[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Happy’s Place Season 2,  Episode 1, “Promises, Promises.”]

Happy’s Place is back for Season 2, and while fans may be eager to see bar owner Bobbie (Reba McEntire) explore a romance with cook Emmett (Rex Linn), there’s a chance it could be over before it’s started after a shocking secret reveal in the premiere episode’s final moments.

While the season picks up with Bobbie and Emmett continuing to flirt, her sister Isabella (Belissa Escobedo) pushed for Bobbie to be up front about her feelings and ask him out. Gabby (Melissa Peterman) also agrees after being convinced by Isabella that the pair should get together. But when Bobbie finally presses the issue with Emmett, he flat-out denies her, claiming he doesn’t want to go out.

Curious, Steve (Pablo Castelblanco) is convinced to ask Emmett why he refused Bobbie, and the chef reveals it’s because he made a promise to her father, Happy, before his death. While Bobbie and the bar crew believe the promise is related to vowing he wouldn’t date the late owner’s daughter, which leads her to kiss Emmett in the kitchen, his somber mood after the exchange tells a different story.

Casey Durkin / NBC

When Steve asks why he seems so upset, Emmett reveals that he promised to keep Isabella a secret, as he’d known about her for years. In other words, the one secret that Bobbie was just beginning to get over, which was that of her sister’s existence, it seems that Emmett has a direct role, which could certainly fizzle the romance brewing.

“I love that stuff. I love when they throw a big wrench in the plans,” star Peterman tells TV Insider about the twist, adding, “that’s sort of the beauty of sitcoms.” As for her initial reaction to the reveal, Peterman shares, “In all honesty, [showrunner] Kevin [Abbott] had sort of intimated that there would be something coming up, but I love that because it’s a big trust thing between Isabella and Emmett and Bobby too.”

While the current status of Bobbie and Emmett’s romance is unclear at the end of the premiere episode, it feels like this newly-revealed secret is going to take some time to brew. “It does play out through the whole season,” Peterman teases, “and not everybody finds out at the same time, which I like.”

As for how others will react to the information Emmett shared with Steve, Peterman couldn’t provide too many details, but says, “It does ripple through, and it definitely affects the relationships between Bobbie and Emmett, and Emmett and Isabella, and we do sort of explore that throughout the season.”

Fans will have to tune in to see how it unfolds. For now, Peterman is enjoying her time back on set as bartender Gabby. “I love [second seasons of shows] because Season 1, we have a lot of work to do in the sense of introducing people to characters, establishing who these people are, their relationships, and I think Season 2 really feels like you can take a deep breath, relax into it, and explore these people on a deeper level.”

Stay tuned to see how the show explores their lives on a deeper level as Happy’s Place continues on NBC, and let us know what you thought of that Emmett twist in the comments section.

Happy’s Place, Fridays, 8/7c, NBC