Reservations for Two (Harlequin Super Romance, Band 1834) - Softcover

Lohmann, Jennifer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0373718349 ISBN 13: 9780373718344

Verlag: Harlequin Superromance, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

It's getting hotter in the kitchen

Tilly Milek almost has it all. She's opened her own Chicago restaurant, the way she'd always dreamed, and it's this close to being a success. Even better, she's met Dan Meier—a gorgeous man who loves food as much as she does. He isn't put off by her demanding job, which only makes her want to spend more time with him.

But a scathing review by an anonymous local critic puts everything in jeopardy. Worse, her steamy new man turns out to be the one who wrote it! Tilly doesn't see how she can ever forgive Dan, but she can't stop thinking about him either. In print he's her enemy. In person? He's as tempting as a perfectly prepared meal…and Tilly's appetite just might get the best of her.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Jennifer Lohmann is a Rocky Mountain girl at heart, having grown up in southern Idaho and Salt Lake City. When she’s not writing or working with public libraries to connect readers to the books they love, she wrangles three ridiculous cats. Fortunately, the boa constrictor is better behaved. She lives in Durham, North Carolina with her own personal Viking hero. Find her online at jenniferlohmann.com.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

For the first time since her junior prom, Tilly Milek's main goal was not to be featured in Saveur. Her new goal: to hunt down the identity of CarpeChicago's The Eater and shake him until he told her why in the name of Mary the Blessed Virgin he had written that review.

Her day had started out innocuously enough. She had gotten to Babka at nine, spent an hour and a half doing the restaurant's bookkeeping and answering emails, planning today's menu, creating prep lists for AM Carlos and confirming several reservations. All the reservations through OpenTable had real phone numbers. Not a single person had entered 312-123-4567. Guaranteed to be a good day.

Until all the staff had sat down for the family meal, without their hostess, Tilly would have placed serious money on tonight being a big night at Babka.

Clearly, she hadn't said enough rosaries in her lifetime because God was laughing at her.

"We don't have the whole day to waste waiting for Karen. We're going to get started." Tilly looked around at the staff eating their dinner. "Now, about the menu tonight…"

"Our first review!" Karen, hyperactive as usual, slammed through the silver swinging doors between the kitchen and the dining room, holding her iPad in front of her as an offering to the kitchen gods. "It's The Eater, on CarpeChicago." She was loud enough they could probably hear her at the bookstore next door. "It's a great place for it, right? I mean, that blog is one of the most widely read in the city and their opinions on everything from food to music are trusted by anyone who can use a mouse. That's what you want, right?"

Right now what she wanted was for Karen to arrive to work on time, Tilly thought, as her hostess skidded to a halt beside the table. Karen should have been at Babka about a half an hour ago finishing up the last of the reservations instead of Candace having to call with confirmations.

"The review seems a little early," Tilly commented.

As far as her records indicated, no one who'd eaten at Babka more than once had ordered enough for a review or taken photos, so she hadn't expected a review out of the Sun-Times or Tribune for at least another month. CarpeChicago might be a blog, but their restaurant reviewer adhered as strictly to professional standards as any newspaper, whether writing about the experimental and constantly-topping-restaurant-lists Alinea or a new hole-in-the-wall noodle shop in Chinatown. The Eater's honesty and willingness to eat anything was what made his reviews so popular. That, and the constant guessing game about who he was. Tilly wasn't even sure The Eater was a man. If her records on their customers were right, The Eater might be a group writing together. Those who knew weren't telling. He (they?) were the best kept secret in Chicago.

Whoever it was, Babka needed a good review.

"Karen, you're late."

"I know, I know. But you'll forgive me because I come bearing such wonderful gifts. We should open a bottle of champagne. Candace—" Karen motioned to the bartender, a short, attractive African-American woman "—get some glasses and we'll pop a bottle."

Tilly put her arm on Candace's shoulders to stall her. "We'll hold off on the champagne. It's four-thirty in the afternoon. Bubbly can wait until later, when we know what he said. I'd hate to waste a bottle of the best on a crummy review."

"Omigod! I didn't even read it. It popped up on my RSS feed while I was on the bus and I ran here from the bus stop as fast as I could." Karen panted as if to emphasize her mad dash. "How could the review be bad? I mean, look around. No restaurant in Chicago is better."

Babka was everything Tilly had ever wanted in a restaurant of her own, even though the place had cost more to get up and running than she'd planned. Babka was homey and calming, but sophisticated without being snotty. Every time she walked through the door, she got a jolt of pride; the place was all hers. Well, hers and the bank's.

"Don't keep us in suspense any longer," Candace said from her left, looking up from the wine list and tonight's menu. "Read the review already."

Karen tapped her finger on the tablet's screen until she pulled up the review. "'Babka and Polish Cuisine in Chicago Serves World War III.'" Uncharacteristically, Karen was still for a moment. "The headline doesn't sound good." She turned the tablet around to face Tilly. "Do you want to read it, Tilly, before the rest of us do?"

"No, I don't think so. We worked on Babka together and we'll read the reviews together."

Everyone around the table waited.

Karen still didn't start reading so Tilly waved her hand. "Read the stupid thing, will you, before the suspense kills me."

"Okay, here goes." Karen lowered her head to read from the screen. "'Tila Milek's first restaurant, Babka, is one of the most visually pleasing restaurants in Chicago.'" Karen's voice brightened. "Hey, that's good. I'm sure it only gets better. 'While non-Chicagoans will wonder at a fancy Polish restaurant, Milek winks at both her Polish heritage and the city itself. Painted outlines of Chicagoland's Polish landmarks, including her mother's restaurant, are barely one shade lighter than the cream walls. Combined with dark wood and beet-red accent colors, the interior is subtle, without being boring.'"

Tilly took a couple more deep breaths to calm herself, the hummingbird in her stomach settling down. No matter how fabulous the food, customers judged a restaurant based on how it looked when they walked in the door. Every moment of the experience had to meet their expectations if she wanted them to come back on a regular basis.

"'Our reservation was handled swiftly, and we were seated with no wait.'" Karen looked up from the review and giggled. "See. You always knew I was worth the tardiness."

"You're worth every penny, but don't let it go to your head."

Despite Karen's general bounciness and habit of being late, she was well organized and kept details about each customer in her head until she had time to make notes at the end of service. She had a global view of the dining room and, if she were more punctual, Tilly would make her general manager.

Karen beamed at the compliment and returned to her tablet. "'Once seated, the service was flawless. The waitress was at our table quickly and efficiently told us the specials and gave recommendations. I asked her several questions and her knowledge of the menu was extensive. We intended to start with the summer beet soup and mushroom pate, but unfortunately, our meal was rudely interrupted. When we finally sat down to eat, my food was badly oversalted.'"

"Wait," Tilly interrupted. "Why was his meal interrupted?"

"He might say later. Maybe he came back?" Karen's voice jumped an octave with hope. "'Our meal at Babka started with a slightly bitter rye bread and eggy flatbread matched with a tangy smoked fish spread made with a fresh cheese. Every bite of our bread was heartily enjoyable and we might have continued dinner the same way, if not for the cat that snuck in the front door.'"

Mother Mary, he was here that night. A customer's Yorkshire terrier had escaped a woman's purse and another customer let a stray cat slip in through the front door. An epic battle between feline and...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Harlequin Superromance
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0373718349
• ISBN 13: 9780373718344
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 304
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: HarperCollins Publishers Ireland; enquiries@harpercollins.ie; ; Macken House 39/40 Mayor Street Upper; Dublin; D01 C9W8; Irland