Page 46 of The Flavor of Us

Carleen’s lips quirk into something that almost looks like a smile, and the tension in her shoulders melts just slightly. “I can see that,” she says, her voice softer than usual. “Tati mentioned something like that once—how food is meant to be enjoyed.” She pauses, her brow furrowing as she glances at the mess Ashton is making. “But it’s hard to let go of the structure, you know? When everything has been about presentation and competition for so long, it’s hard to just let go.”

Her words settle in my chest, and suddenly, I know exactly what I want to do.

“You know,” I start, my thumb brushing softly over her elbow, “I think maybe some of the issue is that you’re always trying to be perfect. Always trying to meet some invisible standard that onlyyoucan see.”

Her lips part slightly, her brow knitting together, but she doesn’t interrupt. She just watches me.

“What if…” I continue, tilting my head slightly, “just for one day, you let that go? What if you let yourself be messy, be loud, be—free?”

Carleen’s lips twitch, just slightly, like she wants to argue. Like she wants to tell me that perfection isnecessary, that it’sexpected.But she doesn’t. Instead, she just stares at me, her brown eyes searching my face, like she’s looking for something. Maybe a crack in my resolve. Maybe a lie.

But there isn’t one.

I offer her a slow, easy smile and ask the question that’s been hanging in the air between us since the moment we met. “Do you trust me?”

Her breath catches in her throat, and for a second, she doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink. Just stares at me with those big brown eyes, her lips slightly parted like she’sprocessingthe weight of that question.

It’s more than just words. It’s a promise.

Finally—finally—she exhales a soft breath, her shoulders dropping slightly as if some invisible weight has been lifted. And then, for maybe the second or third time since I’ve met her, she gives me a real,genuinesmile.

It’s not the polite one she gives clients. It’s not the tight-lipped one she uses when she’s trying not to lose her patience with Ashton. It’s soft, and warm, andreal.

“Just one day?” she asks softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

I nod, my smile widening. “That’s all I need to prove it to you.”

Her lips quirk again, and I swear she almost laughs. But then, she just nods, her eyes holding mine with an intensity that makes something in my chest squeeze tight.

“Okay, Ryder. One day.”

Before I can stop myself, I lean forward and press a kiss to her forehead. When I lean away, her eyes are still locked on mine, something raw andvulnerableshining there.

Carleen clears her throat softly, her hands still gripping the counter behind her. She glances briefly at Ashton, who’s watching us from the other side of the kitchen with one brow raised and a smirk tugging at his lips. “What?” Carleen says, her voice sharp as she levels him with a look.

Ashton shrugs, the smirk widening into a grin. “Nothing. Just enjoying the show.”

Carleen rolls her eyes, but I see the faint pink that rises in her cheeks before she looks back at me. “Fine,” she says, her voice firmer now, moreherself.“One day. But don’t think this means you get to turn my kitchen into whateverthatis.”

She gestures vaguely at Ashton’s banana-marshmallow…thing.

Ashton clutches his chest dramatically, stumbling back a step. “Carleen, you wound me.”

I can’t help but chuckle as Carleen rolls her eyes again, turning back toward the counter and muttering something under her breath about ‘messy Alphas.’

But she’s still smiling.

And that? That’s enough for now.

Because I meant what I said—I’m going to prove to her that letting go, just for a little while, is worth it.

And if I’m lucky, maybe—justmaybe—she’ll let me be the one who catches her when she finally does.

Chapter twenty-two

TATI

Walking hand in hand with Carleen feels like breathing after holding my breath for too long. Her palm is warm against mine, like she’s holding meandanchoring me at the same time.

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