Page 40 of Recipe for Romance

Autumn turned to Nicole with a fond expression. “It sometimes feels like we’ve always been friends since we’ve gone to school together for most of our lives, but we didn’t really get close until our freshman year of high school.” She gazed out at the trees that were now barren and smiled wistfully. “Felix was always a bit of a science geek and I was hopeless when it came to anything having to do with that sort of thing, so when we got paired up as lab partners I ended up relying on him a lot for help. We’d work in class but then go over to each other’s houses to work on stuff too. He’s basically the only reason I passed the class,” she chuckled, shaking her head.

The story reminded Nicole of how Aiden was helping her. It seemed that helping other people was a genetic trait among the band of brothers. “So you’ve been besties ever since?”

Autumn nodded as she came to a stop near one of the trees Aiden had brought Nic to at the beginning of her training. Autumn smiled as she stared at Felix’s apple trees and picked a few dead leaves that had refused to fall off a branch. “Yes, though we’ve had our disagreements too. Mostly about little stuff like how to load the dishwasher, but we always end up back on the same page.” Autumn’s smile shuttered slightly as she looked over at Felix’s cider house, and Nicole couldn’t help but reach out and touch the sleeve of her coat.

“Are you okay?” It wasn’t really her place to ask since she and Autumn were still barely friends, but the question was out of her mouth before she could think better of it. The woman was clearly all up in her head and feelings just as Nicole was, and she couldn’t witness the turmoil and not offer assistance.

Autumn’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she waved off Nicole’s question. “I’m fine, just have a lot on my mind.” She gave Nicole a penetrating look. “Seems like I’m not the only one in that boat. What’s got you so twisted up?”

Nicole thought about calling Autumn out for deflecting or denying that she was thinking about anything, but there was little use as she was sure the storm of thoughts and emotions was plainly obvious from her demeanor. “Aiden wants me to stay here and work with him at the restaurant.”

“That’s great,” Autumn gushed, grabbing Nicole’s arms and shaking them with excitement. “Isn’t that why you came here? To train to be a chef, right?”

Nicole groaned lightly. “Ugh, yes, but he wants me to do the front of house, not cook.” The lack of sadness in her voice was telling, and maybe that was enough to let her know how she was truly feeling.

Understanding dawned on Autumn’s face and they started walking again. “Ah, and that’s not something you’re sure you want to do.”

Bobbing her shoulder, Nicole stuffed her hands in her pockets to help stay warm. “Actually, I’m about ninety percent sure Idowant that, but that part of me that had her hopes set of being a chef for so long is having a hard time shutting up about it.” She smiled sadly at the other woman, expecting that voice that had been screaming not to give up to start up again, but it was actually quiet. “I just don’t want to make a decision and regret it later.”

Aiden was a big part of the equation as well, but Nicole already knew she would never regret him. He might be worried that she would resent him for staying in Applewood, but there was no danger of that happening. Nicole would own any decision, and she would continue to love him no matter what the future brought.

Autumn nodded as she kicked at some crushed leaves. “I get that.” She stopped walking and looked at Nicole. “I had my own little career crisis back when I was in college.”

Nicole’s eyes shot up. “Really?” She somehow couldn’t imagine the pink-haired potter as anything other than what she was now, an artist and creator.

“Yup,” Autumn chuckled. “My parents were always going on about getting a practical career, something that was stable and in demand, so when I went off to college I started in the nursing program.”

Nicole reared back. If she tried hard, she could probably picture Autumn as a hair stylist or something else in the creative world, but not something in medicine. Though with how friendly she was, her bedside manner would be incredible. “Wow. That’s definitely a very different profession from the one you have now.”

