Free The Secret Ingredient by Dianne Blacklock

earlier,’ she added.
    Andie smiled. ‘I brought some too.’ She stood a cooler bag on the counter and drew out a bottle.
    â€˜Ooh champagne,’ Jess cooed, inspecting the label. ‘And the good stuff. What’s going on? Are we celebrating something?’
    â€˜I hope so,’ said Andie.
    â€˜You’re pregnant?’ Jess gasped.
    Andie ignored the faint pang she felt in her heart. ‘Would I be drinking champagne?’ she said.
    â€˜Hm, good point. And it would have been pretty quick,’ said Jess, ‘seeing as last I heard, Ross hadn’t even agreed to it.’
    Andie tore the foil away from the neck of the bottle and changed the subject. ‘So, here’s the thing,’ she said, popping the cork. ‘I am going back to work . . . as a chef . . . in a restaurant!’
    She watched Jess’s face for signs of excitement, something. But she just looked confused.
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜I’m going to be a chef again,’ 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. ‘Shall we drink to it?’
    â€˜But I don’t understand exactly what we’re drinking to.’
    â€˜My new career, or my reincarnated one, I should probably say.’ Andie was still holding her glass up, looking at Jess expectantly. ‘What’s wrong?’
    She sighed loudly. ‘Oh, I’m happy for you, really, I am, Andie, I’m just being selfish. I mean, I understand, I do, I know you haven’t been all that interested in the shop for a while, it hasn’t been exactly fulfilling, so I’m glad really, I am genuinely happy for you, couldn’t be happier. I just . . . well, it’s completely selfish, me expecting this place to just be here forever, so I’ve got work whenever I want it —’
    â€˜Jess —’
    â€˜I’ve 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 I’m jumping the gun —’
    â€˜You think?’
    Jess finally looked at Andie, taking a breath. ‘It’s just sometimes I get tired of always stepping into someone else’s role, never being able to do my own thing.’
    The casual arrangement she’d 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 wasn’t a star, she didn’t have a name, she wasn’t exactly sought after. She had got by the last few years mostly standing in for staff who were on leave – 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 didn’t have the money, and as there were more restaurants closing than opening, she wouldn’t have a hope of getting financed.
    â€˜Well, this is perfect,’ Andie was saying.
    â€˜What are you talking about?’
    â€˜You may just get the chance to do your own thing, because I wanted to ask you if you’d be interested in taking over here.’
    Jess blinked. ‘What?’
    â€˜If I’m working in a restaurant, I can’t give enough time to this place, I need someone to manage it for me.’
    â€˜You’re not going to sell it?’
    â€˜No, of course not.’
    Jess let out a loud sigh. ‘Well, that’s a relief. I’ll totally drink to that,’ she added, raising her glass to clink it against Andie’s.
    â€˜It’s about time,’ said Andie. ‘I was getting RSI holding my glass