“Convenient.”
He nodded. “I got a degree in Culinary Arts management because I always wanted to open my own restaurant. But I went to Paris to learn baking and pastry arts. I’ve traveled to Italy and Greece to experience various cooking techniques like liquid nitrogen chilling, and experience different cuisines. CIA also has a campus in Napa where they specialize in a different area of food preparation and wine pairing.”
“So you’ve got a well-rounded culinary education.”
“Yes. My parents are well-to-do. I didn’t have to worry about student loans and could indulge every aspect of my curiosity about business trends and cutting-edge themes in the food-service industry.”
Her eyes filled with a little wonder and a lot of envy. “That sounds so exciting. How can the town square in Thunder Canyon, Montana, compare to the Eiffel Tower? The Louvre? The—everything—of France?”
“Paris is something to see. No question. But it’s not fair to compare places in the world. The favorites just speak to your heart.”
“And Thunder Canyon speaks to yours?”
“Yes.” It was true, but she probably thought he was a poetic idiot.
He didn’t understand his instant connection to this small town in Montana so far off the beaten path. It crossed his mind that the answer could be in his DNA, but that didn’t make sense. Not really. Arthur Swinton was a greedy opportunist who only cared about himself and that had nothing to do with the place that filled up his son’s soul.
“I’d like to hear about you,” he said. “Are you from here?”
“Born and raised. My mother, father, sister and her family are still here.” She put the fork down on her empty plate. “After getting a business degree, I went to New York.”
“And?” He poured a little more wine in her glass. “What did you do there?”
“I opened a travel agency.”
“So, you took a bite out of the Big Apple.” Brave girl. He was impressed. His first business venture had been close to home in L.A. She jumped right into the big time. “Apparently I’m not the only one who’s been all over the world.”
She lifted her shoulder, a noncommittal gesture. “I was pretty busy getting the company off the ground.”
“It’s a lot of work, but incredibly exciting turning a dream into reality.”
“Speaking of reality,” she said, clearly intending to change the subject. “You certainly turned your appearance on that reality cooking show—If You Can’t Stand the Heat—into culinary success.”
“I was lucky.”
“Oh, please. If you call talent, charm, good looks and a clever way with a wooden spoon luck, then I’m the Duchess of Cambridge.”
He laughed. “So you think I’m not hard on the eyes?”
“Are you kidding? You’re gorgeous.” She looked a little surprised that the words had come out of her mouth. “But, for the record, really? That was your takeaway from what I just said?”
It was better than wondering where his looks had come from. “Beauty is as beauty does.”
“What does that even mean?”
“You got me. Do you have someone running the travel agency?” Which begged another question. “Why are you here in Thunder Canyon?”
“Personal reasons.” The sparkle disappeared from her eyes and she frowned before quickly adding, “I’m only here for a little while. Not much longer.”
Shane understood personal reasons and the reluctance to talk about them so he didn’t ask further. “Are you anxious to get back?”
“Who wouldn’t be?” She took the stem of her wineglass and turned it. “There’s a rumor that your contract here at The Gallatin Room is only six months.”
“Yeah.” He’d thought that would give him enough time to find out what he wanted to know, but he’d only found out half of it. Now the question was whether or not to keep going and what to do with the information he already had. “So it seems both of us have a time limit here in town.”
It was weird, probably part of the pathetic, poetic streak kicking in tonight, but talking to her had made him realize that since coming here he’d been a loner. And suddenly he was lonely. But the last thing he needed in his life was a long-term romantic complication. She was beautiful, funny and smart. He wanted to see her again and she wasn’t staying in town. That made her the perfect woman.
“I guess you could say I have a time limit here,” she agreed.
“Then we shouldn’t waste any time. Have dinner with me.”
She looked at his empty plate. “Didn’t we just do that?”
“Sassy.” He grinned and added that to her list of attributes. “I meant something away from work. Monday is the only day the restaurant is closed and every place within a twenty-mile radius is, too. How about I cook for you at my condo? It’s not far, here on the resort grounds.”
“I know. But—”
“It’s just a home-cooked meal. How does six-thirty sound?”
“I don’t know—” Her expression said she was struggling with an answer.
That’s when he gave her the grin that reality show enthusiasts had called his secret ingredient. “Doing double-duty tonight deserves a double thank-you.”
“When you put it that way … How can I say no?”
“Good. I look forward to it.”
Gianna had been looking forward to this evening since Shane Roarke had invited her to dinner. She took the elevator to the third floor of the building on Thunder Canyon Resort grounds where his condo was located. After five months of nursing a crush on him she could hardly believe he’d finally asked her out. Or in. It felt surreal, with a dash of guilt for good measure.
What she’d told him about herself in New York was a little sketchy. She hadn’t so much taken a bite out of the Big Apple as been chewed up and spit out by it. Apartments were small and expensive. The travel agency didn’t survive, a casualty of the internet, with more people looking online, eliminating the middle man. And the recession. And she’d seen no point in sharing with Shane that she kept falling into the trap of choosing men who had no intention of committing.
She hadn’t lied about personal reasons bringing her back to Thunder Canyon. It was the elaborating part she’d left out. Being unemployed and penniless were personal and her primary motivation in coming home. A job at The Gallatin Room was getting her back on her feet. She had a small apartment above the new store Real Vintage Cowboy and the only car she could afford was a fifteen-year-old clunker that she hoped would hold together because she couldn’t afford a new one. Sharing all of that with a sexy, sophisticated, successful man like Shane Roarke wasn’t high on her list of things to do.
