Page 44 of Flirting with Trouble

“It’s not that. You’re too well spoken. You’re not rough around the edges.”

“I can fix that.” I do my best Rambo imitation. “Yo, Victory, you’re looking hot. You wanna come over here and take off them clothes?”

She laughs. “I don’t remember Stallone saying that in the movie.”

“I had to improvise. What else ya got? The Matrix? The Godfather?”

“They’re good, but they’re not my favorites. I love Silence of the Lambs.”

“So you’re into tough guys and wearing human skin,” I tease. “I don’t think that makes you weird, but it might make you creepy.”

“Shut up. I’m not telling you anything else until you give me something back.”

I’m tempted to say, I’ll give you something, and get dirty with her, but now that we’re lying on beds, I don’t want her to think that’s the only reason I’ve spent this time with her. “I already told you my favorite color is blue, and my favorite foods are lobster and you.”

She rolls her eyes.

“And you made fun of my movie choices, so I’m not telling you any more favorites.”

“I didn’t make fun of them,” she insists. “I merely said it’s not often you hear about guys liking Legally Blonde and The Proposal.”

“Hey, Reese and Sandra are badass babes in those movies.”

“I agree. It’s okay. I don’t need to know more of your favorites. I’m more curious about why you went into the restaurant business.”

How I got my start in the business is tangled up in family history, and I don’t want to weigh her down with that, so I go for an off-the-cuff answer. “It happened the same way I do everything in my life. On a whim.”

“As much as you seem like a guy who could live life on a whim, I’ve seen you at the restaurant schmoozing with customers, and I heard the pride in your voice when you reminded me that you own the hottest restaurant on the island. I feel like it had to be purposeful.”

“You’ve got me all figured out. It’s all I wanted to do since I was a little kid.”

“I love that. But why?”

“Because of my friend Abby’s father, Olivier DeMessiéres. Their family owns the Bistro that Abby runs on the island, and her father ran it when I was young.”

“I met Abby and her sisters at the wedding. It was one of the small-world moments. I’ve known her husband, Aiden, for years through the industry. He manages his sister Remi’s acting career. He’s a great guy.”

“Yeah, he’s a good egg.”

“What was it about Olivier that made you want to own a restaurant?”

“Everything. He was the coolest guy, laid-back and earthy. He came from France with nothing more than a backpack full of money and a dream and made the Bistro a place where everyone felt like family. And he was always happy. You could tell how much he loved what he did.”

“Paint me a picture so I can imagine him.”

I love that that’s becoming our thing. “He had long white hair and a scraggly beard, and he spoke with a thick French accent. Every morning he’d drink coffee and read the newspaper on the patio of the restaurant, which is right on the beach not far from the Silver House. Sometimes he’d set up an easel and paint. When I was a kid, I’d ride my bike down there just to be around him.”

“I bet he enjoyed that.”

“I think he did. When the restaurant was open, he’d take breaks from cooking to walk around and talk with customers. He’d sit right down at their tables and chat with them. It didn’t matter if they were tourists or locals. Everyone loved him, and the way he loved his family and the people around him was everything. I wanted to be him when I grew up. I wanted to create a place where people wanted to bring their friends and family, and I wanted to help make people as happy as he did and connect with them in a memorable way.”

“Well, you definitely have a knack for making people feel special and included. I think as far as business goes, we have that in common. I try to make an appearance in every department every week, just to touch base and say good morning. I never want anyone who works for the company to feel like they’re just a number.”

“That’s exactly why I do it. It’s that extra connection.”

“I get it. But your parents own a resort,” she says carefully. “When my family stayed there, we saw your parents at the resort often and they were friendly. Didn’t they make people feel welcome back then?”

“Sure, but it was different. My old man was running a whole resort, managing dozens of staff.”