Page 2 of Recipe for Romance

The idea had hit Aiden like a ton of bricks almost as soon as he’d moved back home. The building was right on the river near downtown. A location for any business in Applewood didn’t get more prime than that. It was also large enough to accommodate a restaurant without being too much to manage. Once it was restored to its former glory with a few modern upgrades, it would be remarkable, but he would need backing to do it. Aiden would put up some of his own money, but that would only go so far. As financial options went, his were quite limited, but there was one last person he could call.

Aiden had been avoiding making this specific call before now because if his old mentor turned him down, it would be the final nail in the coffin of his culinary career. It would be poetic in a way, given that Eddie Malone had given Aiden his start. The man was someone Aiden had followed when he was younger. Even though he could have worked in any number of good restaurants, he’d wanted to start off in a great one.

It was fairly unheard of to get hired at a Michelin star restaurant straight out of culinary school, let alone one as established and highly reviewed as La Petite Maison.The Los Angeles fine dining establishment had been where all of Aiden’s natural talent and ambition had been honed by Chef Malone. The time there had molded him into the perfection seeking chef he was today, the same chef who could do something great as long as someone was willing to give him one last shot.

The thought of finally having a restaurant of his own, rebuilding not only the old mill but his reputation as well had finally made up Aiden’s mind for him. Pulling out his phone, he put in a call to the man he’d hoped would take another chance on him. Aiden wasn’t the same young man lacking in total confidence that he’d been back then, but that hadn’t made his palms sweat any less.

“I was wondering when you would get around to calling me.” Eddie’s accent, a strange mix of his native Brooklynese that had been reshaped by too many years of living in Los Angeles, had memories from his time in the man’s kitchen flooding back the moment it hit Aiden’s ears. “Actually, I am slightly offended you didn’t call sooner, given all the troubles you’ve been facing.”

“Apologies, Chef,” Aiden said gruffly. No matter how old he got, he would still feel like a scolded child next to the culinary powerhouse that was his mentor, feeling the need to answer the man without hesitation. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t spoken in years. Everyone Aiden had ever worked with would be inextricably linked to him. Being on the line in the kitchen was like being in the trenches, and at one point, Eddie Malone had been his commanding officer. “I’ve been a bit busy trying to sew the tattered pieces of my career back together.”

“Always with the dramatics,” Eddie chortled. “So, have you called asking for advice, a job, or money? I am in no shortage of all three.”

Aidenknewthat as well, another reason he delayed the call. Eddie Malone wasn’t just the chef that gave Aiden his start, he was so much more than that now. He still worked as a chef at one of his many restaurants around the globe on occasion, but he was also a reality television star, making episode after episode of a show where he would judge and mentor young chefs until he found his next protégé.

Between his ability to mentor others and the natural charisma oozing out of every pore on his body, Eddie was a television producer’s dream and had turned that dream into an empire for himself. Aiden didn’t like to think he was only going to Eddie for the money, though that was definitely some of it, but part of Aiden also wanted the approval of the person who put him on the path he traveled so well for so long, no,neededit after the horror of the last two months.

Aiden swallowed, trying to come up with a tactful way to ask for what was necessary without sounding like he was begging for a handout.You are begging for a handout.Rolling his eyes at himself, he finally mustered up the courage to just ask for what he wanted. “I’ll always listen to your advice, and I don’t need a job, well, not in the sense you mean it. What I’m really after is some money. Mainly in the form of you backing my new restaurant.” Aiden’s shoulders relaxed as the breath whooshed from his lungs. There, he’d said it. Now that the request was out into the universe, maybe, by some miracle, it would actually happen.

A thoughtful pause stretched out maddeningly before him. Just when Aiden had given up hope, Eddie spoke again. “Come to LA and talk to me more about this restaurant of yours,” he commanded. It wasn’t a yes, but it wasn’t a no either. Aiden knew damn well he would book a plane ticket as soon as he got off the call. “I may have a deal for you.”

Eddie’s voice was friendly, yet also a bit cagey. A deal?Thathad been less expected, but at this point Aiden would seriously consider selling his soul to the devil himself if it meant he got what he wanted. “Color me intrigued.” Aiden had no idea what kind of bargain Eddie would offer, but with no others on the table, did he really have any other options but to pursue it? “I’ll book my flight and text you the details. And Eddie, I appreciate you taking my call.”

The older man barked a laugh. “Don’t appreciate me just yet. Not until you hear my side of the deal.” With that ominous line hanging in the air, Eddie said his farewells and ended the call.

After scowling at the blank screen for a good five minutes, hoping that it would reveal the mystery deal Eddie was conjuring up, Aiden finally gave up trying to decipher the man’s words and stuffed his phone into his pocket. As good of a mentor as he was, Eddie was also shrewd and there was no way he would invest in Aiden’s restaurant unless he would get something in return. From the sounds of it, he wanted somethingotherthan the money he would make from the return on his investment when Aiden was a success.

What that was, Aiden had no clue, but as he got closer and closer to the main house of the family farm, another problem started to make his gait unsteady. Before he went to LA, Aiden had to head into his parents’ house and finally confess to them that he’d gotten fired, something he really wasn’t looking forward to doing. Good thing Aiden was used to doing the hard thing.

Chapter Two

~Nicole~

A cacophony of car horns played the all too familiar discordant melody that Nicole would forever associate with rush hour traffic in Los Angeles. Shaking her head at herself for making the mistake of leaving the house during the morning commute, Nicole sighed with relief at the sight of her exit and did her best to navigate through the freeway that could double as a parking lot, laying on the horn of her silver Mercedes as she went.

Living in a sprawling metropolis was not all it was cracked up to be, but it was home for the moment. Maybe after her fatherfinallyagreed to teach her the skills necessary to become a chef like he’d promised years ago, she would be able to leave The City of Angels behind. After all, the place she called home had proven to be more hellish than anything else, especially lately.

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