All For You Read Online Free Page B

her shoulder and met his eyes. Something sparked between them, and she felt a surge of hope.
    When they got to the barstool, he gave her a look she wanted to interpret as smoldering and waved the bartender over. He leaned close to her and said softly, “I’ll come back, Anna.”
    Shivering from the caress of his breath on her skin, she watched him walk away. He looked delicious, even in the short chef’s coat. That ass used to be hers. Why hadn’t she done a better job keeping it?
    The bartender walked over and flashed her a smile. “What can I get you to drink?”
    “A glass of wine is fine. Red, please.”
    “You’re a friend of Max’s?” the bartender asked as he chose a bottle from the selection in front of him.
    “An old friend.”
    “Then you must be as sad as we are about the news.” He set a cocktail napkin in front of her and placed the glass of wine on it, sliding it toward her.
    Frowning, she picked up the glass. “The news?”
    “About Max leaving to start his restaurant in New York.” The bartender shook his head. “Lucky bastard, but we’re all bummed he’s leaving. He’s the only sane chef I’ve ever worked with.”
    Anna set the wine glass back down abruptly. “New York.”
    “Yeah.” The guy frowned. “You didn’t know?”
    “No, I did,” she lied quickly, shaking her head. “I’d blocked it from my mind. I can’t believe he’d go to New York.”
    “Apparently the deal is too good. What chef wouldn’t want to be bankrolled in his own restaurant?”
    “Really.” She gripped the stem of her glass. Max was leaving for New York? But he’d lived in New York before he’d moved to San Francisco, and he’d sworn he didn’t want to move back.
    She slumped in her seat, pondering this new dilemma. She had to make him realize what he’d lost, too, when they’d broken up. He wanted her , not some job in New York. They were forever—she just had to show him.
    Something made her look up, and she saw Max stride across the room, headed for the bar. Her heart skipped a beat, seeing him out of his chef’s smock, in a shirt with the long sleeves rolled up. He poured himself a glass of wine and then came around the counter to join her.
    “You’re moving to New York?” she couldn’t help asking the second he sat down.
    He angled himself to face her. “The restaurant business doesn’t keep secrets.”
    “But you can.”
    “I didn’t realize you cared.” He searched her eyes, his legs bracketing hers. “We hadn’t talked in years, Anna.”
    That was no excuse. “So when do you leave?”
    “Right after your party.” He lifted his glass. “ Salud .”
    “No!”
    “No?” he asked, frowning quizzically.
    No , because it didn’t give her much time to show him they should be together. She toasted him without enthusiasm. “I thought you hated New York. I didn’t know you wanted to go back to open a fancy restaurant.”
    He shrugged. “I don’t want to, but the restaurant group made me a deal I couldn’t refuse. I get carte blanche to open my own restaurant, whatever concept I choose. My decor, my staff. It’s a once in a lifetime offer for a chef.”
    She perked up. “You’re listing the reasons to do this as if you’re trying to convince yourself.”
    “I thought I left New York behind.” He smiled ruefully. “It’s not what I’d pictured myself doing.”
    “If you could do anything, what would it be?”
    “Teach,” he said without hesitation.
    Anna blinked, not expecting that answer. “Really? You never told me that before.”
    “I hadn’t realized it until recently, but I find it satisfying.”
    This she could work with. She nodded, thinking fast. “Have you tried to get a position at a culinary academy?”
    “Teaching jobs don’t come around every day. In any case, I’m not sure teaching at an academy would be what I think it is.” His expression softened. “I remember learning in my mother’s kitchen and think I’d like to replicate something