Of all the members of her staff, Noah Hamilton was by far the friendliest and the most pleasant to be around. Always cheerful, almost to the point of being comical, Evelyn adored his quick wit, his boyish charm, and his endearing smile, all of which she had first seen when friends had taken her to an upscale eatery for her birthday a few years prior. After enjoying the most marvelous of meals, they had asked to speak to the chef to thank him for the food he had created, and when the Texas native sauntered over to the table, Evelyn and her friends were as surprised as they were captivated by the young man’s charismatic nature. So, when she was given the job of hiring new staff, she sought out the American and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Noticing Noah’s pensive look, Evelyn asked, “What’s going on? I know the others grumble about Addison from time to time, but I’ve never heard you say one cross word about her. Haven’t you had your morning coffee yet?”

“I’ve had two cups,” he said, looking over at the coffeemaker on the counter. “And if that high-end piece of crap would ever stop belching one drop at a time, I’d be having my third.”

“Oh, you are in a mood,” Evelyn said, leaning back on her stool.

“No, I’m not, Evie. I’m bored.”

“Bored?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. I love my job, but I have three degrees from culinary institutes under my fashionable belt, and I’m stuck poaching eggs for breakfast and trying to come up with new and exciting meals for one. Christ, the highlight of my day is making lunch for the staff, and that’s hardly taxing, I assure you.”

Tickled to hear the American slip into a proper British accent, laugh lines appeared at the corner of Evelyn’s eyes. “So you’re looking for more of a challenge, are you?”

Rolling his eyes, Noah got up and filled two mugs with coffee. Sliding one toward Evelyn, he spooned some sugar in his and sat back down. “Evelyn, the woman doesn’t even eat dessert.”

“Yes, she does.”

“Oh, okay, my bad,” Noah said, holding up his hands. “She grabs herself a pint of ice cream out of the freezer every night. Lord help us if she’d actually allow me to make her some from scratch.”

“Yes, but at least you pick the flavors so that should count for something,” Evelyn said with a snigger.

“Evelyn, I’m serious!”

Laughing at the man’s exasperation, Evelyn said, “Relax, Noah. I, of all people, know how boring it can be around here, but that’s about to change in a very big way.”