What's the first step, chef?

Isabella

 "I'm not going to make it," I stammered, looking at the to"do list Gwen had left with me before leaving for the airport. 

I was in the kitchen of the guesthouse, eating breakfast while the sky remained dark outside, even though it was already past eight o'clock.

Stefan, Gustaf's cousin, had taken Danny to have a sleepover with his son, who was the same age as my nephew, so he would feel his parents' absence less.  

Zachary was quite sad when he left, and I hoped that he would

I hoped that he would be able to settle his family affairs without too much damage, although I knew that was virtually impossible with everyone involved.

" Does she really want me to cut down a tree? " I continued reading the list.

" Are you talking to a piece of paper? " I was startled by Gustaf's voice coming from the entrance.

I turned in his direction, watching the man walk nonchalantly through the kitchen, opening the cupboards and fridge.

" "No, I'm talking to myself," I corrected him, awkwardly as he grabbed some eggs from the fridge.

" 'I could call you crazy, but I guess everyone talks to themselves at some point,' he shrugged before bending down and picking up a sauté pan from one of the cupboards.

This was far from a restaurant kitchen, but it was big enough to meet the hostel's needs.

" What are you doing? " I stretched, trying to figure out what else he had taken from the cupboard.

Gustaf gave me an amused glance over his shoulder, only to remind me of how handsome he was and all our initial attraction, that is until I freaked out about the kidnapping idea and he picked up on the Santa Claus story.

" Your breakfast " he winked.

That information surprised me, I put the to"do list aside, dedicating my full attention to the man.

" 'No need to worry, I can do it.

Gustaf poured some milk from a bowl, before adding flour, separating the white from the yolk of some eggs.

 "I would never allow that, you're on vacation, Isabella, breakfast is on me." He assured her, without diverting his attention from the bowl, where he placed some cubes of butter.

Doesn't he use any kind of measure?

" How did you learn to cook? " I stretched my neck to get a better view when Gustaf started to show the ingredients with a fouet.

" 'The same way you did, at college.

He put a pancake pan on the fire to heat up while he cracked more eggs into a second bowl.

" So you're a chef? " that explained his skill in the kitchen.

Gustaf set the eggs aside and walked over to the stove, pouring small portions of the pancake batter into the pan, before grabbing a piece of salmon from the fridge, dicing it up afterwards.  Watching him cook was quite a spectacle, he was very skilled and the only way he could improve was if he cooked shirtless!

" Far from it, I am a cook. I have never reached the position of chef before.

He flipped the little pancakes, before putting the sauté pan on the stove, melting a few cubes of butter in it.

I wasn't used to just watching while someone else cooked, and I had to use every ounce of my self"control not to get up and join him.

" So how did a Swedish cook end up at the North Pole? " I tried to get to know him better.

At that moment I was interested in knowing everything about the man in front of me, but he just smiled, without looking at me directly. For a moment I thought about repeating the question, but when he turned to put the pancakes on a plate, I could see that his face, once so cheerful and spontaneous, was covered by a shadow of guilt, no matter how hard he tried to disguise it.

" 'There comes a time when we need some fresh air,' he gave me a half"hearted smile, causing me to immediately drop the subject.

I understood that feeling, it was what made Zachary, Gwen and me leave Pennsylvania and move to Missoula when we entered college together, leaving our families behind.

Gustaf took the eggs off the heat, placing a portion on top of each pancake, before handing me a plate with two.

" Pankakkor with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. The house specialty " he placed the plate in front of me. 

The aroma coming from the plate was delicious, and I couldn't help but let my stomach rumble.

" "So, this is your specialty," I teased him before taking a fork he had offered me with the plate, tasting some of the meal.

I closed my eyes sighing at the explosion of flavors that happened in my mouth.

He's good at that!

" "No, that's the inn's specialty," he corrected me, seemingly amused by my reaction.

Gustaf took no time in picking up the other plate and settling down next to me on the counter.

" 'And what is your specialty? " I turned my face to watch him.

But instead of answering me, he just winked at me, making my heart race before I burst into laughter.

" Oh my God! " I covered my mouth with my hand, still laughing.

