A/N: Happy Saturday! I'm really happy…you lovelies rock! Thank you for your reviews, favs, follows. Loved that my inbox was overflowing! So, let's get to it, shall we?

SMeyer owns. I don't infringe, but all mistakes are mine. I have a few lovelies who've offered to beta if I decided to write another story, but with a daily posting schedule, I just couldn't put 'em through it. (SoHe, this means you, love.)

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3. "I'm very happy to see you at my table."

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"Hurry up. We have an eight o'clock reservation at Go Fish. I made the reservation a month ago, and they fucking made me give them my credit card to secure it in advance. They charge a minimum of a hundred bucks if you don't show. I don't make that much money, you know." Rosalie was yelling from the living room, and she seemed to be pissed off. I had no idea why, but I wasn't going to begin to question it. I'd had a great day, and her bad mood wasn't going to ruin it.

"Coming, dear!" Alice called out as she walked out of her room, looking like a mini supermodel.

We congregated in the living room where Rose had poured each of us a glass of champagne. "Thank you for the champagne, ladies." I took a sip, and it was really great, though I didn't recognize the French label on the bottle.

"Well, we'd like to take credit, but this was dropped off at my office today by Emmett McCarty. Edward sent it. This shit is over a hundred dollars a bottle," Rosalie commented as she held up the beautiful bottle.

"Did you know…" she continued before Alice clamped her mouth shut by pinching her lips together, pissing Rosalie off in the process.

"She doesn't want to know anything. She wants him to explain things to her as it comes. I think we need to respect it." I was grateful Alice was speaking up for me because sometimes the two of them ganged up on me and I wasn't spirited enough to stop them.

"Well, okay, if that's the way you wanna play it. So, are we ready? The car should be here by now," Rosalie announced.

We grabbed our purses and took the elevator down to the lobby of our apartment building. I thought we'd hail a cab which were plentiful in our little part of Manhattan, but when we walked out, there was a limo waiting.

"You didn't have to do this! I've never been in a limo." I was shocked at the ostentatious display because they'd chipped in and bought me the shoes I was wearing…Stuart Weitzman…and had lusted after over the internet for months. The dress was Rosalie's but the shoes set it off. She was pissed my feet were smaller than hers, but I was a happy, surprisingly confident girl that night.

When we pulled up in front of the restaurant, I was dizzy with excitement. I'd never had such an elaborate birthday surprise in my life, but maybe part of my joy was left over from the previous night. We walked inside the restaurant and up to the hostess stand.

"Hello. Hale, party of three." Rosalie seemed to be in a better mood, which surprised me because her mood had been so sour earlier in the evening. It usually took a lot to get her in a good mood when she'd had a bad day…or usually, on a Tuesday night.

The woman extended her hand for us to follow her, and she led us to a table in a private room near the kitchen. It was adorned elegantly with pink rose petals up the middle, lovely china, and expensive stemware. It was secluded from the rest of the restaurant, though there were glass panels allowing one to look into the main room. I was in shock.

"God, you guys, you don't make this kind of money. You absolutely shouldn't have done this. I appreciate this more than you know, but it's a bit over the top."

"When I made the reservation, I made it in the main dining room, I swear. I'm not sure…" Rosalie babbled, clearly unsure what was going on.

"Welcome to Go Fish. This is the Chef's Table. He'll be out in a minute to discuss your choices. There's a bottle of Cristal on reserve if you'd like champagne. If not, I'll be happy to take your drink order. I'm Esme, and I'm guessing you're Bella, the birthday girl." The woman was looking at me with a bright smile on her face. She was stunning, and there was no way I could tell her age. I could tell she was older than me, but I had no idea how old. She was certainly the definition of the word timeless.

"I am. Rose, you're too thorough." Rosalie laughed and shook her head.

"We'll take the champagne first. Thank you for the, um, upgrade?" Rosalie stated, and I saw the woman laugh and smile.

"Not a problem. We upgrade birthday guests, and you're our only one tonight. I'll be right back with your champagne." She scurried away from our table, and I looked around, seeing how lovely the restaurant really was in its nautical theme. It had all sorts of paintings depicting different seaports and lighthouses, and the walls were a gorgeous mix of light and dark wood with a satiny finish. It was absolutely lovely.

Our hostess, Esme, came back with a bottle of champagne in a silver bucket with a stand attached. There were two young men behind her who set two additional places at our table, which surprised me. "I hope you don't mind, we've got another party at the last minute." We nodded in agreement because it was a fluke we were at the Chef's Table anyway, so if we had to dine with another party, what the hell did I care? The night was nearly as great as the night before. The only thing missing…Edward's kisses.

"Isn't this a beautiful picture?" It was Jasper Whitlock, and he had a huge smile on his face which surprised me, and when I turned to look at Alice, she seemed surprised as well.

