Emma Nelson Mason was getting dressed in the apartment she shared with her husband of just under a year, Spinner Mason. They had decided about half an hour prior to end their marriage. It was a long time coming. Both Spinner and Emma realized it was a silly, impulsive thing to do and within a week after the wedding, Emma was regretting her choice. She stuck it out for as long as she could but Spinner felt the same way. Emma had plans to go out with Spinner, her best friend Manny Santos and Manny's boyfriend Jay Hogart. They would go to a restaurant Manny read about on a Toronto website. The guys weren't as excited about it because it seemed fancy for them but the girls were.

After their talk, Spinner decided it would be best if Emma went alone.

Manny came by to pick up Emma at her apartment and smiled, "Where's Spinner?"

"He's not coming out."

"Everything okay?"

Emma looked at Manny's outfit, "Wow, you look hot."

Manny laughed and said, "Thanks!" She twirled in her little black dress and posed for Emma who smiled at her best friend, "I heard about this place from a coworker who said it was nice so I wanted to dress the part."

Emma asked, "Do I look okay?" Emma was fidgeting with her outfit, a red, sleeveless cowl neck top with large black flowers on it and black dress pants.

"You look great, Em." Manny smiled, "I like that top."

"Thanks." Emma was relieved that she successfully changed the subject and got Manny to forget all about Spinner.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Emma sighed and said, "I am really looking forward to tonight. I've had a rough week at work and need to chill out a little."

"Well, it's your lucky night because I've heard great things about this restaurant." Manny closed her car door and said, "You can watch the chefs make the food. The kitchen is open to the restaurant."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Manny laughed, "Hopefully none of them will have a knife mishap or something." Emma shook her head. "So why isn't Spinner meeting us?" Emma looked at Manny but said nothing. Manny asked, "What?"

"We're not…" Emma stopped and just looked at Manny.

"Wait, what's going on?"

"Let's talk about it inside, okay?"

"Okay."

Manny looked at her best friend and Emma said, "It's for the best, really."

Manny held up her hands. "I didn't say anything."

"But I know you wanted to."

Manny nodded because Emma was right.

"So is Jay meeting us?"

"No, he's working on a high profile client's car after hours tonight."

"Anyone good?"

"Some outfielder from the Blue Jays."

That impressed Emma, "That's great! Good for him."

"Yeah, he's very excited."

Emma opened the door to the restaurant and let Manny go in ahead of her. "So we're having an impromptu girl's night out?"

"Yep!" Manny looked around, "Wow. This is a very nice place."

Emma also looked around, "It is. It's not too fancy for us, is it?"

Manny laughed, "Definitely not."

The hostess looked at Manny and Emma and asked, "How many?"

Manny answered, "Just two."

The hostess looked at her list, "Just give me about two minutes, okay?"

Emma smiled and said, "Sure. Take your time."

"Great. Thanks!"

Manny looked into the restaurant and into the open kitchen. She noticed a cook who looked familiar, but she assumed her eyes were playing tricks on her. She thought, 'There's no way it's him.' That is until he turned and she saw his face. Manny panicked and said, "Oh my God."

Emma asked, "What's wrong?"

"Um," Manny turned around, "Nothing. I thought I forgot to turn something off before I left but then I remembered I turned it off. My curling wand." Emma nodded and Manny continued her babbling, "And even if I didn't turn it off, it has a mechanism built in that turns it off after a certain amount of time so everything's okay!"

Emma furrowed her brow at Manny and said, "Oh, okay."

When Emma checked her phone, Manny looked into the kitchen again and there was no mistake. Her eyes were not playing tricks on her. The expressive eyebrows, the light eyes, the button nose—it was the one and only Sean Cameron working at that restaurant. She hoped the hostess wouldn't seat them too close to the kitchen because she wasn't sure how Emma would react to seeing Sean or how Sean would react to seeing Emma. Manny immediately regretted her choice of restaurants and was contemplating faking an emergency so they'd have to leave.

The hostess walked over and said, "Your table is ready."

Emma said, "Great!"

And the hostess said, "Follow me."

Manny walked behind Emma and crossed herself as the hostess weaved through the tables.

When they reached their table, Manny noticed one seat facing the kitchen and the other not. She nearly jogged to the seat that faced the kitchen.

Emma laughed, "Manny, I would have let you sit there if you had asked."

Manny smiled, "Sorry."

The hostess smiled and handed them their menus as soon as they were in their seats, "Enjoy your meal!"

"Thank you." Manny looked into the kitchen and watched as Sean worked.

"Who are you looking at?"

Emma was about to turn around when Manny yelled, "No one!"

Emma looked at Manny, puzzled, and asked, "What is going on with you? You've been acting strange since we got here."

Manny realized Emma would spot Sean at some point so she told her. She took a deep breath and said, "Okay, someone we know is working in that kitchen. Someone you know very well."

Emma smiled, "Me, really?" She turned around and asked, "Who is it?"

Right at that moment, Sean turned to grab something, and he locked eyes with Emma.

