throat was clamped up, my mouth was dry and my lips refused
to function.

Still
in their bubble, they walked past me… as if I wasn’t there at all.

How
could he be so heartless?  How could he be so callous?

So
insensitive?

Was
he really the man I’d fallen in love with?  This man who would parade one
conquest after another in front of the woman who’d risked so much for him?

With
each passing week, that very same question continued to haunt me.  Every week
it was another girl, another conquest.  Veronique, the short, but slim
brunette, then Manon, the tall redhead with large breasts, and then Marie-Pier,
the sandy haired girl with a vivacious personality, sexy body and a face that
had everyone wondering why she wasn’t a model.

Really? 
Could this get any worse?

I
was usually good at keeping my cool, good at controlling my emotions.  It’s
what the convent had taught me, though I’ll admit I’d always been a quiet and
compliant child to begin with.

But
when I ran into Bobby at the very market I’d brought him to on our first tour
of the city, any hold I’d had on my emotions simply wilted away.

“I
hope you're happy,” I snapped as he fondled a large tomato.

Startled
he turned to me.  “Lilly.  Fancy meeting you here.”

“I
don’t see why you're so surprised.  I brought you here when I mentored you, and
I even told you how I loved this place.”

“Right,
but…”  He shrugged.  “It’s a big market.  I didn’t really expect to see you
here.”

“Are
you enjoying your time at the institute?  Rubbing it in a bit?”

He
frowned.  “Rubbing it in?  Rubbing what in?”

“I
never thought you’d be a spiteful man, Bobby.  I would have never thought you
could be so brutally vengeful.”

“Lilly,
I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Don’t
you?  You resent the fact that I had to put an end to our relationship and now
you’re flaunting every single conquest, parading them in front of me just to
rub my nose in it.  Well, I hope it makes you happy, Bobby.  I hope you feel
fulfilled for hurting me every chance you get.”

He
shook his head and reached out, as if to set his hand on my shoulder, but he
quickly pulled it back, shook his head again then turned away leaving his
tomato behind.

I
stared at him.

Just
like that.  I’d opened my heart to him, admitted how hurt I felt, and he’d just
turned and walked away.

What
had I expected?

An
explanation?  A reason?  An apology?

A
promise that it would never happen again?  An invitation to be with him again?

What’s
happening to me, I asked myself as I walked as quickly as I could out of the
market and headed home.

I
wanted to be alone.

I
needed a good cry.

Chapter 4

T
he time had come.  Over the past weeks the
need to return to the convent had become increasingly urgent.  I could barely
think straight at the institute.  Bobby’s continual need to charm, flirt, and
date every girl who’d have him came too close to driving me nuts.  There’d been
days when I’d struggled to get out of bed, kicked myself all the way to the
institute and pounded every ounce of energy into getting my work done.