The Girl Who Read The Dating Manual

rule thirteen: kiss and make up

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Dedicated to Cookey_kryptonite for totally rivaling me in my extensive Smallville knowledge. Consider me impressed.

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Soundtrack:

Can't Take My Eyes Off You by The Cary Brothers - when Will and Candice talk

Grieve by Peter Gabriel - when they are in the kitchens

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All around me the normal sounds of Rive La Belle echoed; sounds of water boiling and knives hitting chopping blocks and someone playing a fifties station over the tinny speakers. People talked casually as they seasoned steaks and garnished plates, but I kept to my own corner, head down as I perfect macaroons and created the perfect strawberry flambé. Normally I was talking, but I was definitely not in the mood.

Upon entering the kitchen and tying my apron around my torso, I'd seen Will at the other end, checking the rosters on his clipboard and biting the edge of his pen in the way I found achingly adorable. When he looked up and saw me, he'd offered an apologetic smile. In retaliation, I'd downcast my eyes and shuffled over to my station, preparing for the night. When we'd almost run into each other in our dash to grab ingredients, I'd simply moved past him without a backwards glance. Seeing him here made me angry as the memories of our pseudo-argument came back to me, and I wanted to be anywhere from here.

I'd just finished dusting a fudge brownie with confectioner's sugar when he walked over, and I tried to act so engrossed in my decorating that he would leave me alone.

He wouldn't.

"Can we talk?" Will asked softly, low enough so that only I could hear.

I sighed and cut up a small slice of strawberry to garnish the chocolate delicacy. "So you can accuse me of being a liar again?"

"Candice, please," he whispered, and it almost made my heart crack.

"I'm working," I told him, which should have been blatantly obvious.

"I'll get Lila to cover you for five minutes. Please, love."

I sighed and put down the knife. "Fine. Five minutes."

He nodded, and turned to the raven-haired woman in question. "Lila, can you take over for Candice for a couple of minutes?"

She smiled. "Sure, boss."

As if she did this on a daily basis, she slid into my bench, and I followed Will out. The sound of whoops and catcalls followed us as we exited the humid kitchens, and I felt myself flush.

Will and I had worked very hard since he'd been promoted to prove there was no favoritism going on in the kitchens-which there wasn't. I cleaned up when I had to, did my equal part, and turned up to every shift. We tried never to let our personal lives and feelings get in the way of working, but it seemed the rift between us could not be ignored, and it was best to just roll with the punches than to cause an uproar.

We emerged into the cold alleyway, and I shifted on my feet. "So, you wanted to talk," I said. "Let's talk."

He shoved his fists into the thigh pockets of his dress pants. "Candice, I am so sorry for how I treated you today. I just had so much on my mind, and I took it out on you."