Page 103 of Go Cook Yourself

Barry pulls a bit off the remaining loaf and pops it into his mouth. His loud moan echoes around us. “That’s bloody gorgeous.”

I nudge Garett. “Tell him what happened.”

As Barry stuffs more of the bread in his mouth, Garett tells him and the cameras everything that Clive did. It’s honest and raw, and I want to pull him into my arms. To my surprise, he also explains why his credit was so low. The Garett who had more barriers than an army base is now so beautifully open that I find tears slipping down my cheeks. I push them away, shaking my head. He sees though. Of course he does.

“Every story needs a hero, and you’re ours,” Barry says, returning to the camera.

“The Cloud family are your real heroes. They were the only ones who gave me a chance, and they welcomed me like no oneever has. Clive’s sister, Flora, is also an honorary Cloud family member.”

“Then let’s bring them all down.”

Chapter Fifty-One

Ruby

The streaming continues as Barry beckons my entire family, including Kath and Wicksy, down the stairs. It’s all my mum can do not to dance.

I pull Garett to the side.

“I’m sorry—” we say to each other simultaneously.

“Why are you sorry? I lied to you,” he says.

“Because I didn’t let you explain properly. I didn’t see things from your side and shouldn’t have jumped down your throat. You shouldn’t have lied to me, but it’s all learning, right?” I explain.

His eyes are wide as he processes what I’ve said. I take his hands in mine as he stutters, “So what now?”

As my family jostle each other in front of the camera, Barry grabs the last bite of the bread. “Is this made using your secret ingredients, Garett?” Kalen and Jem are flanking Clive. Let him watch what he tried to destroy.

Garett nods. “I’ll let you know them if you’d like.”

Barry twists his lips as he considers. “Maybe one day. I like not knowing and trying to guess.”

“It took me nearly three months, being around him most days and falling in love with him, to guess the ingredients,” I whisper to Barry.

“We have a love story, too?” Barry says with a laugh. “So tell me, how can I get more of this bread?”

He pops it into his mouth as Garett stutters, but before he can form a sentence, my mum jumps in, “Garett will be head chef, partner, and one of the developers of Every Cloud restaurant, which will be here in the Cotswolds next to the Cloud Cookery School. It opens this summer. A rustic Italian perfect for families, tourists, and those who love excellent food. Every Cloud has a silver lining. No matter what day, the silver lining in your life will be Garett’s food.”

Bloody hell. My mother, always the businesswoman, hasn’t even asked him. His eyebrows reach his hairline. “If you want to,” I whisper. “But no expectations. Ireland waits for you.”

He doesn’t answer, and I try not to let sadness touch the corners of my lips.

My mum still makes the most of Barry’s full mouth and continues her plug for the businesses. “The puddings will be made by my daughter, Ruby, a baker whose cakes will leave you desperate for more, which you can have because she will also run a mail-order brownie and cookie business from our Cloud Cookery School and Restaurant. Her company, Cloud Nine, will fill needs that other things can’t.”

Did I agree to that name? I adore it but still glare at my mum for railroading me. She’s too good.

“There’s so much love and fun here,” Barry says.

“It’s impossible not to love this family,” Garett murmurs, reaching for my hand. He brushes his lips across my knuckles. “Especially this one. I fell in love with Ruby around the same time I fell in love with her baking. I expect she’ll be running sessions at the cookery school if she can find the time, although she’ll never make what she made today again.”

I shiver as he kisses my hands. “That was just to right some wrongs.”

“How did you work out my secret ingredients?” Garett asks me.

“When you weren’t with me, I thought about you. I even dreamt about you. That’s what it took to learn what went in your pasta,” I say.

He understands instantly. One of the key ingredients was cinnamon, but so were raisins soaked in a particular orange drink that he would give Flora when she was bullied and fennel roasted with a sauce that smells similar to his mum’s microwave-burnt pasta. There was also something that he sneaked into our picnic when we watchedBake Off. No one will ever guess these unless they listen to his stories and fall in love with him as I did.

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