When Dreams Come to Life (11 page)

“It’s surprising, but yes, it is! That’s a silly question, really.” I grab his face and kiss him, and we continue walking. I take him up to a great spot to watch the sunset and it’s perfect. I have no words and by his silence, he doesn’t either.

Before it gets too dark, we head back to the hotel, stopping to get a couple bottles of wine. When we get to
the room, I let him order our dinner while I get cozy. I decide to stay in the shirt, and only the shirt.

He comes into the room and begins to undress. I lay back on the bed to enjoy the show.

“Should I get the dollar bills out?” I toy.

“You want a show, huh? I can give you something even better than a show, baby.” He flings his shirt around and throws it my way.

“Woo! Take it all off!” We both laugh and he walks over to me with
that
look on his face, bending down to kiss me.

“I’m going to make you wait this time,” he says, giving me a swift kiss, before going to the room and coming back out dressed in some linen pants. Fuck me, I love those! I can see him through the pants and it takes all my control not to jump him.

We sit on the floor together to enjoy our dinner and wine, the fire blazing. The glow on his skin is amazing, making him look even more sensual.

“I’ve got to leave really early tomorrow,” he starts. This is so lame. I wish he could stay. “But I want to make sure we’re set for Georgia.”

“I‘ll have to let you know for sure in the next couple of days. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is. We can stay at my house there, too, so that’s a plus.” Oh, yes! I forgot he has a home there.

“Perfect! Won’t we have to worry about crazed fans, though?” I ask.

“There’re always fans around but it’s the paparazzi that are the worst, so no walking around
naked… Wait! Yes, walking around naked, just not near windows.” He laughs, as do I.

“I think I can handle it. If they try to bug me, they’ll have problems.” I give him my
I will smack a reporter
look. He laughs and tells me we’ll be okay.

We finish up and just sit watching the fire, talking about numerous things. Mainly, we talk about what he has planned for when I come and see him.

As we finish our fifth glass of wine, he turns to me… just looking at me.

“I’m going to take you to bed and make love to you.” He gives me that carnal look again and all I can muster is a nod.

With that, he swoops me up, making me giggle. He stands there for a minute and we just stare into each other’s eyes. I feel my heart rate jump and he slowly walks to the bed, setting me down gently. He pulls his shirt off me.

“I want you to keep this so that way, I know I’ll see you again.”
Seriously, baby? Nothing could keep me away unless you didn’t want this.

“I’m not going anywhere! I’m yours ‘til you’re done with me.”

“I don’t think that is going to happen. You’re a keeper.”

I let out a huge breath as he takes his pants off and I can’t help but lick my lips. He climbs on me and touches me in all the right places, caressing me, kissing me and just making me fucking hot. I’ve never felt this when with any man but him.

He’s straight making love to me and I’m in bliss. When we finish, he curls up with me.

“I’m going to miss my green-eyed girl,” he murmurs, kissing my neck. I feel his comment deep inside…
Is he seriously falling in love with me?
I shiver at the thought.

“I’m going to miss you, too. We’ll see each other soon, though.”

“I’m not letting you go ‘til I leave in the morning, baby,” he says, squeezing me even tighter than before.

“I won’t move from this spot. Make sure you say goodbye before you go,” I say, trying to pull his arms closer to me than they already are.

“Oh, I’m not leaving here without waking you.” We lay there and his breathing in my ear lulls me to sleep.

Eight

I WAKE IN the morning to a note and two deep red roses on his pillow. I frown. He promised to wake me! I open the note and it says,

Just in case you don’t remember that kiss this morning. I wrote this to tell you I had the most amazing weekend with you. I’m waiting for the day you’re in Georgia with me. I can’t wait to make love to you, kiss you, and look into those beautiful eyes again, baby.

Xoxoxo, Eoin

I start my day with a huge smile. I can’t stop thinking about his note. My head is a whirlwind of emotions. I can’t believe I’m this lucky to have a dream of mine come true and the thought is almost overwhelming.

As I begin to pack my things, a text chimes in from Crystal.

* Chris is amazing! Hurry up and get to Boulder. *

I text her back.

* On my way. *

I look at the time and notice I’m going to be late for work so I rush out of the hotel and get in my car. I call the restaurant and Jessie says he has everything in order for the day. What a relief! I quickly stop at my house to drop my things off and change.

I’m only an hour late and the lunch service has just started to get busy. I hustle into the kitchen and get to work.

Not even half an hour later, everything’s falling apart in the kitchen. I’m all over the place and have had two dishes come back.
What
the fuck, Lea? Get it together!

I feel my irritation level hitting maximum and decide to take my time in the walk-in cooler to collect
my thoughts. My head is planted on the door when my phone goes off.

I look at it in irritation – Eoin is calling me. I let the voicemail get it with a major frown as I’ve got to get back into the kitchen. I walk out it and it goes off again, only with a text this time.

* Making magic in the kitchen, no doubt. Miss you. Just wanted to say hi to my beautiful girl. *

Oh, Eoin!
I’ve got a huge smile but Jessie ruins the moment by opening his damn mouth.

“Get that smile off your face, chef. We’re backed up bad. Help us!” he pleads.

“Watch it, Jessie! I’m on my way. Now, get the fuck out of my way and let me rock this out like
you
should be!” I bark, visibly irritated he had the balls to talk to me that way.

He does have a point - Eoin is clouding my judgment - but this is
my
damn kitchen and I’ll do what I please. I begin to knock orders out like a mad woman and look over at Jessie and snicker.

