Feel the Heat (Hot In the Kitchen) Read Online Free PDF

him back on track. And the Victoria’s Secret angel he hooked up with the week after would have kissed it all better,” she said, feeling a mite ridiculous that she knew so much about a perfect stranger.
    “Listen, who cares about the details? All you need to worry about is crooking your finger and watching how fast he comes running. And you heard what Ashley said. Wizard in the sack,” Cara added, laying it on like a thick layer of cream cheese frosting.
    Lili was sure he was the Voldemort of all things down and dirty, but he’d need several more blows to the head before he would take an interest in her. However, just before he dismissed her with that coal-dark look and cool put-down about Italian cuisine, there had been a moment when…
    “Wait a second.” Bone-chilling panic sloshed over her. “Does he already know about this brand of crazy you’re selling?”
    “Of course not. What do you think I am, some sort of pimp?”
    “I think in your case, it would be a madam.”
    Cara curled her cupid-bow lips into that saputa smile Lili knew so well, the one that said that she was privy to some great wisdom that a pleb like her younger sister could never hope to attain. “Lili, you’re only twenty-four. You should be out clubbing, hooking up with guys, and deleting their filthy text messages the next day.”
    Tears stinging her eyelids, Lili twisted away and focused on the great cathedrals of Italy calendar on the bulletin board, pinned next to the clipboard detailing last night’s miserable numbers. Sometimes her sister displayed all the sensitivity of a grizzly on crack. Lili fought for neutral. Take deep breaths. Think of a calm place. Better yet, think of Mom’s shrimp linguine with lemon caper sauce followed by a slice—no, two slices—of ricotta cheesecake. Self-pity did not coordinate in any way with the amazing boots she was rocking.
    “Maybe I’d spend more time clubbing if I didn’t have to look after Mom every day and then come here to work every night.”
    Cara rested her chin on Lili’s shoulder and rubbed her arms, surprising Lili out of her ill humor. The DeLuca sisters weren’t touchy-feely Italians, no cheek-pinching or bosom-clasping for them. Six months of air-kissing with D-listers had turned Cara soft.
    “I’m sorry. I know you’ve been a trouper, looking after Mom this last year and a half. But she’s been in remission for almost three months.”
    True, but fear, Lili’s overriding emotion these days, still clenched her heart like a fist. If it wasn’t dread that her mother’s illness might return, it was needling anxiety at how rudderless Lili felt with her life stuck in a buffering pause. Neither did it help that her father disapproved of everything his youngest daughter did, from how she managed the restaurant to her impractical dream to make photography her life.
    Cara carried on, oblivious. “I just think Jack might be good for you. A sexy rut to get you out of your sorry rut.”
    Lili faced her sister, every fiber pissy because she might be right. Traces of pity were etched on Cara’s beautiful, fine-boned face.
    “Now that Mom’s better, you can get your life on track. Come to New York, go to graduate school, quit being Il Duce’s lackey.” She brightened. “I can get you a job at my company. We always need talented photographers for our publicity materials.”
    Lili managed a watery smile. Graduate school seemed as fuzzy as a Monet landscape now that all her savings had gone to her mother’s medical care, or that was what she had taken to telling herself lately. Of course, if she really wanted it to happen… Leave that rock alone. Turning it over would only reveal those creepy-crawlies of self-doubt she went to considerable lengths not to acknowledge.
    Cara was making the effort, so Lili tried to front it out. “I don’t think I’m a good match for that kind of work. Shooting plates of coq au vin and crème brûlée…” She shuddered.
    Her sister laughed, a