"I didn't know you were coming? Whose birthday is it in your group?" Alice asked as he sat down next to her, taking her hand and kissing it.

"BIRTHDAY GIRL! Bet you didn't think you'd see me again so soon," Emmett announced as he walked in with a wrapped gift, placing it in front of me.

I looked at my girls, seeing they were as stunned as me. "Thanks?"

"Welcome to Go Fish. I'm happy to offer you anything your hearts' desire." I turned to see Edward Masen, the gorgeous man who had kissed me senseless the night before. He was dressed in chef's whites, and he had the sexiest smile on his face I'd ever seen. I was dumbstruck.

"Bella, I'm very happy to see you at my table." His table?

"Your, uh, y-your t-table? You work here as well?" I was a stuttering ball of surprise, but damn if he didn't look hot with a black cotton cap covering his gorgeous hair.

"Uh, yeah I do. I don't usually work at Irish Eyes. I was only there working the party last night. So, I wonder if you'd be interested in a tasting menu with wine pairings? I'll make you a few appetizers if you'll give me a hint of what you're interested in tonight. Oh, and is anyone allergic to anything?" He looked at the women at the table, and after we all shook our heads we weren't, he grinned.

"Excellent. I'll be back. Bella, could I steal you away for a minute?" I nodded and rose from the table, placing my linen napkin on my chair.

He took my hand and led me back through the über-busy, fantasy of a kitchen into a very nice office. He closed the door and pulled me into him, kissing me gently as his hands found purchase on both sides of my neck, once again, making me moan at the sensation.

He pulled away after an additional quick kiss in the tip of my nose. "I was going to explain all of this to you tomorrow night, but when I stopped by today to speak with my sister…the woman who seated you…I glanced through the reservation book and noticed Hale listed for eight o'clock. Esme confirmed it was indeed Rosalie who'd made the reservation, and it was for your birthday, so I stuck around so I could cook for you. How's your day been?"

It was then I remembered I hadn't thanked him for the flowers, balloons, or champagne. "I'm sorry I didn't call you today to thank you for the wonderful surprises. It was completely unnecessary, considering you just met me last night, but I loved it. The balloons made me very happy, even with my headache."

He grinned at me and added, "The limo found your place without difficulty, I assume. I called them and gave them the address, but when I sent Emmett to Rosalie's office to deliver the champagne for me, he said she thought you'd hate the limo ride."

"You…you got the limo? Edward, you didn't have to do that. We could have taken a cab." I was flabbergasted at his generous gestures. I certainly wasn't dealing with a typical man, that much was clear.

"If we'd known each other longer than twenty-four hours, I'd have done a lot more for a beautiful woman like you, Bella. Those were things I could do on the spur of the moment. Now, do you like lobster?"

I could only nod because I was slightly shocked at everything about Edward Masen, and I seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

"Okay, whole or tail?"

I snapped out of my stricken state. "Tail, please. I know it's wasteful, but I have a hard time dealing with the whole thing. I like steak as well, but I don't know if I could eat it if they led the cow to my table so I could pick out my cut of choice."

He began laughing heartily. "You're truly a breath of fresh air. Okay, let me go make you something to eat. I'm so happy it worked out you're eating in my restaurant tonight."

"Your restaurant? You own this place, too?" That was quite surprising. The place was extremely difficult to get into, and according to Rosalie, it had only been open less than a year, but the owner was a…

"Wait a minute. You're like famous, aren't you?" There was no way this was happening to me.

"Not really. I mean, I own a few places around town and I back a place in Vegas at Bellagio, but I'm not really famous. Tuscana just got a Michelin last month, about which I'm really proud, but I'm just a guy who likes to cook." A guy who likes to cook? There was a hell of a lot more to the story, but I was sure I wasn't going to find it out tonight, so I nodded in agreement, and he walked me through the kitchen, which was loud and bustling.

"First course will be out in a minute. I hope you like it," he told me with a kiss to my cheek and a squeeze of my hand. I went back to the table, and I suppose the look of surprise which was probably going to be frozen on my face for eternity tipped off my fellow diners because they all laughed at me.

"Open your gift, Birthday Girl," Emmett ordered, pulling me back from the panic attack which was likely about to ensue.

I ripped off the paper and pulled off the lid, finding a silver contraption with five silver balls hanging from thin wire strands. It was very shiny, and while I knew what it was, I wasn't sure why it was given to me. "It's a Newton's Cradle, right?"

Emmett smiled. "Executive model, Birthday Girl. When you get your big city lawyer job, you'll need something to occupy your time while you're fleecing your clients." Everyone laughed at his joke, which I thought was funny…even if it was a little offensive to my chosen profession.

