Cockney: A Stepbrother Romance (31 page)

Six Months Later:

It’s a Saturday night, and
Ella
is an absolute madhouse. We’ve got an entirely full book, a waiting list four fucking hours long, and people are
still
walking in and willing to wait five hours for a damn table.

A Michelin star within four months of opening up has a way of doing that.  

But, yeah, success does mean
work,
and we’re fucking working like a crazy back in the kitchen to get orders out.

“Oy, special request, chef.” 

I glance up from the
pile
of tickets in front of me as Ian walks into the kitchen.

Yes, Ian. Of course I brought Ian, he’s the best Maître d' in the damn city. 

I also brought Marco. I allowed him all of
one
night to give me shit about Chloe, and then be done with it. Actually, I had to
force
him to make some jokes, he was honestly just too apologetic about hitting on her all those times.

“Mate, you didn’t know.”

“Yeah, but I should have.”

“What, should’ve know I was banging my stepsister?”

“Oy, you’re a bit crude, bruv. You ought to work on that you know.”

I glare at Ian, “So what’s this special request?”

He pulls a neutral face.

“What?
”

Ian coughs uncomfortably, “They, uh, they want you to come out to the table.”

I stare at him, “You’re serious?”

He nods, “
Yes.
”

“What is this, Beni-fucking-hana?!” I roar. “Are we in Epcot fucking center, Ian?” He just shrugs at me as I go on my little tirade. “No I’m not fucking going out to the fucking table-”

“It’s a VIP table, Ollie.”

“I don’t care if it’s the fucking Queen Mum, Ian;
fuck ‘em
.”

“
Oliver-
” His voice is tense, and suddenly I’m frowning and listening, “It’s a
real
VIP.”

There’s something about the tightness in his voice that suddenly gives me pause, and my brow shoots up, “Oh?”

“Yes,” he says, shooting me a stern look. “Best behavior, Ollie.”

I turn and exchange look with Marco, who shrugs, “I got the line, mate.”

I look back and point a finger at Ian, “This better
actually
be
the Queen Mum at this point.”

I walk out from behind the line and follow him back into the dining room, and then suddenly, the floor just drops out from under me.

It’s Chloe.

Chloe sitting alone at the table with a single red rose in a small vase in front of her.

She doesn’t stand when she sees me, she just grins as I walk through the dining room, past hushed
‘oh, that’s chef Beckett!’
conversations, darting looks, and even one fucking idiot with his phone out taking a picture.

“So,” she says as I come to a stop in front of her table, crossing my arms over my chest, “What’s good here?”

I arch an eyebrow at her. She’s playing it cool, pretending to look over the menu.

Pretending there’s absolutely nothing strange about the fact that she’s sitting in my fucking restaurant, in London-bloody-England six months after she ran out of my life back to the States.

“Hmm…” She furrows her brow and taps the menu, “Noticeable lack of cucumber salad I see.”

I smirk, and she looks up quickly, biting her lip.

“Where’ve you been, Chloe?”

“Hiding.”

I don’t say anything.

“Oliver-”

“You know, it was pretty cold to run out like that,” I narrow my eyes at her. “I’ve gotta say, being on the receiving end of that for once sucks a bit.”

Chloe looks at me plaintively before she looks around, “You’re sort of the toast of the town, you know.”

“That’s what they tell me.”

“And a Michelin star too, huh?”

“Yeah it’s amazing what I could get done without that annoying pastry cook holding me back always trying to get in my pants.”

She shoots me a glare and I grin, “I missed you, you know,” I say quietly. I’m acutely aware that most of the dining room is still trying to figure out what I’m doing out here amongst the mortals, talking to this random American girl sitting alone with a rose.

“I missed you too, and…” She looks down, toying with her fingers before she looks up at me, those big brown eyes of hers looking right into mine. “Oliver, I’m so sorry for-”

“Leaving?”

“I was going to say ‘being a coward, and an idiot’, but yeah, that too.”

I clear my throat and lean down closer to whisper to her, “Could you speak up a bit for the shit-head with the camera back there?” I say quietly, winking at her.

“I said I’m sorry for being a coward and an idiot!” Her voice
thunders
across the dining room, silencing everyone. Forks clatter to plates, conversations stops, faces turn our way.

