Page 45 of Recipe for Romance

Epilogue

~Aiden~

Six months later

The bustle of Pike’s Place Market reminded Aiden so much of the noise and frenzy in his kitchen back at The Mill Restaurant that it helped settle his nerves slightly. He could have done without the crowd of people, but other than that the experience of getting to share the oldest running farmer’s market in Seattle with Nic had been the perfect ending to an already perfect day. While she thought it was a spontaneous trip to the city on the one day the restaurant was closed, Aiden knew better. He’d been planning this day for weeks, months if you started from the moment he knew he was going to ask Nic to marry him.

It had been at the end of their Easter dinner service. They were both tired and had started bickering about whether the basket of chocolate eggs she’d put at the hostess stand had been entirely necessary. Nic insisted that since it had brightened the eyes of countless children who had dined there, it was a success, while Aiden pointed to the chocolate smears on a couple of the fabric chairs as proof that it had only made more work for them. In the midst of their squabbling, Nic held up a hand to stop his ranting and plucked a roll of miniature powdered donuts from her apron pocket. Their argument subsided as they ultimately declared that they were both right before sharing some of the sweet cake to level out their moods before heading home and licking each other’s lips clean.

That was the moment he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, officially. Aiden had some inkling when he’d first met her that she was different somehow, he just hadn’t known the extent to which she would impact his life. Now that he did, there was nothing he wanted to do more than to ask her the question that had been nagging at him since that moment months ago. Patting his pocket, Aiden steered Nic out of the soda shop where they just finished demolishing a three scoop caramel sundae and over to the market front plaza where they had an unobstructed view of Elliot’s Bay.

The sun wasn’t close to setting, but it dipped low enough along the water that the sky shined a beautiful shade of blue, almost as beautiful as the woman next to him. Nic stared out onto the water that was shimmering as it reflected the sun’s rays, but Aiden couldn’t help but stare at her. She babbled about their trip and how happy it made her, and he took in every word as if it were gospel.

Nic was the woman he hoped would agree to be his partner in life just as she was in business, to provide each other with sustenance when he was on the verge of becoming hangry and she was snacky, and to let him love her and listen to her talk about anything at all for the rest of their lives. Her hair practically glowed as the sunlight lit up the strands almost as much as her presence had lit up his life more than he imagined possible. She was everything he wanted, and he was going to marry her.

When it came time to pick out a ring, Aiden had asked his mother for help. She and Nic had gotten quite close over the last half year. Even though she no longer wanted to pursue a career as a chef, Nic still wanted to learn how to cook. Instead of asking Aiden for a scrap of time every now and then, she’d asked his mother to be a mentor of sorts. It worked out well seeing as how Cora Kemp was the first person to teach Aiden, and she was far more patient than he. Nic was holding her own in the kitchen now, though she mostly stuck to baking, trying various chocolate free desserts for the two of them to share after a long day at the restaurant.

The diamond ring sparkled in the lights of the jewelry store. It was a simple, traditional ring, but the twisted gold bands gave it enough quirkiness that he knew it would suit the woman he loved. Aiden’s mother had agreed, and with her approval both on the ring and the woman, he’d made the purchase and planned their Seattle excursion.

After the success of their restaurant, Aiden had gotten a few calls of congratulations from people who would barely talk to him after his firing from Zoretti’s. He’d accepted them graciously and offered seats at the restaurant if they ever wanted to come to Applewood, but he wouldn’t hold his breath.

There had also been a number of critics that came and lauded his “return to form,” but Aiden tried not to put too much stock in it. He didn’t need anyone else’s accolades to know that he’d proven the naysayers wrong. Members of his family dined at the restaurant so often that he’d decided to put in a permanent chef’s table for them. Between them and Nic always singing his praises, Aiden knew he had done something right.

After what could have been hours or seconds, Nic turned to him, a curious expression on her face. “What? Do I have ice cream on my face?” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, but before it could drop back to her side, Aiden snatched it up and went down on one knee. Her eyes widened, but there was no panic or dismay to be found in the dark brown depths, only shock and happiness. “Aiden,” she whispered.

Aiden held a finger up to his mouth. “Let me try to get this right.” He pulled the small box from his pocket and presented the ring to her. By the look in her eyes, he and his mother had chosen well. “Angel, I have loved you for a long time now, longer than I probably even realize myself, and I don’t think I can wait another minute without asking you something. You challenge me, you support me, and you love me. I want to do all of those things for you as well for as long as you’ll let me.” He slipped the ring out of the box and held it up to her. “Nicole Malone, will you marry me?”

Nic nodded and Aiden slipped the ring over her finger. “Yes,” she told him. Her voice was watery, but any tears that spilled over her were from joy. As Aiden rose to his feet and pulled her into a deep kiss, a crowd of people applauded around them. With their claps ringing out around him and the woman he loved in his arms, Aiden made a promise that Nic would only ever cry happy tears for the rest of their lives.

The End

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