Chapter 1 - The Woman Behind the Kitchen Doors
Claire Bennett had spent six years cooking food wealthy people praised—while the man who owned the restaurant made sure no one ever knew her name.
Then one night, Dante Moretti asked a simple question.
“Who made this bread?”
The entire kitchen went silent.
Victor Renaldi immediately stepped forward, smiling like the answer belonged to him.
“My family’s recipe.”
Dante looked at the torn piece of rosemary focaccia in his hand.
“No.”
Victor’s smile faltered.
Dante had eaten at Lucerna as a teenager. He remembered the old recipe.
This wasn’t it.
Again, he asked, “Who baked the bread?”
Claire stared at the floor.
For years, Victor had trained her to understand that recognition came with consequences.
Still, she raised her hand.
“I did.”
Dante crossed the kitchen and questioned her about fermentation, temperature, olive oil.
Claire answered every question.
For once, someone wasn’t looking through her.
He was listening.
When he finally said, “It’s exceptional,” Claire barely knew how to respond.
Victor did.
The moment Dante returned to the dining room, Victor turned on her.
He mocked the way she had looked at him.
Then his eyes traveled over Claire’s body.
“Men like him date models. Socialites. Women who belong in photographs beside them.”
Claire froze.
Victor smiled.
“You should be careful. A compliment can make a lonely woman imagine all kinds of things.”
Someone near the doorway laughed.
Then Victor leaned closer.
“You are good enough for this kitchen because no one has to see you.”
A chair scraped against the dining-room floor.
Victor’s face suddenly went white.
Claire turned toward the open doors.
Dante Moretti was standing there.
And judging by his expression, he had heard everything.
Victor tried to recover.
“Mr. Moretti—”
Dante stepped into the kitchen, his gray eyes fixed on him.
“You believe your chef should be hidden?”
Claire’s heart began pounding.
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Because Victor wasn’t the only one waiting to see what Dante would do next.
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