Page 11 of Recipe for Romance

Putting his fork down, Aiden plucked the shell from where it had lodged itself in his molar. Praying that his dental insurance was still in effect, he looked across the table, watching as Nicole stared at him expectantly, her lower lip back between her teeth. “Did you like it?”

Aiden took a second to consider his answer. She was his mentor’s daughter and it was possible that anything he said to Nicole would make it back to Eddie. He’d already screwed up his career once by not taking the nepotism of everything into account, and this could turn out much the same way. However, Eddie was as much of a straight shooter as Aiden and would know more about her shortcomings in the kitchen than anyone else. Is that why he’d pawned her off on Aiden instead of teaching her himself?

The thought of Eddie pushing his own daughter aside made Aiden’s stomach sour, or maybe that was the effect of the abomination he’d just consumed. No, Eddie must simply be busy with his undoubtedly packed schedule. The longer Aiden stared across the table, the more he realized that his hesitation had more to do with not wanting to hurt Nicole’s feelings than not wanting to harm his career. He’d never once considered someone else’s feelings more important than the critique, and he shouldn’t do it now. Aiden was opening a restaurant, not running a coddling camp for wannabe chefs.

Newly determined. Aiden shook his head curtly. “I did not,” he stated plainly. The light in her eyes began to diminish, and while he wasn’t going to spare her feelings, he could offer up the things he had liked. “Even though it’s a bit obvious, the cheddar was a good choice to pair with the eggs, and while putting potato chips in an omelet isn’t something I would make a habit of doing, thinking on your feet and trying to be innovative is always a good thing. You just have to do it more mindfully.”

Nicole nodded as she pulled a small notebook and pen from her back pocket. “What else?”

Aiden’s mouth ticked up slightly. Not only did she take the criticism well, but she was hungry to learn more. Most people took his judgement on the chin but shut down somewhat, not quite as eager to keep going as Nicole had been. Despite her starting out at a considerable disadvantage with no formal training or real job experience, she was already proving to be an excellent student. She would test his patience, certainly, as well as his need for order and cleanliness, but as Aiden went on to detail some of the other missteps she had made and ways that she could improve her approach the next time, he couldn’t help thinking that maybe, along the way, she might teach him something as well.

Chapter Six

~Nicole~

The achiness in her fingers was starting to subside, but Nicole’s hand still felt slightly cramped from all the writing she’d done in her notebook. Aiden’s critique of her food had been honest and fair, but it was still hard to hear just how badly she’d performed. Knocking it out of the park on her first try wasn’t something Nicole had thought would happen, but she hadn’t imagined she would shit the bed so completely either.

Dwelling on it wasn’t going to do her any good, so Nicole simply asked for all the ways in which she could improve. There were now about twenty pages filled with notes in her hands about how to do just that. Hearing her shortcomings verbalized should be something she was used to, and Nicole had expected his rebukes to make her feel as horrible as it always did, but listening to Aiden detail all the ways in which she was doing things wrong hadn’t felt the same as other times it had happened.

Professors, employers, and her father especially had always spoken about her lack of attention to detail, her wandering focus, and her lack of follow-through, but all of them had spoken to her as if they were already resigned to her never improving. Even her friends would excuse her forgetting plans or oversharing as “Nicole just being Nicole.”

While Aiden had been blunt and honest to an almost brutal extent, he’d also told her how she could do better next time, something no one in the past had really ever bothered doing. It felt good to have someone actually expect something of her, even if she wasn’t totally sure he believed she could achieve it. Of course, that also inconveniently led to her crush flaring up again.

Looking over at the man in question, Nicole smiled as he surveyed his war-torn kitchen. She wasn’t always quite so sloppy when she worked, but she also hadn’t expected to be put to the test the moment she showed up on his doorstep. When Aiden answered the door, his pumpernickel hair disheveled, a sleep crease on his lightly stubbled cheek, and his long body wrapped in soft cotton pants and a t-shirt, Nicole had also been thrown off by how attractive he was, even half-asleep and cranky as hell.

Once Aiden finally let her inside, he led her toward the kitchen. The sight of hisverybite worthy ass as it moved in front of her made her forget about needing him to teach her how to prepare a meal. Suddenly, she wanted to move onto the portion of the assignment where the two of them head upstairs to cook up something hot and heavy in the bedroom. Sadly, he didn’t seem to be on the same page as she was.

“I don’t understand how this is possible,” Aiden grumbled. His eyes roamed over stacks of dirty pans and half prepped ingredients, his hands on his hips and a look of abject misery on his face. “How can such a small person create such a large mess?”

The question was rhetorical, but Nicole decided to answer it anyway. “My mind can sometimes get caught up on a new task before I finish the first.” It had happened multiple times already that morning. At one point, she’d thought of making pancakes to go with the omelet, only to remember she had no idea how to make them from scratch. The half-made batter sat in a glass bowl on the counter next to the onion she’d also left partially chopped. “Things may have gotten a little out of hand.”

Aiden snorted, shaking his head. “This is more than a little out of hand.” Picking up a paper towel soaked with milk, he flung it into the garbage bin. It hit the side with a satisfying wet plop, but even that couldn’t erase the scowl from his face. “It’s like a tornado whipped through here.”

Nicole nodded and started to hurriedly clean things up. “I know, I know, and I’m sorry.” After gathering pans and walking them over to sink, she turned to face Aiden who was holding up a half empty bag of caramel popcorn she’d found in the pantry, his eyebrow raised in question. She was jealous of his ability to do that and was tempted to try it for herself but quickly dismissed the thought. He already looked at her like she was a little crazy. No need to give him more reasons to confirm his suspicions by making weird faces. “I can replace that,” she assured him.

Aiden’s brow lowered slightly. “Got snacky again, did you?” Nicole thought she saw the ghost of a smile on his lips, but it was gone before she could be sure. Instead, he stiffened again and placed it back in his pantry. “I suppose I should be grateful that it didn’t end up in my omelet.”

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