Autumn nodded. “It is, and since I was terrible at science and math, it was a really hard program to try and get through. Felix was already deep in his cider business, but we would video chat and he would help me as best he could from a distance. I also went into tutoring and talked to my professors, but it was like no matter how hard I tried I just didn’t get it.” She huffed, a small puff of white clouding the air in front of her. “Anatomy will forever remain a mystery to me. Honestly, the only thing keeping me sane during that time was the pottery classes I took to fulfill my art credit. It just came so naturally to me, and the feeling of the clay between my fingers was way more satisfying than barely passing a test about how many bones are in the human body, so I dropped out and came home. I’ve been doing my pottery ever since.”

Nicole marveled at the woman in front of her. It took a lot of guts to change course in life, especially when the outcome was so unknown. “That was pretty brave, making a decision like that.”

Autumn’s smile lit up her whole face. “Thank you for saying that. Even though I’m sure they feel better about it now since I’m happy, at the time my parents thought it was one of the dumbest decisions I’ve ever made. I make enough money to get by okay, and living rent-free with Felix in our little apartment above the barn helps, but even if I was barely scraping by, I wouldn’t change what I did. It was a no brainer. I love sculpting and nursing was just not something I was ever going to be good at or really want to do.” She shrugged and turned back toward the house. “I guess I just finally realized that I couldn’t live my life for them. I had to live it for me.”

“Make sense.” Hearing Autumn’s story was like hearing her own but from years down the line. Nicole glanced over at Autumn as the two of them walked. She looked genuinely happy with her decision, and seeing the other woman so sure with herself and what she was doing helped give Nicole the confidence she needed in order to make her own. She stopped Autumn just before they headed back into the house. “Thank you for sharing all of that with me. It really helped get some things straight in my head.”

Autumn smiled. “Happy to help.” Felix opened the door just as they’d started to stomp the damp dirt from their boots. Autumn looked up to see him and smiled brightly. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Felix shivered as he stood in the doorway. “I was just coming to check on you. Are you good?”

Autumn looked at Nicole and nodded. “Yea, we just needed a minute to think through some things.” It was the most accurate understatement Nicole had ever heard, and she couldn’t help but smile at it.

Felix’s brow came together with worry. “Something I should know about?” The concern in his voice was evident, and suddenly Nicole was remembering Lottie’s mentioning his not being as single as he thought. She was definitely a bit of a gossip, but from the looks Autumn and Felix were passing back and forth with one another, Lottie may also be a psychic too.

Autumn continued to smile at her best friend and shook her head. “Not at the moment.” Stepping inside, she kicked off her boots and Nicole followed, her mouth twitching when she noticed the two friends walking back to the dining room, their hands brushing occasionally.

Nicole’s coat barely made it back on the hook before Aiden descended upon her, the look on his face kicking her heartbeat up a notch as he pulled her into his arms. The smell of him and the warmth of his body that felt like coming home, had the conclusion she’d come to while out in the orchard solidifying. “Missed you,” he said gruffly. He kissed her gently on the lips as he pulled her closer. “Did you have a good walk?”

Nicole rested her head on his chest and beamed at him. “I did, and while I was out there, I figured out what I want to do.”

Aiden’s eyes lit up with hope even as his throat bobbed nervously. “What did you decide?” His hands trailed up and down her back, warming her from the outside in.

“A lot of things,” she told him. Reaching up on her tiptoes, she kissed his chin. She wanted to kiss him all over, and that would happen later, but right now she needed to reassure him with words. “But first and foremost, I want to stay here with you. I think that with you in the kitchen and me in the front, we could make your restaurant something pretty special.”

Aiden beamed at her, the full force of his smile nearly knocking the air out of her lungs. It was incredible, and she wanted to stare at it long enough to immortalize the beauty of it in her mind. “Ourrestaurant.” His smile dimmed slightly. “What about becoming a chef?”

Nicole shrugged, and leaned into this body for strength. Even though her decision was made, leaving behind something she’d wanted for so long still hurt. “I can still learn to cook when we’re at home, and maybe with time I’ll get better, but it’s okay if I don’t.” She smiled up at him. “Not everyone can be a chef.”

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