Emma whispered, "Sean..." He nodded his head to acknowledge that he spotted Emma then turned back around and continued to cook. Emma turned back to Manny, "I'm not imagining this, right? Sean Cameron is working in the kitchen of a fancy restaurant?"

"You're not imagining it."

"Oh, my God. I can't believe it." Emma turned around again and watched Sean work on a plate of food. He handed it off to a waitress, smiled at the waitress and went back to cooking. Emma felt butterflies in her belly as soon as she saw his dimple.

Manny also watched Sean work and said, "Neither can I. Sean cooking? That's weird, no?"

Emma nodded her head and turned back to Manny, "Maybe he learned how to cook in the Army." Then Emma panicked, "Oh no, do you think he knows about me and Spinner?"

Manny looked at Sean and said, "I'd assume that he does, yes."

"Shit."

"And speaking of that."

"We're done. It was silly of us to get married and I really don't know what we were thinking." Manny nodded. "It was crazy and impulsive, it was on the rebound and we finally came to our senses and we will file for divorce next week."

"So you're okay with it."

Emma nodded, "God yes, it was a mutual decision."

The waitress came over and said, "Good evening, ladies and welcome to Cafe Cielo. My name is Callie and I will be your waitress. Can I get you something to drink start?"

Manny pointed at the menu and said, "I'll have a glass this white zinfandel."

The waitress looked at Emma, "And for you?"

"I'll have what she's having."

"Fabulous! I'll be right back with your drinks and the specials."

Manny smiled and looked toward the kitchen when the waitress walked away. She no longer saw Sean in his spot. Her eyes quickly scanned the restaurant then they widened, "Em, Sean's coming over."

Emma sat up in her chair, "What? How do I look?"

Manny grinned, "Why do you care about how you look?"

"Manny!"

"You look beautiful as usual." Manny looked past Emma and smiled, "Hey there, Sean." She stood up, and he walked over and hugged her.

"Hello." When he pulled away, he turned around and looked at Emma, "Hi, Emma."

"Hi!" Emma jumped up and hugged him tight, "It's so great to see you."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, of course." She pulled away, "We're glad you're back home and safe."

Manny nodded.

"Thanks."

Manny asked, "So when did you start working here?"

"Almost six months ago."

Emma asked, "You've been back that long?"

Sean nodded and said, "I came back home in early December. A few weeks before Christmas." He remained standing while Manny and Emma sat back down, "I assume it surprised you to see me working as a cook." Emma and Manny nodded. "Yeah, well, they forced me to cook in the Army as punishment and it turns out, I'm pretty good at it."

Manny said, "That's great!"

"Yeah, I've been saving up money to go to culinary school in the fall."

Emma smiled, "That's amazing, Sean."

Sean smiled at Emma and asked, "So what's going on with you guys?"

Manny shrugged, "Not much."

He looked at Manny and asked, "You still with Hogart?"

Manny nodded, "Yep! He couldn't come out tonight because he's working late. He's modding some Blue Jays player's car."

"Wow, that's cool. Tell him I said hi."

"Do you want his number? I can give it to you." Manny then made a face, "Unless you've been avoiding everyone for a reason."

"I haven't been avoiding people, really. I'm adjusting to being a civilian again." Sean took his phone out of his back pocket, "But you can give me his number." Manny gave him Jay's number, "Thanks." He put his phone back into his pocket, crossed his arms, and turned to Emma, "Where's Spinner? Couldn't make it out tonight?"

Emma felt a pain in her chest and her body suddenly felt like it was on fire. Sean knew about her marriage. Then she inexplicably said, "He had to work too, so it's just us girls tonight."

"I heard about your wedding." He paused then said, "Congratulations."

Emma smiled and said, "Thank you."

Manny made a 'what the fuck?' face at Emma, out of Sean's sight.

He looked toward the kitchen, "Well, I'd better get back to work, we're short-staffed tonight and I don't want to get into too much trouble. But it was good to see you both."

Manny smiled, "It was good to see you too, Sean."

Sean looked at Emma and said, "Tell Spinner I said hi."

Emma looked at him and said, "I will." He turned to walk away when Emma called out to him, "Wait! Sean!"

He turned and walked back over to them, "Yeah?"

"Do you have any recommendations?"

Sean smiled, "I'm a little biased but everything's good." He leaned down, opened Emma's menu, scanned it with his finger and pointed at an item. It was vegetarian for Emma, "Especially this one."

She turned and smiled at him, "Thanks."

He nodded and walked away.

Emma looked at Manny and Manny asked, "Okay, what the hell was that?"

"What?"

"Why did you make it seem like you and Spinner were still happily married?"

Emma shook her head, "Oh God, I don't know. I guess I panicked." She put her head in her hands.

Manny looked over at Sean and said, "He looks fantastic."

"Yeah, thanks for noticing."

"What? He does!"

Emma lifted her head and rolled her eyes at Manny.

"You agree with me."

