earlier,â she added.
Andie smiled. âI brought some too.â She stood a cooler bag on the counter and drew out a bottle.
âOoh champagne,â Jess cooed, inspecting the label. âAnd the good stuff. Whatâs going on? Are we celebrating something?â
âI hope so,â said Andie.
âYouâre pregnant?â Jess gasped.
Andie ignored the faint pang she felt in her heart. âWould I be drinking champagne?â she said.
âHm, good point. And it would have been pretty quick,â said Jess, âseeing as last I heard, Ross hadnât even agreed to it.â
Andie tore the foil away from the neck of the bottle and changed the subject. âSo, hereâs the thing,â she said, popping the cork. âI am going back to work . . . as a chef . . . in a restaurant!â
She watched Jessâs face for signs of excitement, something. But she just looked confused.
âWhat?â
âIâm going to be a chef again,â said Andie as she poured the champagne into flutes she had brought with her from home. She handed Jess a glass and held up her own in a toast. âShall we drink to it?â
âBut I donât understand exactly what weâre drinking to.â
âMy new career, or my reincarnated one, I should probably say.â Andie was still holding her glass up, looking at Jess expectantly. âWhatâs wrong?â
She sighed loudly. âOh, Iâm happy for you, really, I am, Andie, Iâm just being selfish. I mean, I understand, I do, I know you havenât been all that interested in the shop for a while, it hasnât been exactly fulfilling, so Iâm glad really, I am genuinely happy for you, couldnât be happier. I just . . . well, itâs completely selfish, me expecting this place to just be here forever, so Iâve got work whenever I want it ââ
âJess ââ
âIâve even daydreamed about taking over when you did have a baby, you know, just temporarily, so you could have maternity leave without worrying about the place. But Iâm jumping the gun ââ
âYou think?â
Jess finally looked at Andie, taking a breath. âItâs just sometimes I get tired of always stepping into someone elseâs role, never being able to do my own thing.â
The casual arrangement sheâd enjoyed at the shop had allowed Jess to build up a solid, varied résumé over the years, and she had a good reputation in the industry as an experienced, reliable chef. But she wasnât a star, she didnât have a name, she wasnât exactly sought after. She had got by the last few years mostly standing in for staff who were on leave â a three-month stint here, a regular weekend gig there. She had occasionally been given head chef duties at small but respected restaurants, when the owner-chef took a night off and needed someone with enough experience to run the restaurant in his absence. But if she wanted to work full-time as a chef, the only recourse left to her now was to open her own place. But she didnât have the money, and as there were more restaurants closing than opening, she wouldnât have a hope of getting financed.
âWell, this is perfect,â Andie was saying.
âWhat are you talking about?â
âYou may just get the chance to do your own thing, because I wanted to ask you if youâd be interested in taking over here.â
Jess blinked. âWhat?â
âIf Iâm working in a restaurant, I canât give enough time to this place, I need someone to manage it for me.â
âYouâre not going to sell it?â
âNo, of course not.â
Jess let out a loud sigh. âWell, thatâs a relief. Iâll totally drink to that,â she added, raising her glass to clink it against Andieâs.
âItâs about time,â said Andie. âI was getting RSI holding my glass