She'd only been working at the restaurant a couple of weeks, which meant she was still on the steep side of the learning curve. The good news was Bella Roma was a well-run restaurant with an excellent staff and a great menu. The better news was that her boss, Bernie, was a terrific guy to work for.

After setting down the glasses, she walked into the kitchen where low-key chaos reined. The real activity wouldn't begin before they opened for lunch in twenty minutes. For now there was the prep work. Penny-her sister-in-law and possibly the best chef in Seattle, not thatshe would ever mention that to Nick, the head chef here-always said that a kitchen lived or died by its prep work.

Three huge stockpots simmered on back burners. The scent of garlic and sausage filled the air. One cook chopped vegetables for salads while another sliced meat for the sandwiches and antipasto platters.

"Hey, Dani," one of the cooks called. "Come taste my sauce."

"That's not what he wants you to taste," another cook yelled. "She's too pretty for you, Rico. She wants a real man like me."

"You're not a real man. The last time I had your wife, she told me."

"If my wife saw you naked, she'd laugh so hard, she'd hurt herself."

Dani smiled at the familiar insults. Restaurant kitchens were usually loud, crazy places where the constant pressure meant everyone had to work as a team. The fact that the majority of workers were men meant a challenging situation for the average woman. Dani had grown up hovering around the kitchens at the various Buchanan restaurants, so she was immune to any attempts to shock her. She waved at the guys, then checked the list of specials Nick had posted against the menu inserts for that day.