"Thank you very much, Dr. Emmett. I appreciate you thoughtfulness." I walked around the table and kissed his cheek for his efforts.

As I returned to my seat, the woman I'd just found out was Edward's sister, Esme, breezed into the room. "How's everything in here? Everyone still okay with drinks?" She went to the ice bucket and picked up the bottle, refilling the women's glasses.

"Emmett, another whiskey? Jasper?" Obviously, she knew them very well because they both smiled at her.

"We'll have another, and bring them another bottle of champagne, will you Esme? Edward's taking his own sweet time with getting our food out," Emmett complained, drawing a laugh from her.

I really wanted to follow her out of the room and subject her to a witness-stand interrogation, but I didn't want her to think I was some insane bitch who was stalking her brother, so I merely smiled at her as she left the room.

Just then, a young man came out with three plates. He placed them down the center of the table and clasped his hands behind his back. "Ladies and gentlemen, your first course. We have oysters with Chef's special cocktail sauce, salt-crusted shrimp, and smoked salmon with Johnnycakes and Crème Fraiche. Would anyone like a salad?"

Emmett and Jasper raised their hands, but I was certain with the appetizers and God knew what kind of entrée the handsome chef was going to offer, I wouldn't waste stomach space on rabbit food.

After the waiter delivered the salads for Emmett and Jasper, he left us again.

"So, how goes the job search?" Jasper asked. I'd spoken briefly with him sometime around three o'clock in the morning regarding how you couldn't swing a cat around Manhattan without hitting a lawyer which was making my job search much more difficult. He told me to have faith. I appreciated his optimism, but I had about a hundred-thousand dollars' worth of loans hanging over my head, and if I didn't find a job, I'd end up hanging myself before the first payment was due.

"Two rejections today. I've only got a few months before I move back to Washington and become a dog groomer. I'll really miss things like this. The fanciest place we have in our little town is The Lodge, or if you're willing to travel about forty-five minutes, there's an Applebee's and…wait for it…an Olive Garden. Now, that's high living," I joked, hearing Alice and Rosalie laughing with me.

It had been a pact we'd made freshman year of high school. When we graduated and made our escape from Forks to the colleges of our choice, we'd all stay in touch…Alice, Angela, Jessica, Rosalie, and me…and some day after we'd all pursued our career ambitions, we'd move to New York and take on the world. Surprisingly, we'd accomplished it.

I didn't know how long I'd be able to stay, though, because my savings was running out pretty quickly, even with Rosalie and Alice splitting the rent and allowing me to cover utilities and groceries, along with cooking all of our meals. If I ended up moving home, I was sure they'd be sitting in the dark eating cold Ramen noodles every night.

Over the delicious appetizers, I learned Jasper had met Edward after he and Kate separated. Edward answered an ad on "Craigslist" for a roommate, and Jasper, being a struggling street musician at the time, was more than happy to have him move into his apartment in Brooklyn. At the time, Edward was cooking at a French bistro in Brooklyn Heights before his career took off. They'd fallen into an easy friendship, and Jasper had met Emmett through Edward. Jasper was thirty-two.

Emmett, who was a well-respected Orthopedic Surgeon, met Edward through the senior Masen, retired Emergency Medicine Chief, Dr. Edward Masen, when Emmett was beginning his residency at Lenox Hill. Dr. Masen apparently took Dr. McCarty under his wing and during a dinner at the Masens' home before Edward and Kate divorced, he and Edward got to know each other and became friends. Emmett was thirty-six.

"Okay, here are your entrées. For Bella, I've prepared Surf and Turf…crab stuffed lobster tail and a four ounce Kobe beef filet with a white truffle reduction, rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes, and a cauliflower gratin," Edward announced as he placed the most extraordinary plate in front of me.

He leaned down and whispered, "The plate is really hot, so be careful, sweetheart." He then kissed my temple which made me melt like butter.

He moved around the table, delivering plates to my fellow diners, each looking more delicious than the one prior. Once the food was delivered, he smiled at me. "Bon Appetit!"

With a kiss to my cheek, he left us to our meal. It was so delicious I couldn't speak. Emmett and Jasper had apparently enjoyed Edward's creations on more than one occasion, but Rosalie, Alice, and I were suffering from cases of foodgasms at our first taste of heaven on a plate.

Alice was enjoying a tuna steak she described as "better than sex," and Rosalie appeared to be quite enamored with a sautéed Dover sole covered in a tomato, olive, and caper sauce. She had brussel sprouts with pancetta, and roasted beets with ricotta. Esme poured a wine tailored to each person's meal, and we were having a lovely time. It was an incredible meal.

After the table was cleared and we were all stuffed, Edward came out of the kitchen with a glass of red wine and pulled up a chair next to me. "How was it?" He was smiling confidently, obviously knowing the food was delightful, but I still gave him the compliments he so richly deserved.

