INFERNO (The HEAT Series Book 4) (8 page)

Six Months Later

"Firi," he repeats it back to me. "I love it, Chef. It's perfect."

It is perfect. It's the name of the bistro that I'm going to open in the location where my dad had his first restaurant more than thirty years ago.

The name was an absolute no-brainer. I'm doing it to honor my father. He's become my mentor and my sounding board. Every day I stop by his place to go over my plans for the morning show. He sets me straight when I veer off the course I set for myself and he encourages me when I want to experiment with a new product or taste. He's even been to the set a few times since he started to walk again. He uses a cane but it hasn't slowed him at all.

Pamela tells him it's sexy. She's all over him every time she sees him. He doesn’t mind. He tells me he wants to love again and he will, in time. For now, healing and helping are his top priorities.

"It's the perfect name for something else too," Tyler continues. "I know you wanted a more traditional name for our tiny Chef but Firi Monroe? Think about it. How completely bad ass is that?"

I rub the tiny bump under my dress. "You want to name tiny Chef Firi?"

"Don’t cry." He tries to halt my emotions with a kiss. "You said I could choose and that's the name I want. Sergio is going to flip his shit over it. You know that he will."

I know that without a doubt. Since I told my dad I was pregnant, he's spent hours planning a nursery for his condo. He missed out on all of that with me so even though I know our baby will only sleep there for a few hours at most, when Tyler and I visit, I can't take it away from him.

"We should tell him at the wedding." I rest my hands on Tyler's shoulders. "We can announce it together right after the ceremony."

"I like that." He glances at the door of our apartment. "I thought Sophia was coming by today to talk wedding plans. Where is she?"

"She met someone last night on the subway." I wink. "She's seeing him for lunch today."

"A new guy?" He cocks a brow. "What's his name?"

"Nick." I shrug. "Nicholas, maybe. It's something like that."

"She deserves to be as happy as we are." He glides his hands over my back. "I want that for her."

"Me too." I do want that. I see Sophia almost every day and even though we still talk all the time, it's not the same as it was when I lived with her.

She's still living back at my apartment, trying to find yet another new roommate. Her time is devoted to her designs. Her new focus is maternity clothes for me. She's determined to keep me comfortable and looking incredible as my belly swells. Her work has only gotten better. She's on the brink of big things. I know she is.

"I got you an engagement gift." Tyler moves around me. "I think you'll love it."

"Doesn't this count as the engagement gift?" I wave my left hand in the air, the exquisite solitaire dancing in the sunlight streaming in through the window.

It was the perfect ring given to me by the most amazing man. Our engagement was beautiful. Tyler had dropped to one knee after we'd made love the night before we found out I was pregnant. He whispered words about loving me for eternity and needing me as much as the air he breathes. I'd fallen to my knees too and as he slid the ring on my finger, I knew that our life together was already growing inside of me. I didn't tell him until the next day when my doctor confirmed that I was having a baby.

"No." He calls over his shoulder as he picks up a rectangular item covered in silver wrapping paper. "This is the actual gift."

"I have something for you too," I confess. "It's in my purse."

"Open mine first." He rests the gift on the dining room table. "I hope you like it, my love."

I know that I will. I rip the edge of the paper and immediately see the edge of a dark wooden frame. I pull more of the paper aside until Tyler dives in to help.

To each yesterday and every tomorrow. Tyler xoxo

I stare at his handwriting on the back of the frame. "Isn't this word-for-word what I wrote on the back of that frame I got you for your birthday?"

"No." He shakes his head with a grin. "It's close but not exact."

I arch a brow. "I'm nervous."

"Flip it over," as he says the words he grabs the heavy frame in his hands, turning it easily.

I stare down at it. It's three images.

The image on the left is me dressed in a chef's jacket at old Nova. I'm smiling at Tyler, a wide grin on my face as he looks at me.

The center image is of me on the set of Rise and Shine. It's my first segment. I look relaxed and at ease. I know from the angle the image was taken that I'm looking at Tyler. He was there, behind the second camera, offering me unconditional love and support.

The third image is the one that brings tears to my eyes. It was taken only a week ago inside the building that will become Firi. I'm standing between my dad and Tyler, my gaze up at the man I'm going to marry in just two weeks. He's happy, almost as happy as my dad who has his arm wrapped around my shoulder.

"It's beautiful, Chef." I can't take my eyes off of it. It's thoughtful and touching. It's as perfect as the man who gave it to me.

"Can I have my gift now?"

I glance at him. "My gift isn't as good as this."

"You are my gift." He lightly touches my belly as he kisses me softly. "Anything else you give to me is icing on the cake."

I reach for my purse on the table and pull out the neatly wrapped gift. I hand it to him tentatively. "I love you, Tyler. Our life is only beginning but I know that I'm the luckiest girl in the world."

He doesn’t hesitate as he pulls the silver paper back from the gift. He groans the moment he sees what it is. "Cadence, no. I told you to keep this. I don't want it back."

I skim my tongue over my bottom lip. "Press the power button, Chef."

He does. He rests his thumb against the power button of the tablet in his hands. "I gave you this to keep. It was important to me that you have it. You know why. I can look at those recipes whenever I want."

"You can look at Firi whenever you want too." I nod toward the screen. "That is your baby boy's first picture and that tablet doesn't have any recipes on it. That one is for us, for our memories and our photographs and our messages to our little boy."

He swipes his finger over the screen and an image of my sonogram pops into view. "This is him? When did you get this picture?"

