“They’re g*y.”

His expression must’ve been as blank as it felt, because she laughed. “They’re each other’s boyfriend and my best friends.”

“Oh.” Was all he could think of to say, but he couldn’t help smiling—this changed everything. “So you accept my apology?”

She smiled, nodding. “Yeah, I guess.”

The whole time he’d been standing there she hadn’t stopped what she was doing. She whisked eggs without even looking at them and the cheese filled green chilies she’d dipped in them was something she had put together effortlessly.

“That looks good.”

“They are.” She smiled, smug.

His phone buzzed and he pulled out and read a text from Jason.

On my way. See you there.

Damn. He didn’t want to leave now.

“I gotta go. But maybe Wednesday, we can get you in here again and I can watch you work your magic.”

He watched as her smile slowly evaporated and she glanced at his phone. “Sounds good. Have fun.”

He hated to leave but he did. Now he was going to have to go almost three days before seeing her again. Stupid plan.

~*~

By the end of her shift, Gracie had impressed not only Alex and Sofia but some of the other cooks. She even made a dish that wasn’t on the menu—one of her grandmother’s specialty—a green chili chicken enchilada casserole. They had a whole list of enchiladas on the menu, all of which she could whip up with her eyes closed, but this was something her grandmother had come up with that could be made in huge quantities in half the time it took to roll up equal amounts of enchiladas. The casseroles were big sellers in her grandmother’s restaurant. People bought them for parties back in Juarez.

Sofia walked into the kitchen as Grace finished clearing her area up. “You’re a hit.”

Grace smiled. Alex had already left, but he’d said the same thing before he walked out. As good as it felt, she couldn’t shake the disappointment of not having been able to show Sal what she could do.

“What’s this?” Sofia pointed at the casserole on the counter.

“Enchilada casserole.”

“It looks good. Who’s it for?”

Grace lifted a shoulder. “Alex said he’d have a houseful tonight. My grandmother used to make these for parties. I thought maybe you’d want to take it with you.”

Sofia’s eyes widened. “Yeah, that’d be great. Sal will be there. He can get a sampling of your cooking.”

Those were her thoughts exactly but now it made her nervous. Oscar was in the back room when she walked in to get her stuff. “You’re off, too?”

“Yeah, they switched me last minute to open instead of close.”

Grace didn’t miss the way his eyes wandered. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen him looking at her that way. It was so barefaced it was almost rude.

“Your ride here yet?”

She grabbed her bag out of the cabinet. “Nope, I’m taking the bus today.”

“The bus? Where to?”

“Chula Vista.”

Oscar’s mouth fell open. “You take the bus all the way to Chula Vista?”

“Yep.” She nodded as she walked past him.

Sofia walked in just as she got to the office door.

“I can give you a ride, Gracie.”

Up until now, the only one she’d allowed to call her Gracie was Alex. There was something about him. It was sweet not predatory. With Oscar it felt weird. Still she didn’t correct him.

“You don’t have a ride Grace?” Sofia asked.

Grace stopped at the door. “Yeah, I do.”

“The bus,” Oscar said, as if it were illegal or something. “All the way to Chula Vista!”

“Oh no.” Sofia shook her head. “If Oscar can do it, have him take you. I would, but I gotta close.”

Grace took a deep breath, and agreed to have Oscar take her. Oscar was a talker. Good thing because she wasn’t much in the mood for talking. He told her about the other car he was working on, some classic twelve-year-old car his uncle had bestowed on him. Grace was no expert but she was pretty sure it took longer than twelve years for a car to become a classic.

Then he told her about his daughter. “I like to be upfront you know, with any girl I meet about my daughter. She’s not something I’m gonna hide, like some guys.”

Girls he meets? Grace hoped he wasn’t jumping to any conclusions. She knew she should’ve insisted on taking the bus. Oscar wasn’t bad looking, but he was definitely not her type. She wasn’t sure what her type was, she just knew it wasn’t him. His blatant elevator eyes weren’t reserved for just her either. She’d seen him do it many times with the other girls that worked there, not to mention some of the customers. The only one he wasn’t so obvious with, but she’d still seen it, was Sofia. She was sure his refraining from ogling Sofia so openly had everything to do with her two big brothers around all the time.

Grace hardly got a word in the entire ride. It’s not like she tried. Most of the way her mind wandered off to the usual. Only now, she had more to think about. Sal’s questions about Joey and Taylor had come out of left field. Why would he act like such a jerk, then apologize and take it back? It made no sense. This was the second time he’d done that. Grace wondered if this was something she’d have to get used to. She hoped not, because the longer she was around him, the more his surly behavior toward her was beginning to get to her.