"Best meal of my life. I can guarantee you my grandmother's homemade mac and cheese can't hold a candle to what I just ate. I sent back a clean plate, in case you didn't notice." I gave him a kiss of thanks and when his arm moved around to rest on the back of my chair, I settled into his side quite happily.

"Homemade mac and cheese? Sounds pretty good. Maybe instead of going out tomorrow night, you'd like to cook for me at my house?" I was kind of surprised, but more intimidated than anything else.

"Hell no. I wouldn't even scramble you an egg. I'm certain anything I could cook for you would be completely lacking." No way in fuck I'd cook for the man.

"I seriously doubt it. Cheerios, which I happen to love, would be delicious if you'd be sitting across the table from me while I ate them. Send me a grocery list and I'll stock the kitchen. What do you say? I'd like to have you to myself in private rather than what I'd planned for tomorrow night." Hell, how could I turn down that invitation?

"Okay, but I make no guarantees," I agreed reluctantly.

"Fantastic! Okay, everyone, I made desserts for the table. A sweet and a savory. Coconut pana cotta with a mango-papaya sauce, and a cheese and berry galette. Drinks?" he asked. I really didn't know what either dessert was, which led me to believe he'd studied somewhere and wasn't just a "cook," but if he made them, I knew they'd be delicious.

I found out pana cotta was like ice cream, and the sauce was heavenly. The galette was a fantastic tart of sorts, and the cheese in it was unexpected, but as I'd suspected, they were both delicious. After we finished, I grabbed my Newton's Cradle and hugged Emmett and Jasper as they prepared to walk Alice and Rosalie out to the waiting limo.

"Come to Irish Eyes on Friday night. I'll give you your present then, Bella," Jasper requested. I nodded and kissed his cheek.

After the other four left us, it was Edward and me standing in the private dining room. "Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked as his arms wrapped around my waist and rested his hands just above my ass. The sexy grin was better than the lobster.

"I most assuredly did, Chef. We need to have a discussion, Mr. Masen," I stated quietly. I was the last person in the world who belonged with a famous chef. I was an unemployed, unlicensed lawyer who was basically sponging off her best friends. Not really New York upper-crust material.

"Spend the day with me tomorrow. I've got a thing at Rockefeller Plaza in the morning. I need to be there by 7:00 AM to get ready. Will you go with me?" 30 Rock? God, I can only imagine what it is.

"You don't want me tagging along for whatever it is. I'll shop and meet you at Irish Eyes tomorrow evening. You tell me what time." I could shop and take the day to research Edward Masen. Seemed like the right thing to do, under the circumstances.

"I do want you tagging along. I'll pick you up at 6:30 in the morning. Happy Birthday, Bella Swan." He leaned down and kissed me gently. I could feel his hard body next to mine, and I really wanted to feel it without clothes. Maybe the next night it would happen before my shitty luck caught up to me. I hoped so anyway.

##

My cell phone chimed at 5:30 AM, which was truly an ungodly hour to be awake. I'd set the alarm the night before after I'd talked with Rosalie and Alice who assured me I'd get a better sense of the man if I went with him. I was determined I'd go, blend into the background as best I could, and observe Chef Edward Masen in his natural habitat…the limelight.

After a quick shower and a blow dry, I went to my pitiful excuse for a closet to ferret out something to wear. Hanging in the front was a really cute dress with a post-it stuck to it.

Don't let yourself get overwhelmed. You liked him when you thought he was a bartender. Has he treated you any differently than he did on Monday? Rose

Well, she had a point. She was a very smart cookie, our Miss Hale. I got dressed in Rosalie's lovely green sundress pulling on flat tan sandals, and when the intercom buzzed, I hurried downstairs to find Edward standing outside the door looking absolutely edible in a pair of well-worn jeans and a black button-down. I was sure my bugged eyes weren't attractive at all.

"Well, now, don't you look beautiful for this early hour? Ready?" he asked. I nodded, but my nod meant more than I could articulate at the time. After weighing all the pros and cons the night before, I'd reached a few conclusions.

I was ready for anything the man had to offer, including love if it came my way. I certainly hoped he was because I was prepared to put the full-court press on Mr. Edward Masen.

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So, some of you were very astute regarding our Chefward. I don't know about you, but I'm craving lobster right now. FYI – the recipes for things I mention in this story have been researched, but I didn't copy them as I should have. If you have one you're particularly interested in, I can try to track it down. I got most of them off Food Network, if that helps.

Thank you again for your interest. I have a fab banner and manip for this story made by the wonderful fallingsnow87, but I have to figure out how to link it. If anyone has any insight, please PM me.

Till tomorrow…xoxo