“Does this look hard to you, Jessie? I seem to be able to handle the pressure. You ever talk to me like that in my kitchen again and you’ll have major problems!” I almost feel bad but fuck! He needs to get his ass in gear and his shit together.

“Sorry, chef,” he replies, his head low. I realize I’ve been a dick and decide to have a talk with him after we slow down.

Finishing up lunch, we all feel the tension in the room. This isn’t the atmosphere I ever wanted in my kitchen so I pull them all to my office. This will suck, no doubt!

“Okay, from right to left, air the issues you have. We need to get it out and get over it. I apologize to you all for the recent celebrity attention but I can’t exactly avoid it. Let’s get back to team status. Go!” I point to Jessie and I see him go pale.

“I think I speak for us all here. You need to be the one to get your head back in the game, chef.” I look at the five of them and they are nodding.
Shit!
I run my hand into my ponytail and give it a small tug. I got myself into this.

“Okay, so obviously, no more needs to be said.” I give myself a second to think about my approach. “Jessie, I’ll be leaving you in charge of the whole restaurant for a week, with no help from me at all.” I glare at him. “You’ll run this restaurant completely, but here’s the catch.”

I make sure he’s paying attention, and of course he is, his chest puffed out… arrogant. “You fuck my restaurant up,” I say as I glare at him inching a bit closer, “and you’re done here. You want to shine? Prove it to me and the team.”

“Done. Thank you for this opportunity, chef.” Looking around, I see the smirks. They know this will be a challenge for him.

“I’ve got to go to Georgia in a few days. I trust you’ll all do your job and support Chef Jessie as he sees fit.”

They all agree, so I dismiss them to have a much needed breather. I grab my phone and text Eoin back.

* Just really busy. I’ll call you when I get home. Miss you lots. *

Almost instantly, I get a reply.

* I look forward to it. I’m busy, too but not later. Miss you so much, gorgeous. *

I beam at that response. He’s so beautiful! I finish the afternoon and evening in a great mood, and everything goes well. I lock up and head home.

I’m greeted with my paw family, silly animals. After my shower, I lay on the couch and hit send to call Eoin. No answer. My heart sinks so I turn the TV on, just to help distract me.

I find a good movie on and begin to drift off, only to be startled by my vibrating phone. I can’t even get in a hello before he starts talking.

“Hi! I miss you!” he says and I hear his smile. I just can’t help but be enthralled by his hello.

“Hey, you. How was your day?”

“Do you miss me, baby?” I pout at his tone.

“Of course I do! I’m sorry, I’ve just had a bad day ‘til now.”

“What’s wrong? I hope I haven’t caused any problems for you.”

“Not at all. How was your day?” I repeat again, avoiding the conversation.

“I don’t believe you. What happened?” His tone screams concern so I decide to go through the short version of my day. As I finish, there’s a knock at the door.

“One second, Eoin, someone’s knocking.” It’s Crystal. I motion for her to come inside and have a seat while I finish my conversation with Eoin.

“Sorry, Crystal just came by.”

“It’s okay. Should I let you go?” he asks.

“No, we can talk. I just had an altercation with my sous chef earlier. And before you ask, yes, I took care of it. How are you?” I ask, again avoiding any further discussion.

“My day was long but very good. I miss you so much! Have you started to make arrangements to come out here yet?”

“I sure did. Jessie knows he’ll be in charge of everything. I’ll make out a list tomorrow for him. He’s on thin ice so this is his test.” I grin at that thought. Little shit wants to act like he’s better than me! Let’s find out.

We finish up our talk and he ends the call with, “So ready to hold you.” I could just eat my phone! I laugh and tell him good night.

I hang up, having totally forgotten I have company until Crystal abruptly yells out, “Dude! I fucking hate you!” She laughs.

“I’m in complete shock at all of this, believe me,” I reply. “Never in a million years did I think I could ever be this lucky!” I shake my head in disbelief.

“You have to tell me how the fuck you pulled this off! I mean, how the hell did it go down?” She has this look that makes me laugh out loud.

I begin to tell her the whole story and she just sits there with her jaw dropped, listening intently.

“You’re such a lucky bitch! Where do you see this going?” That’s a damn good question. I sit silently, thinking for a moment.

“I’ve really got no clue but this is just fine with me for right now.”

“He’s famous and super hot. You really think he’s being serious when he says he misses you and wants you out there?”

“Why the fuck would he say it otherwise, though? I mean, he could’ve just dropped me after the convention, but instead he chose to show up at the restaurant! It’s all a dream, really! A dream come to life and I’m speechless! He’s even more wonderful than I could have ever imagined and it’s… I really just have no words, Crystal.” I do a little dance in my seat as I say this.

She starts to dance with me and we begin to laugh so hard, we cry.

“Oh, my God, dude! I’m going to piss! How are things at home?” I need to catch up with her, home wise. I can tell by what she’s saying that things are good but not at the same time, which makes me sad. She’s happy but misses home. I miss her here, too. We had so much fun! I walk over to the cabinet and grab the Jäger.

Holding it up, I say, “Ready to get lit?” I laugh and she gets up and pours shots.

We knock them back and put some music on and begin to act like total fools, laughing, dancing and just getting straight crazy!

We do shots in between songs, plus take never-ending pee breaks. A familiar song comes on. I can’t believe I still have it on my phone! It’s from one of the Austin Powers’ movies. We start to do the dance, and of course, we know all the words...