No matter how many times she had tried to visualise Petrichor's kitchen, she hadn't even come close to the reality. The ovens, stove tops, counters and equipment all gleamed; she had expected that much. But what she hadn't counted on was the sheer size of the space and the number of cooks.

The island at the centre of the room was large enough to accommodate the Saucier, Poissonier, Pantry Chef, Grill Chef and all of their junior commis. Along the left wall was a large plating station, the kitchen porter worked at the end of the room and the right wall was used by the Patissier who had been making fresh pasta since Alex entered the premises forty minutes ago.

"Shall we?"

Alex blinked, dragging her eyes from the dozen bodies rushing to fill the orders barked by the Sous Chef who had taken charge of the kitchen while Luca prepared his lobster dish. The head Chef was raising a brow at her now, waiting for her to approach the plating station where a bowl of both of their dishes had been placed.

She took a step towards him, hesitating when a commis rushed past, narrowly missing her shoulder. How on earth was she going to work in this kitchen? The lunch menu was limited to three choices for appetiser, main and dessert, the low number of dishes accounting for the relative calm in the kitchen. What would the A La Carte dinner seating be like?

"Do more cooks work during the dinner service?" She asked, managing to stand beside Luca.

"Three more commis, an apprentice and a decorator at the patisserie station," he nodded, his eyes taking in the goings on of his domain. It was clear to her that Luca Bisset was a great Chef. In a heart beat he had readjusted the 14 cooks in the kitchen so that they could continue preparing orders while two stations were emptied for himself and Alex. No one questioned his leadership and the lobster appetisers left the kitchen alongside the regular orders without a hitch. It wasn't only that the men and women in the room followed him; they trusted him.

"Here," he held out a fork to her now. "Ladies first."

Alex looked at the utensil for a long moment, then closed her eyes, bent over the dishes and took a deep breath. Satisfied, she gestured for him to try the food.

Luca's brows were both up now, but he shrugged and dipped his fork into his bowl. He was tasting her lobster when a waiter popped his head into the kitchen. "Blue is ahead of green by two."

Alex saw several cooks exchange smiles, but took no offence. Their loyalty was yet another feather in Luca's Chef hat. She would enjoy working with a professional like him...as long as she managed to find a corner of this kitchen to herself.

"A-ttention!"

A cacophony of "Yes Chef" followed the abrupt command.

"Pass this plate around. I want everyone to taste it. We will recreate it for tomorrow's lunch seating."

"But he said your dish is ahead -" one of the commis in the sauce line began, then held her tongue when the cook beside her jabbed her in the ribs.

"The results will not matter, this dish is better. Remember every recipe can be made better," Luca went on. "because perfection..."

"Is always one step away." The cooks finished for him.

Alex was impressed by the chefs attitude. He was obviously an arrogant man, it was a trait that seemed to grow in people who excelled in their professions. Along with arrogance, many also became guarded when they reached high positions in their career. Worried about being outdone, they closed themselves to all ways except their own. And yet, Luca had easily accepted that her dish worked better and had acted on that knowledge...

Perhaps designing signature dishes with the Italian Chef wouldn't be as difficult as she had assumed. The kitchen was more crowded than she had hoped, but he was far more accommodating. She took a calming breath as she untied the belt of the borrowed kitchen apron.

" I think it's about time we exchanged names," Luca leaned his hip against the counter, his attention on her now that his kitchen was back in full swing.

"I should get back to my table," Alex put the apron on the counter.

"Of course, you haven't eaten! I'll bring something through to my office..." he pointed the way towards the door at the back of the kitchen, waiting for her to lead the way. His honey coloured eyes gazed deeply into hers while his words remained casual. It was obvious that Luca was well versed in the art of flirtation. Alex was not. Not used to being looked at in such a manner, she took a step back, almost walking into the Saucier. "Sorry, but I'm not interested."

Luca Blinked, as if she was speaking a foreign language. Then he let out a short laugh; a husky sound that had no doubt hypnotised hundreds of women.

"I don't recall saying I was interested."

Heat began to creep into her face, but Alex stomped out the embarrassment and nodded. "Good. Then we are on the same page."

Luca's laughter faded, but the humour remained in his eyes. "Actually we aren't. Because I am. Interested, I mean."

"Then get uninterested Bisset and quit making Chef Turner uncomfortable."

Alex froze at the sound of the deep voice. Gabriel Moncrief. The man she had traveled across the world for was standing right behind her, but she couldn't bring herself to turn around. Suddenly she was afraid. What if it had all been a dream? What if they touched and she felt pain?

No, she couldn't think that way. For years she had lived without hope, she couldn't give up on it that easily. Pushing her anxiety aside, Alex composed herself and focused on the now angry looking Luca.

"Chef Turner?" he scowled.

"Alex," she told him, using the opportunity to delay facing Gabriel for another moment. "I prefer to be called Alex."

"Did you challenge me to assert your authority in the kitchen, Alex?" The angry laugh was a world apart from the seductive one he had graced her with earlier. "I can't believe I was actually fooled by a beautiful face, how embarrassing."

Alex did not take his glare to heart. She had bruised his ego and having felt many bruised egos in her life, she knew they produced an uncomfortable stabbing pain.

"You challenged me." She reminded him simply. "My intention was to eat here. When you insisted I enter the kitchen, I followed."

Her words had Luca blinking in surprise. Alex thought it was best to set everything straight while she was at it.

"I am a visitor in your kitchen, Chef Bisset. I've come to complete a task and when my task is done, I will leave to go back to my kitchen."

Luca's expression became unreadable, then his stance relaxed and he glanced over her shoulder at the man who was still silently standing behind her. "She won't mince words, that's what you said right?"

"I think you're done here," was Gabriel's only reply. Then he grabbed Alex's hand and pulled her past Luca and out of the kitchen.