A recipe for Secrets

The front-left one stuttered. The fryer hissed too loud. The oven timer is st

-loud, fast, and unpredictable. Everyone had a ro

He walked over to Liam's station, his apron stain

deliberate strokes. "There's no wrong way if the rice is co

ne of those cooks. Fancy and stubborn.

the rush, boys," she said, setting the bowl down and giving Marcus a play

am kept his head down. The last thing he wanted was to stand out. But his skills were hard to hide. The way he cleaned

ed, "Where did you learn to plate like that? Her eyes were brig

it up here and there," wipin

ding something, mister. Nobody p

on playful but cautious. "Are

back to her puff pastry dough. But

a shadow trailing him from a life he left behind. But Ivy was also noticing it. She didn't say much, but Liam caught her watching him sometimes when he adjusted a sauce's se

rce focus, her hands firm as she reduced the sauce, tasted it with a quick dip of a spoon, and

looking up from the si

he dish with care. The result was elegant, balanced, almos

y. "This looks like something from a five-star restaurant," she murmured, he

e attention. "Just picked up a f

h? You're full of

lt heavier than words, like she was filing away the moment for later. The shift ended in exhaustion, the kitchen crew moving like survivors of a battle. Liam wiped down his station. The o

tonight," she said, glancing over. "That duck pla

his tone light. "You set me u

t the counter. "Don't get too coc

sence made the kitchen feel like home. Every compliment, every moment of companionship, was built on a lie. He wasn't just Liam Cross, line cook. He was L

to him, her sharp eyes, her quick laugh, the way she studied his plate. She saw him, not as a name or a legacy, but as a cook, a teammate, a person. It was a gift he had not rea

gers lingering on its edge. The past was catching up,