Page 9 of Recipe for Romance

Most guys Nicole had dated had a hard time keeping up with her. Her last boyfriend even told her that she was too much for him. It was hard to hear, especially when she was used to being told that outside of the bedroom as well. Scatterbrained was probably the politest way it had been put, but no matter how she was described, it was always as too much. Sometimes Nicole would even literally have to bite her tongue from annoying whoever she happened to be next to with her inane chatter. It was what she was doing at that very moment as she watched Aiden stare out the window at the darkening sky.

There were so many things Nicole wanted to ask him, so much she wanted to learn about the man behind the gruffness and the perma-scowl. Her body practically vibrated with the need to talk, and just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore and opened her mouth to speak, Aiden closed his eyes, his breathing evening out. He was either asleep or a phenomenal actor.

Either way, he was clearly tired and Nicole decided it was probably for the best that she leave him alone. They would have plenty of time to get to know one another as they worked together. For the first time since her dad had passed her off to Aiden, Nicole was actually excited to have a different mentor. Being taught by Aiden wouldn’t do much as far as healing the rift between her and her dad was concerned, but it might bring about a whole lot of good in other ways. Smiling, Nicole leaned back in her chair, very much looking forward to whatever those ways might be.

Chapter Five

~Aiden~

Aiden groaned loudly at the sound of his doorbell chiming. He wasn’t and never had been a morning person, but the longer he worked in food service, the worse his aversion to the ante meridiem became. Bedtimes occurred after midnight on such a regular basis that he was practically unable to function before ten in the morning, especially onthisparticular morning.

The plane landed just after midnight, but after driving back to Applewood and dropping Nicole off at her motel, Aiden hadn’t collapsed into his bed until nearly two o’clock. That also didn’t factor in the hour and half he spent thinking back on the day prior, how he had agreed to mentor Eddie’s gorgeous daughter, and how she had caused his stomach to flip more times in the few hours they’d spent alone together than the pancakes they served at the local diner.

Nicole’s beauty and inherent charm were disarming, her seemingly boundless energy and ability to shift from one topic to another so quickly intriguing, and her helping him through his bout of flying anxiety baffling. Aiden was used to just gritting his teeth and bearing it when it came to being airborne. He’d done it often enough in his life that it was almost ritualistic in nature. Board the plane, take a seat, fasten the seatbelt, clench your jaw and breathe through the panic as best you can until drinks are served, and then get blindingly drunk to ease your worry. It had worked for many years and he had planned to do the same thing last night, but then Nicole had interrupted his practice by not only sitting near him, but performing a breathing exercise with him to get him through it.

She had told him to focus on the rise and fall of her chest, to breathe with her, and he did. What he’d also done was to concentrate on the feel of her soft, smooth skin beneath his calloused fingers, the steady thumping of her heart as it beat against his palm, and the smell of sunflowers that wafted off her skin and surrounded him in a cocoon of comfort. Then afterward she kept on looking after him as she ordered his drink and the warm towel. Her brown eyes boring into his did something to him he still couldn’t quite wrap his head around. Aiden hadn’t felt that cared for since he was a boy, and it was nice.

It was also both unsettling and encouraging at the same time, the mix of emotions she stirred in him. The drink and towel had helped relax him, and of course Nicole had been right about those as well. The fizzy ginger drink and heat from the towel eased his body into a more relaxed state, so much so that after her bizarre yet entertaining search of the plane for boiled peanuts, he was able to actually fall asleep. Aiden could easily brush aside her part in it, attribute his nap to the length and craziness of the day, but he wouldn’t. He’d lived far crazier days than that one and stayed awake for hours, so he knew without a doubt that she was the reason he had felt so at peace.

The doorbell chimed again in quick succession, and as he groaned and rolled from his bed, Aiden was also fairly certain that Nicole was the reason he was no longer at rest. When he’d dropped her at the motel the night before, she mentioned wanting to get started right away. Aiden hadn’t realized that would mean showing up at, he glanced at the clock on his nightstand, seven o’clock in the morning.

“Fuck,” he muttered, wiping his face. After grabbing a soft t-shirt, Aiden tugged it over his head as he padded down the hardwood stairs, the doorbell now forgotten and a soft knocking sound coming from the front door instead. A severe lack of sleep and irritation at the constant noise caused Aiden to wrench the door open a little harder than necessary. “Must you be so persistent in your knocking?” he barked.

The morning sun was already up past the horizon, the rays bright enough to highlight the butter yellow strands of Nicole’s hair, creating a halo effect around her and not helping with his whole seeing her as an angel thing. When he looked at her face, he saw a slight frown there, no doubt a result of his rebuke. It vanished quickly and in its place was a bright smile.

“Sorry about that.” She shrugged. Now seeming completely unbothered by his lack of friendliness, she held a to-go coffee cup toward him. “Did I wake you?”

“Yes,” he grunted. Ignoring the proffered cup, Aiden opened the door wider and gestured for her to enter as he tried to will the irritation to leave his body. “How is it you aren’t still asleep? I left you barely six hours ago.”

Grumbling about needing at least seven hours to function properly, Aiden walked into the kitchen and shuffled around the cabinets until he found his French press. He’d only been living in the house for a month and the kitchen still wasn’t quite organized to his liking, but it would have to do now that he had other projects on his plate.

“I don’t sleep very much,” Nicole informed him.

Glancing up at her, Aiden noticed that despite her own lack of rest, she looked as bright-eyed and bushy tailed as a squirrel eager to gather nuts for the winter. Even her clothes, a bright yellow blouse and khaki shorts, added to her looking sunny and ready to take on the day. Seeing her so put together made him irrationally more annoyed than he already was.

Sliding the to-go cup she offered earlier across the large expanse of dark granite that made up the kitchen island, she smiled apologetically as he scowled at her. “Sorry I woke you, but I did bring you something to make up for it.”

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