Free In the Distance by Eileen Griffin, Nikka Michaels Page A

a flutter in my stomach at seeing him. Jamie had moved on, and somewhere along the way, so had I. Now if I could only make progress with Ethan, things would be a whole lot easier.
    Jamie untied his messy blue-and-white pin-striped apron and tossed it on the counter. “I didn’t expect you back in Seattle until tomorrow, but I have a few minutes before we get slammed again. Wanna tell me about the meeting with Natalie?”
    I couldn’t help it; the words started pouring out of my mouth about the morning’s meeting. I hadn’t felt this spark of excitement in years. Jamie and I had met during our last year in college when we’d both studied abroad in Paris. Jamie had been in the culinary arts program, while I enjoyed sampling all of the liberal arts programs Paris had to offer. Once we’d gotten back to the States, Jamie had gone straight into working as a sous-chef at Cielo, one of the top restaurants in New York, and I finally got serious about what I wanted to do with my life and went to work for one of my dad’s friends who owned an entertainment management agency. Three years later, I went out on my own and focused all my attention on helping Jamie achieve the attention he’d always deserved as a talented head chef with good looks and a winning personality. Now, almost ten years later, celebrity chef James Lassiter was a household name and I couldn’t have been prouder of him. Getting Jamie to the top of the media circuit had felt incredible, but once he’d decided to leave it all, I’d felt like a part of me left with him. Talking over Natalie’s vision for her career had brought back the reason I’d gone into this business in the first place.
    “So, we’ve decided to meet up again after the holidays. I should have enough time to set up some local interviews and TV guest spots for her, then we’ll branch out from there.”
    His smile was radiant as he pulled me in for a tight hug. “Awesome, Trev. I’m really happy for both you and Natalie.”
    When Jamie pulled away, I tilted my head toward the back of the kitchen. “Let’s blow this joint and go celebrate. I haven’t seen you outside this restaurant in months and I’ll die if I don’t have someone with me to share all this with. Die, Jamie. Literally, die.”
    “I’d hate for my best friend to die, literally, but I can’t leave the restaurant, Trev.”
    “Jamie, come on, it’s—”
    “Saturday, I know.” Jamie finished my sentence for me. I opened my mouth again, but closed it when he shook his head. “I’d love to go. You know I want to celebrate with you, but I can’t leave right now. After living in New York all these years, I’d expect you to understand that.”
    My stomach felt like I’d been sucker punched, but I stubbornly lifted my chin and nodded in Ethan’s direction. “Ethan’s here. At Cielo, you always worked solo. Here, you not only have a whole crew to help but another fully trained chef to handle the major stuff. I’m sure Ethan can handle a night without you.”
    “Look, Trev, I really want to go celebrate your good news with you, and we will. But the fact is Bistro 30 comes first.”
    He held his hand up when I opened my mouth, and continued talking. “It’s not about how many of us are here or not. It’s not about Ethan being able to handle the rush or how many sous-chefs we have. It’s about me, Trev. I want to be here. I worked my ass off for years putting my name and face out there, all the time losing a little bit more of myself with each interview and TV show. For the first time in years, I’m happy, here, in this kitchen, doing what I love. I would have thought you, of all people, would understand that.”
    What could I say?
I
don’t understand.
I
don’t understand how my best friend won’t back away from the grill for one fucking minute to celebrate with me
.
    Instead, I said nothing and looked over his shoulder back into the kitchen. Because really, there was nothing to say that we hadn’t