Read Wish You Were Here for Free Online Page B

stepped aside, grabbed a large pan off the wall, and handed it to her. “Okay, let’s get this frying pan on, let it heat up a bit.”
    She took it and put it down over the fire. So far, so good.
    He shifted to her right and started dealing with the green leafy stuff, then reached with one hand, grabbed a white plastic squeeze bottle and handed it to her. “Here. Put a couple turns of olive oil in the pan.”
    He ran the green leafy stuff under the water, and Freya looked at the bottle, hoping for something on it that would explain what a “couple turns” was. Unfortunately, the bottle was blank. Nate was already dicing the cheese before he noticed she was standing there, frozen.
    “ Everything okay?”
    She turned to him. “A couple turns? What does that mean?”
    He wiped his hands on the apron and put his hand over hers. “Turn it over, squeeze it, and run your hand in a circle twice, like you’re tracing the numbers on a clock.” She did as told, trying not to jump back as the oil hit the pan and sizzled. From behind her, Nate guided her hand around in two efficient circles, then let her go.
    “ Couple turns,” he said, then went back to where he’d been working. He held up a handful of the green stuff. “Spinach.” He tossed it in the pan, so much that it was almost overflowing. She barely had time to ask what was next before he put a wooden spoon in her hand. “Stir it around. It’ll cook down, and then we’ll add the eggs and the cheese.”
    She stirred, and next to her, he whizzed around the kitchen like an expert. He diced the cheese with a speed that made her a little nervous, then cracked a bunch of eggs into a bowl, whipped them up, and seasoned them with salt and pepper. Then he wiped his hands on his apron and walked over behind her, his expression relaxed and happy as he observed her work.
    “Good job.” He lowered the flame a bit, then poured the egg mixture in over her spinach. He handed Freya the cheese cubes. “Sprinkle these on top.”
    Freya did as told, trying to get them evenly into the eggs. She wiped her hands on her apron and said, “Now what?”
    “ Now, we wait for a minute.”
    “ Okay.” She looked down at the eggs. It felt weird to just stand there. She raised her wooden spoon. “Should I…?”
    “ No.” He put his hand on hers and lowered it. “Sometimes the hard part is doing nothing.”
    She turned a bit to look at him. Their eyes met and held, and then he said, “Now.”
    “ Hmmm?”
    “ Shut the flame off.”
    She glanced at the eggs. “But they’re not cooked in the middle.”
    “ Exactly. Shut the flame off.”
    She did as instructed.
    “Good,” he said. “Now grab the pan and put it in the oven.”
    “ Okay.” She reached for the pan handle. “But the oven’s not on, is it?”
    “ It is. I turned it on when I first started.”
    “ Wow.” Freya pulled the oven open and inserted the frying pan. “Guess I missed that part.” She closed the oven door and turned to face him. “So. You’re really good in the kitchen.”
    “ Should be,” he said. “I’m a chef.”
    “ A chef?”
    “ Yeah,” he said. “I have a restaurant in Cincinnati.”
    He missed it, she could tell by the look on his face. This was almost going to be too easy. “Well, if you have a restaurant in Cincinnati, what are you doing here?”
    “ Good question,” he said, but didn’t seem at all inclined to answer it. Still, the opening was right there. All she had to do was walk through it.
    Child ’s play.
    “ So, hypothetically, if someone offered you a lot of money for this place, would you sell it?”
    He raised an eyebrow. “Depends. Is this hypothetical person insane?”
    “ Does it matter if the check clears?”
    He smiled at her, and Freya ’s breath caught. “I don’t know. How much are they hypothetically offering?”
    Freya hesitated for a moment, gave Nate a moment to let his imagination fly. She ’d been looking forward to this part all morning, and