Recipe for Kisses Read Online Free PDF Page B

wild success.” Michael actually sounded offended that Ben would suggest otherwise. “It’s given you exposure you never would have had, even as a famous executive chef.”
    “It’s also ruined my reputation as someone with real talent. I’m more than a face and a temper.” He wasn’t sure whether he said the words to convince Michael or himself. As hard as he’d worked to run his own kitchen, Ben knew that even in Las Vegas, people had talked about his histrionics in the kitchen as much as they had the food he served.
    He might not have much fondness for his childhood home, but he also wasn’t happy living life as the bad boy of the restaurant industry. “I can’t even grab a beer without people asking for an autograph or picture. And half the time they want me to bare my teeth like I’m some sort of foodie werewolf.”
    “You’re not getting sympathy from me, Ben. When was the last time you paid for a beer or a meal or spent an evening alone without a gorgeous woman ready for action?” Michael asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “There are perks to the lifestyle. I’m not sure you’d know how to function like a real person anymore. Maybe you are part werewolf.”
    “Go to hell, Michael.”
    “A dumpy storefront in an obscure Denver neighborhood might just be my version of hell.”
    “Do your research. The Highlands is one of the most popular areas in the city. This neighborhood has had a complete overhaul in the past few years.” Ben was shouting now, his temper getting the best of him as usual.
    “Don’t pop a blood vessel.” Michael held out his hands, palms forward. “I was joking.”
    “I don’t think you know how to joke.” The publicist’s sharp focus was one of the things Ben had appreciated at the beginning of their partnership, but now he wanted a break.
    “I know how to make you money. Vegas, LA, New York. Why can’t you pick one of those? Seriously, Ben, the altitude here is killing me.”
    “Then leave.”
    Michael pushed away from the counter, a flash of panic lighting his dark eyes. “You don’t mean that.”
    “I want my reputation back, and I’m staying in Denver. We might not be much, but Dad and I are all those two kids have.” Ben felt his gut start to churn as he said the words out loud. “At least for now,” he amended, still not willing to fully commit to this new domestication. The ramifications of the promise he’d made to his brother almost paralyzed him with doubt. Altitude notwithstanding, Ben hadn’t been able to take a steady breath since he’d arrived in Colorado.
    “You can move them,” Michael suggested. “Hell, I was an army brat and look how well I turned out.”
    Ben arched an eyebrow.
    “At least say you’ll consider a different location. The cash you’re going to need to do a build out on a property with no kitchen is mind-boggling.”
    “It’s got to be that location.”
    Michael ran his hands though his hair, yanking on the dark strands. “Do you know how long that will take, even if we get started immediately?”
    “We can’t start right away,” Ben said. “The current tenant’s lease isn’t up for another month.” At Michael’s horrified look, Ben shrugged. “It will give me time to meet with an architect and contractors to come up with a concept.”
    Michael’s arms dropped slack to his sides. “Are you saying you don’t have a concept yet? What kind of food is it going to be?”
    “I haven’t decided,” Ben said after a moment. “My usual, I guess.”
    Michael had been with him long enough not to settle for that kind of answer. “What’s the usual?” he asked, tapping the toe of one Italian loafer. “Like you just told me, you haven’t worked in a commercial kitchen as an executive chef for over two years. As good as you were at La Lune, that was Maurice St. Clair’s legacy and we both know it.”
    Ben didn’t bother to deny it. From the time he’d used his meager savings at age eighteen to move to