Chapter 15 - Under a New Edmonton Sun
One year to the night after Marigold burned down to the ground, we held the grand reopening gala. The restaurant was packed to capacity with local food critics, supportive friends, my overjoyed mother, and key executives from the Voss hospitality group. The air smelled of fresh rosemary bread, roasted garlic, and exquisite wine—a complete, miraculous sensory reversal from the ash and wet wiring of the past.
I stood in the center of the bustling kitchen in a pristine white chef's coat, plating dishes with absolute precision, feeling a deep, abiding sense of peace and triumph. Adrian walked through the swinging kitchen doors, slipping an arm around my waist as I plated the final dessert for VIP table one.
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"The dining room is a triumph, Chef Marsh," Adrian murmured against my ear, a rare, genuine smile breaking across his handsome face.
I turned in his embrace, looking up into the piercing dark eyes of the man who had arrived like a shadow after the fire, only to hand me back my entire life. "It’s a triumph for both of us, Adrian," I smiled, resting my hand against his lapel. "The fire tried to bury us. Instead, it gave us an empire."
