The Fortune Cafe
Authors: Julie Wright,Melanie Jacobson,Heather B. Moore
Tags: #Contemporary, #Romantic Comedy, #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Fantasy, #Magical Realism, #Inspirational, #Love, #Romance, #clean romance, #lucky in love
If you enjoyed The Fortune Café
Copyright © 2014 by Mirror Press, LLC
E-book edition
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief passages embodied in critical reviews and articles.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, places, and dialogue are products of the authors’ imaginations and are not to be construed as real.
Cover Design by Rachael Anderson
Interior Design by Heather Justesen
Edited by Jennie Stevens
Published by Mirror Press, LLC
E-book edition released March 2014
ISBN-10: 1941145108
ISBN-13: 978-1-941145-10-4
Tangerine Street
is a must-see tourist stop with a colorful mix of one-of-a-kind boutiques, unique restaurants, eclectic museums, quaint bookstores, and exclusive bed-and-breakfasts. The Fortune Café, situated in the middle of this charming collection of shops and caf
é
s on Tangerine Street, is a Chinese restaurant unlike any other because, well, to be honest, the fortunes found in the cookies all come true…
Emma cringed as she tugged her apron ties tight at her waist and moved to the computer to clock into work.
“You’re late,” Nate said. He wiped his hands on his apron, though his was not nearly as clean and pressed as Emma’s. Nate’s apron looked like it had been the victim of an intense food fight, which made Emma wonder what purpose it would serve to wipe his hands on it. Didn’t that just make his fingers more dirty than they’d been before? He clicked the clock-in icon on the computer because he’d distracted Emma enough, she’d forgotten what she was doing.
She pulled her hair into a ponytail because no customer wanted long strands of dark brown hair in their meals. “I’m not that late,” Emma insisted and then offered a grudging “Thanks” for his help in clocking her in.
“Late enough. He’s already asking about you.” Nate took out a red handkerchief and wiped his bald head with it. The back kitchen was always a little overwarm due to the ovens and grills.
She tsked. Waitressing for The Fortune Café wasn’t exactly a dream job, but it was a
good
job— especially in a touristy town like Seashell Beach where people visited expecting to pay higher prices and leave larger tips. She’d been there for four years, pretty much since she quit school two years into college, and loved her boss. He didn’t mind that she sometimes needed weekends off so she could go to comic conventions. He was a fair boss, and funny besides. But he hated the perpetually late.
Nate frowned deeply and put out a wagging finger in exact imitation of their grandfatherly boss. He then spoke in imitation of Cái’s accented English. “When one of you is late showing up, the gears of The Fortune Café’s clock moan in distress. You tempt fate to pass us over and take away the magic.”
Emma smiled. Cái really believed in his magical restaurant. His parents opened The Fortune Café when they arrived in America from Hong Kong when Cái had been a little boy. It had become an immediate success and stayed that way. Emma believed the little business survived the takeover of the new generation only because Cái loved the place as much as his parents had. Years later, the restaurant remained the success his parents had originally created.