An Uncertain Affair (The Affair Series Book 2) Read Free Page A

meticulous bun – not one hair out of place.
    “Thank
you, Mr. Ramirez. I’m honored to meet you and Ms. Westbrook. And please, call
me Dane.”
    “Call
me Sergio. And who are these lovely ladies?” he asked, turning to Valerie and
me.
    “This
is my studio manager, Bridget Stone, and my food stylist, Valerie Essex.” Adele
nodded at each of us but skipped the formality of handshakes. Sergio held out
his hand, but rather than shake, he held my hand in both of his. His touch was
firm but tender. A shiver went up my spine.
    “It’s
nice to meet both of you,” he said, glancing at Valerie but holding my gaze for
a long moment.
    “It’s
great to meet you, Sergio,” I said, my face flushing from his stare. “I’ve been
a fan for a long time.”
    “Why,
thank you,” he said softly nodding at me. He turned and shook Valerie’s hand in
the usual manner. I took a deep breath trying to regain my composure.
    “Why
don’t we sit down over here and talk?” Dane asked, leading Sergio and Adele to
the farm table. A thin railing along the back wall propped up the large images
of Dane’s work, creating the illusion that they were floating there.
    Sergio
paused to admire them. “Dane, I think I owe you an apology,” he said, still
staring at the photos.
    “Oh?”
Dane inquired.
    “I
know you contacted me a long time ago and offered to take some photos for me. Things
in my life were a blur back then - everything was happening so fast. When Food
& Wine named me one of its ‘Top Ten New Chefs,’ my whole world changed.
Too many things fell through the cracks, and I’m afraid your offer at the time
was one of them. That was before I had Adele to help me. I hope you won’t hold
it against me,” he said, turning to Dane with a warm smile.
    “Of
course not, Sergio. You’re a busy man and were then, too. I chalked it up to
the fact that I was nobody, and you’re a rock star. You certainly didn’t need
my help.”
    Sergio
looked at me, his charismatic smile broadening ever so slightly, and said, “I do
hope we’ll have a chance to work together.”
    Everyone
helped themselves to breakfast, and we got down to business. “This book is a
departure for me,” Sergio began. “The last couple of books covered the rustic,
traditional Latin dishes that we serve at Familia Cucina and Café de la
Esquina. This book is a collection of more upscale, elegant recipes in line
with the food we serve at Buena Comida. Many people have said they want to be
able to cook the more elegant dishes at home, so that’s where we started.”
    Adele
chimed in. “This book has been almost two years in the making, and I think
we’ve nailed it. The recipes have been totally fine-tuned for the home cook and
are spectacular. The photography has to reflect that,” she said without even a
hint of a smile. Valerie was right; Adele was all business. She was obviously a
driving force in getting this book done and was not going to settle for
anything but epic photography.
    Dane
watched her and listened attentively. When she finished, he headed for the library,
pulled three volumes from the shelves that contained photos he had shot, and returned
to the table. “I think these books are very much in line with what you’re
talking about.” He spread them out opening each one to a photo that embodied his
talent and passion for the work. Dane had won James Beard awards for his
photography on two of the three, and the third had been nominated. Sergio was obviously
impressed, but Adele nodded with far less interest.
    “I
particularly admired the art direction for this book,” Sergio said, picking up an
Italian cookbook that had actually won multiple awards.
    “Valerie
and I were very pleased with how they positioned our work, too,” Dane said.
Valerie beamed as Dane clearly credited her as his partner in creating the
beautiful work. Adele seemed almost annoyed at this remark.
    We
talked about food and food philosophy for almost an hour, and then Dane