“Uh, Chloe-” 

I look at her like she’s crazy, and I start to sit but she shakes her head and holds her hand out, “No, wait, don’t sit.”

“What?”

She looks at me, her eyes wide, and her bottom lip sucked between her teeth. “Don’t sit, I have to ask you something first.”

I frown and I’m about to damn well sit anyways and ask her what the hell she’s doing here and why she’s acting so mental when suddenly she’s getting out of her seat and onto the floor.

“Chloe!” I hiss, “Seriously, are you drunk? This is fucking ridicu-”

“Oliver Beckett?” And suddenly, there’s a box in her hand.

A box with a ring inside of it.

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

Chloe looks up at me, her chest rising and falling and a blush creeping across her cheeks, “Will you marry me?”

I don’t remember anything past that except the applause; from guests, and waiters, and all the cooks in the kitchen leaning out of the doors. I remember picking her up into my arms and kissing her, kissing her with everything I have because they’re the last lips I ever want to kiss in this world.

“You have to say it, you know,” she whispers into my lips.

I pull back and wink at her, “That a fact, huh?”

“Mhmm,” she nods.

“Well in that case, yeah, that’s a big fuckin’
‘yes’
, luv,” I say.

She giggles and hugs me tighter, and then I’m picking her up and spinning her around as the whole fucking place goes wild.

“You’re fucking mental, you know,” I whisper into her ear.

She laughs, “Oh, you don’t know the half of it,” she says, grinning as she kisses me. “I didn’t even get a return ticket.”

“Where are you staying?”

“No idea.”

“Job?”

“Looking for a baker?”

I laugh and wrap my arms around her as I pick her up and twirl her around again in front of the crowds and the staff and the cameras and all that shit. “You know, I could always use a cupcake girl.”

She pokes me in the chest, “Dick.”

I kiss her, “Tease.”

She looks into my eyes, “By the way, have I ever mentioned that I love you?”

“You never had to.”

“Well, I love you, Oliver Beckett,” she says softly, grinning from ear to ear. “I love every crude, cocky, cheeky inch of you.”

And then she’s in my arms. “I love you too,” I whisper in her ear, “And you play your cards right and you might just get buggered something proper with
all
of my inches”

She laughs as she kisses me, and the crowd goes wild.

I grin as I watch Oliver fidget with the sign on the inside of the glass front door to
Ella
.

Close for the holiday weekend
, it says, and I smile while I wait outside by the car as I watch him meticulously level it. “You know, I can promise you that the restaurant will be here when we get back.”

He smirks at me through the glass before he finally steps back, nods at his handiwork, and walks out the door to join me. “Just remember where we parked it, yeah?” He says with a sly wink.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Closing for three days over the holidays?” Oliver snorts. “Fuck no, but I think we might lose our minds if we don’t.”

I laugh. “No, I mean, my mom coming, and her meeting
Danny
?”

Oliver arches a brow at me as he checks his watch. “Well her plane lands in two hours. Bit late for second thoughts, luv. Besides, after the convincing it took to get her to come back to the general vicinity of Europe, let alone
London?
” He whistles.

OK, so it took
both
of us,
pleading
to get Mom to come over for Christmas. I mean what was she going to do, spend it alone in our house back home? I mean it’s not like
I
could fly.

Third trimester and all that.

Ultimately, I think it was Oliver promising that Barney was still boozing it up somewhere in the Casino circuit of Italy and would not be anywhere
close
to London that convinced her. Introducing her to Danny Cole again was
not
my idea, but Oliver insists they hit it off the first time.

“I’m really not sure about that.”

Oliver grins at me. “And why ever not?”

I know what he’s up to, and arch my brow at him. “Um, because he’s little bit
crude
and crass and-”

“And a bit like me, yeah?”

“Honestly, yes.”

He laughs.

“And my mom is a little more
level
; she’s a little bit more prim and proper I guess. Just a little bit-”

“Like you?”

I smirk as Oliver turns the key in the lock of the front door to
Ella
and throws an arm over my shoulder. “Yeah, bizarre that one. Imagine that; the uptight prude and the bossy scoundrel.” He winks at me. “Right, can’t see that one
possibly
working out,” he says, leaning down to kiss the top of my head.

Life is complicated. Oliver and his dad
have
talked, but infrequently, but I think they both know they need space from each other. Of course if Barney ever comes near my mom again, I think even Oliver might toss him out a window.