" I didn't say anything! I can't imagine what went on in your head " he defended himself, holding back from laughing.

I turned my attention back to my plate, still laughing, letting silence reign between us for a few seconds.

" 'So, did I get a private chef? " I teased him, going back to eating.

" 'Well, if the inn was open I would cook breakfast for all the guests, but for now, you're the only one here, so you could say that.

" Are you the inn's cook? By the way, you need to pass that recipe on to me later. 

" 'Not exactly, I help the Monaghan's with breakfast, in return they let me live in the guest house. " he pointed to a small hut through the kitchen window. 

I narrowed my eyes to see a little better, the hut was a size that for me, was almost uninhabitable, but maybe I wasn't able to see properly, since it was almost covered by darkness.

" My real job is as a cook in a restaurant in Fairbanks. I come in at three in the afternoon and don't have a certain time to leave.

" I know this routine," I sighed, thinking back to my life in Miami, where everything revolved around the kitchen at Le Petit Cuisine.

We went back to eating in silence, until Gustaf broke it.

" 'When I got here you were arguing with a piece of paper, what's the big deal?

I looked at the list, sighing as I remembered how many tasks I would have to accomplish until my friends returned.

" Gwen had left me a list of things that needed to be done before the start of the...

" Santa's cabin season," Gustaf added.

" "I swear I don't understand, isn't there already a Santa's house? " I sighed, handing him the list.

" 'Yes, but Santa's hut is something more intimate, it doesn't have the commercial side that exists in Santa's house, which has a large store for Christmas artifacts. It's like the place where Santa really goes to rest and have a hot chocolate after working all day making presents," he explained as he read through the list.

"Great, setting up a cozy place for Santa, like I have experience doing that!" I groaned.

" I'm going to mess it up," I groaned in frustration.

" It's not that hard, on the website there are pictures for you to use as reference.

" Gustaf, I've never decorated a Christmas tree! How do you think I'm going to be able to put together Santa's hut by myself?".  I stared at him.

He stared at me for a moment, seemingly in doubt about what to say to me.

" 'Okay, it's a lot, and we have three days to finish the decoration, but we work under pressure all the time, right? All we need is a good plan of attack, you're a chef, you're used to doing this on a daily basis " he encouraged me.

That's when I paid attention to his sentence.

" We?

" I'll help you, don't worry " he smiled handing me the paper " So, chef, here's the list, what's the plan of attack?".

I confess that hearing that man calling me chef softened my legs for a moment, but I soon recovered.

" 'I'm not experienced enough to take over as chef at the moment, so maybe you should be in charge of the plan of attack... Chef,' I handed him the list, without breaking eye contact.

 We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, I could feel my heart beating hard in my chest, driven by the attraction I felt for him, until Gustaf broke eye contact.

" 'You have no idea how much I want to hear someone call me that in a kitchen,' he joked, looking a little bewildered as he looked at the list.

I looked away too, trying to calm my heartbeat as Gustaf stood up.

" 'That's the plan of attack, Stefan will bring Danny around eleven o'clock, so that gives us about two hours of work without a hyperactive child running around in our midst. Luckily, Zachary and Gwen got Santa and Mom's suites ready before they left, so we have the lobby and the outside to worry about. 

Gustaf stated with conviction, surprising me by showing total control of the situation.

" 'So while Danny is gone, we'll clean the fireplace area and sort out the boxes of decorations, luckily we can finish setting up Santa's corner by half past two, when I have to leave for work. So you'll be able to take the time to miss Danny, prepare dinner for him and a snack for the boy to take to school tomorrow, he needs to sleep around nine o'clock, any questions?". 

I continued to stare at the man in front of me, once again feeling that almost irresistible attraction pulling me towards him.

'I think he's turned me on!

" Isabella? " Gustaf called out to me again when he received no response.

" 'Yes, chef,' I stammered, coming back to myself.

" 'So, shall we go? 

" 'You go ahead, I'll do the dishes, I'll meet you in five minutes,' I offered a half"hearted smile, needing a moment alone to recover.

Gustaf looked at me for a few seconds before nodding, leaving me alone in the kitchen.