"Of course, I do. I have two functioning eyes, Manny."

"His hair is getting long again. And did Sean always have such a cute ass?"

"Manny!" Emma shook her head, "Jesus."

"I'm just trying to make you laugh."

Emma stood up, "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, I'll just stay here and stare at Sean."

Emma walked away and Manny watched as Sean watched Emma.

Emma and Manny discussed Emma's relationship status over dinner, "So are you moving back in with your parents?"

Emma nodded, "Yep."

"Do you need any help?"

"Nope, Spinner will help me with that."

Manny laughed, "This really might be the most amicable break up in history."

"Again, we realized it was a silly and impulsive thing to do and that we had no intention of being together until death do us part."

"Can I ask an uncomfortable question?"

"Yes."

"Were you two still having sex?"

Emma shook her head and said, "Not really."

"Not really?"

"It had been a while."

"Was the sex bad?"

"Not bad exactly, but it was obvious his heart was somewhere else."

"And your heart?"

"Not in it either."

Manny nodded and looked over at Sean, "I would say the timing of this was pretty perfect."

Emma asked, "How so?"

"You and Spinner are ending things. Sean's back in town."

"Manny, Sean is probably dating someone."

"You never know."

Emma turned and looked into the kitchen at Sean who was busy at one stove, "Look at him, Manny. He has to be dating someone. I mean Sean could also have a wife for all we know. It's been a few years since we've seen him."

"Want me to find out for you?"

Emma laughed and turned back to Manny, "Maybe we should wait until the ink is dry on my divorce."

"The divorce Sean doesn't know you're getting?"

Emma sighed.

Manny took a bite of her food and said, "This is fantastic. I wonder if Sean cooked our food for us."

"If he did, he's an excellent chef and culinary school is the right choice." Emma looked around the restaurant and said, "I like it here."

"I'm sure you do."

"Oh, shut up." Emma rolled her eyes and Manny laughed at her.

After they paid for their dinner, Emma and Manny stood up to leave the restaurant and Sean turned around. He smiled at them and they waved to him. Just before they reached the entrance, Emma snuck one more look back at Sean who blushed because she caught him staring at her.

When she turned back around, Sean watched as Emma walked out of the restaurant and took a deep breath. He turned to one of his fellow line chefs and said, "Hey Pete, I'll be right back."

"Okay, man."

Sean left the kitchen and walked out the back of the restaurant. He placed his hands against the brick of the exterior of the building and stared down at the ground. He felt tears building, and he closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he gathered himself. Sean wasn't ready to see Emma but there was a part of him that was glad that he finally got it out of the way. Finding out about Emma's marriage to Spinner nearly made Sean spiral. He was already having a little trouble adjusting to civilian life and hearing that news wasn't good for his transition at all. Asking her about Spinner made him sick to his stomach and saying congratulations made the bile build up in his throat.

After he calmed down, he walked back into the kitchen, washed his hands and got back to work.

Manny dropped off Emma at her apartment and when she keyed in, Spinner wasn't there. He left a note on the kitchen counter: "I'll be staying at my parents' tonight."

Emma took a deep breath and sat down on the couch. She took off her shoes and tucked her feet underneath her rear end. She thought about Sean and how it felt to see him. She hadn't felt nervous like that in a long time. Nor had she felt butterflies like that in a long time. But seeing Sean always made her feel things. She didn't know if it was because it had been so long since they had seen each other or if it was more than that.

"Oh god, what am I doing? He's probably seeing someone and I'm still technically married." She flopped face-first into the couch cushions and groaned.

When Sean got home from work, he stripped out of his work clothes, placed them into his washer and walked straight into the shower. Restaurant kitchens conjure up many smells and they seem to attach to your hair and body when you're working in them. It doesn't matter your role; cooks, waiters, and waitresses, dishwashers and busboys are all victims. The ones hit the worst are the dishwashers and cooks. Showering immediately is the only way to sleep comfortably and the only way you can be around roommates or loved ones. Luckily for Sean, he was the only one in his apartment.

While he stood in the shower, Sean tried to get Emma out of his head but it was no use. He could stop thinking about her at work. It was too busy to be daydreaming but as soon as he got into his car to leave, Emma's face kept popping into his thoughts. He couldn't believe she walked into his restaurant. He saw Manny first then spotted Emma standing behind her as they were waiting for their table. He nearly burned himself staring at Emma for too long. Sean knew they'd see him eventually with the open kitchen and he thought to himself, "If it happens, I'll say 'hi' to them and act like everything is fine." But everything wasn't fine. It pissed Sean off that Emma for married Spinner. He knew it was irrational, but he didn't care. He didn't want to think about them together and hearing Emma say that everything was great made him want to punch a wall. But he didn't do that. He couldn't do that. His hands are his ticket to culinary school and culinary school was Sean's chance to earn a degree.

After his shower, Sean put on his pajamas—a white tank top and blue, green and black plaid lounge pants—and flopped back onto his bed. He uttered, "Fuck," and closed his eyes.