Page 38 of Stay With Me

The next few days are spent looking after Elise and cleaning around the house. I move my stuff into the guest room she was occupying when she first moved here, Owen agreeing to fit us into his schedule for the closet remodel.

With the grain elevator in full swing, my day-to-day is a lot lighter, so I check into work when necessary but haven’t taken on any new projects.

By the end of the week Elise is feeling better and back at work.

That evening, I make a special dinner. All week she lived off the bone broth and rice, her stomach unable to handle more. Now that she’s feeling better, I want to spoil her.

I start with seared scallops in a citrus sauce, with a mushroom risotto, and a fresh salad topped with walnuts and a light dressing. Instead of buying premade dressings, I make everything from scratch.

Setting the table, I add the bouquet of dahlias I bought and a couple long-stemmed candles.

By the time I hear her come in the door, her voice greeting Kimchi, the table is set and everything is ready.

Elise comes in, her eyes widening at the dinner before her. “Wow. What’s the occasion?”

Opening my arms, I hug her close and kiss her, before holding her chair out for her. “I wanted to make a special dinner now that you’re feeling better. I know your diet this week has been minimal, so I wanted to treat you. Besides, we haven’t really been able to spend quality time since you really needed your rest, and I missed you.”

I point to all the dishes and tell her what each one contains.

“This is incredible. I love you. Thank you for taking care of me this week, I feel like I should be the one cooking you a fancy dinner. I didn’t even bring dessert.” She pouts adorably, loading her plate with each of the dishes.

Beaming, I say, “I made apple crumble.”

Her mouth drops. We both enjoy cooking, but it’s no secret that desserts are out of my comfort zone, as is baking. “I can’t wait.”

We dive in, her eyes closing as she takes the first bite of scallop.

“This is incredible. Are you sure you don’t want to do a pop up at Perk Up? I’m pretty sure you could be a chef and get a Michelin Star if you weren't an architect.” She eats eagerly, appreciating every bite.

Watching her eat the food that I cooked, I can’t imagine sharing this with anyone else. “I prefer to cook for the people I love. That’s enough for me.”

“Mary did an incredible job while I was recovering. She’s the best person I could’ve found to help me.” Elise fills me in on how things went, Mary opting to work the full days instead of reducing hours. “We’re doing so well, I’m going to draft up a wage increase. She’s definitely earned it. My profits are up twenty-three percent and we’re busier than ever. Usually, it’s tourists who are staying in town and the townsfolk who come in, but now we even have guests coming in just to try my desserts or the menu items.”

Pride fills me. “That’s amazing. I am happy everything worked out so well.”

“It made me think about your friend in Mistik Ridge. I was wondering if there was a way I could help her without overstepping. The property is beautiful, but I think it’s too much for one person.” She starts thinking out loud about seeing if Tash would want some of her baked goods to offer specials on certain days of the week.

Her heart is so kind, the fact that she wants to find out how to share her success to help someone she met once, is one of the reasons I love her. “I will forward you her contact info. It’s worth offering.”

We finish dinner, and despite my insistence that she go relax, she refuses and does dinner clean up. Thankfully I had the foresight to do most of it beforehand.

“Would it be okay to wait for dessert? Maybe we can take Kimchi for a walk. I feel a little trapped after being in the house for almost a week.” She stretches after turning on the dishwasher, her neck cracking.

Kimchi dances at the word walk, so we clip her to her leash and head out.

Holding Elise’s hand, we greet our neighbors as we pass. Our relationship is still a hot item of discussion, but thankfully aside from some grins and knowing looks, everyone waits until we pass to talk.

Elise laughs. “I love small towns. I feel like we have our own cheer team.”

Chuckling at the description, I sigh. “That’s true, but it would be nice if something else stole their attention. I want to revel in our relationship, not be under a microscope for every move. I went into the jewelry store the other day for a watch battery and when I left there was an awkward crowd of people trying to look busy.”

“I can only imagine.”

We finish our walk and eat dessert on the couch, watching another reality show Elise suckered me into. Before the episode finishes, she falls asleep on the couch. I lower the volume, cleaning up the dishes and resetting the house while the show plays before lifting her and carrying her to bed.

She probably overdid it at work, since she gave Mary the day off to make up for all her time away. As I tuck her in, she doesn’t even stir as I close the blinds and call Kimchi to the bed.

Hopefully she feels better for Sunday. I have a fun date planned.

---