"They emailed it to me after our appointment." I touch the screen to close the picture. "This is our tiny Chef's tablet. I set it up last night. Starting today, we're going to save things on here just for him. Notes we write to him and pictures we take. We're going to keep doing that once he's born and until he's old enough to understand it all."

"You're going to be the best mom, Cadence. Our son is lucky to have you."

"I'm the lucky one, Chef. I get to have a life with the man I love." I glide my lips over his. "I get to be your wife for the rest of my life."

Dear Readers;

As we enter the summer months I have a few surprises up my sleeve.

The first is a
thank-you gift to all of you
. This summer I'm going to share a special sneak peek at a book set to arrive this fall.

If you'd like to be the first to receive the free preview, please sign up for my newsletter as it will be sent exclusively to those on my subscriber list.

You can sign up here:

Click here to subscribe now!

I have another major surprise that I'll be sharing with newsletter subscribers very soon.

Thank you for all of your continued support. This wouldn’t be possible without you and I cannot wait to show you my appreciation.

xo

Thank you for purchasing and downloading my book. I can’t even begin to put to words what it means to me. If you enjoyed it, please remember to write a review for it. Let me know your thoughts! I want to keep my readers happy.

For more information on new series and standalones, please visit my website,
www.deborahbladon.com
. There are book trailers and other goodies to check out.

If you want to chat with me personally, please LIKE my page on Facebook. I love connecting with all of my readers because without you, none of this would be possible.
www.facebook.com/authordeborahbladon

Thank you, for everything.

A Two Part Novel Series Featuring Nicholas Wolf

"Do you like it? Some people have said it's too long. It's actually quite thick when you're holding it in your hands, isn't it?" The tone is low and throaty, emanating somewhere from my right.

Such is the conversation on subway trains in New York City. You'd think I'd be oblivious to it all by now. Most of those who have lived here for decades have an innate ability to silence the staccato sounds of voices, traffic, and the underlying hum that is constantly hanging in the air in Manhattan.

For those of us who are considered fresh transplants, the timbres of the city are still part of its irrefutable charm. I never thought I'd get accustomed to the constant buzz of the traffic when I closed my eyes to sleep each night but now it's the lull that helps me drift off. I've only been here two years but I know that I'd long for the frenzied energy of this place if I ever decided to move back home to Florida.

"I'd like your honest opinion." I feel the slight pressure of a strong shoulder rub against mine. "Chapter seven is my personal favorite. Have you gotten that far yet?"

I glance down at the thick book resting on my lap. I know, without a doubt now, that he's talking to me. I've already had two, one-sided, conversations today about the book. One was with a woman waiting in line at the dry cleaners. The other was just fifteen minutes ago with the man who runs the bodega by my office. In both cases, I just smiled, nodded and listened to them rattle on about the awe inspiring detective novel I'm lugging around Manhattan with me.

"I haven't," I say quietly without looking at him.

No eye contact will make it easier for me to ignore him if he persists. I'm not a rude person but I do know how to protect myself with a perimeter of ignorance. Men give up easily if you pretend they don't exist. Most men do, that is. This one doesn’t seem to be taking the hint.

"Have far are you?" A large hand brushes against my skirt. "You at least got past the first chapter, right?"

Physical touching is a no-no. I scoot more to my left, trying to gain even a few more inches in distance from him. This train is bursting at capacity with commuters. Part of that is the time of day and the other is the route.

It's early evening and I'm headed for Times Square, one of the few places in the city I'd be happy never seeing again. It's too much for me. There are too many people, too much noise, the smells overwhelming and the energy frenetic.

"I'm not trying to accost you." He laughs. It's a sexy growl and a few women actually turn to see the source. Judging by the way they linger when they look at him, he's not hard on the eyes.

"I'm just trying to get to a book signing," I confess, hoping he'll leave me alone if I tell him, politely, that I'm not looking to hook up. "I need to get this signed for my boss. It's a gift from his wife."
              "You're hoping to meet the author? Nicholas Wolf? I heard the line for the signing was around the block already. People have been waiting all afternoon to meet him."

"Shit." I finally turn to look at his face. "You're not serious, are you?"

He's as good looking as I imagined him to be based on his voice. Seriously hot. Like seriously, I will give this man my number if he asks me for it, hot.

Black hair, blue eyes, and just the right amount of stubble on his face are the appetizer. His perfect teeth, rugged jaw and his lips, oh those lips, are the main course.  He's wearing a wool coat and jeans so who knows what dessert is, but it would be delicious. I know it would be so delicious.

"I'm serious," he says. "If you get in line now, the store is going to close before you'll get that book signed for your boss."

I roll my eyes. "I don't get the appeal. I have no idea why Gabriel likes it so much. He told me to read it so I read the first chapter and…" I point my thumb towards the floor.

"Thumbs down?" He cocks a dark winged brow. "You didn't like it?"

"It's too wordy. I was too bored to finish it."

He stares at the book before he speaks again. "I take it Gabriel is your boss? You're getting it signed for him?"

I nod sharply.

"Give it to me. I'd like to show you something."

It's not my book and since we're moving at breakneck speed inside a subway car, it's not as though he can grab it and run. I slide it from my lap to his.

"What's your name?" he asks as his hand dives into a leather bag sitting on the floor at his feet.

I watch his every movement. "Sophia. My name is Sophia. What's your name?"

He pulls a silver pen from out of the bag and before I can protest, he opens the cover of the book and starts writing.

Well, shit. I bet it's his number. I'm not going to stop him. I'll just buy another book for Mr. Foster and keep this one for me.

He closes the cover of the book, slides the pen back into his bag and turns to look at me.
              "My name is Nicholas. Nicholas Wolf."

Coming Soon