Page 80 of The Spark Between Us

Basil pulled from its stems was strewn everywhere. An untouched can of sweet iced tea sat on the windowsill, condensation dripping down its sides.

I closed my eyes and started to laugh. Braden’s grip tightened, probably because he wasn’t sure whether or not I was losing it. Then he reached for the can of tea and pulled the tab before handing it to me.

I took a shaky sip and he folded me into an embrace. We stood there for a minute or more while his unspoken words told me I’d be able to get this dinner on the table somehow because he was here for me.

When I calmed down and opened my eyes, I shook my head. “I have no clue what I’m doing. When I said I like to cook for other people, I meant one other person. Like you. I’d cook for you. But eleven people—”

He nodded and took a step closer to the mess in the kitchen. “I used to cook for everyone at the station. I can do quantity. Let me help you.”

My heart swelled at those words. “Please. I’d love the help.” The fight for self-sufficiency left me and I acquiesced.

“The only way out is through. You know that expression?”

“No, but I like it.”

We spent the next two hours paging through the recipes, figuring out what still needed chopping and arranging, and pounding the chicken breasts into submission. That felt good.

Working together, it didn’t feel like work at all. Braden fired up two sauté pans on the stove and swirled a pour of olive oil with some butter while I patted the chicken with a flour, salt, and pepper mixture.

Ten minutes later, we had fifteen beautifully browned, thinly pounded pieces of chicken simmering in a lemon-butter sauce with capers.

From there, the salad was easy, and buttering the garlic bread led to Braden buttering parts of me. For the first time in my life, I felt the ease of working with a partner. I mean, sure, I experienced that at work because people came in with different skill sets. The parts became a better whole.

But I’d never experienced that with another person in my life, partly because that phase of my life wasn’t supposed to start until I got tenure and was ready to find a relationship.

Life doesn’t work that way.

Braden was right about beauty in the unexpected. By trying to keep my life under tight restraints, I’d cut myself off from parts of my life I knew I wanted to experience. The unexpected moments I’d had with Braden had brought out the best version of myself.

“I think everything’s good to go. I’m gonna head upstairs and shower,” Braden said. “And in case it wasn’t clear, that was an invitation.”

He brushed a light kiss against my lips and set me free to continue puttering with the peonies. Or join him upstairs.

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