Page 28 of Recipe for Romance

Chapter Fourteen

~Nicole~

The scent of warm apple cider filled the air as Nicole finished the last of her prep for Halloween night. Felix had dropped off the drink earlier that day with instructions to simply keep it warm on the stove, and Nicole had been grateful for the simplicity of it since her skills in the kitchen were still mediocre on the best of days. Her lack of progress was still a bit disheartening, but there were times when it didn’t bother her as much. Most of those instances occurred whenever Aiden was around, and as much as she wanted to get caught up in her feelings for him again, she couldn’t get distracted from her goal.

That was much easier in theory than practice, but she’d done her best to keep things as platonic as possible. It sucked, but what choice did she have? Nicole wasn’t sure she could compartmentalize things like Aiden seemed able to do. If they took things to another level, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from wanting more, so platonic was how things were going to have to stay.

Nicole was just pouring the last bag of Halloween candy into the comically large plastic cauldron she’d procured from the party store when she heard Aiden’s strangled cry coming from the stairs. She tried not to laugh, but a chuckle escaped her lungs at the thought of Aiden finding the costume she’d laid out on his bed for him. Schooling her features, she turned toward the sound of his exasperated sighs.

“Is something wrong?” she asked sweetly.

Aiden glared at her from the base of the stairs and she tried her best not to smile at it. Nicole was getting very familiar with all of Aiden’s expressions, particularly his scowls and glares. There was the one where his brows would knit together very tightly, a look that meant he was tired of having to deal with people and needed space from everyone. Fortunately, that never included her and it did make her feel rather special, but she didn’t look further into that becauseplatonic. Then there was one where his left eye would squint just the slightest bit more than his right, meaning he was deep into his restaurant planning and whatever she’d asked had made him lose his train of thought.

The one that was currently aimed Nicole’s way was the glare that meant he wasn’t happy about something but that he would indulge her long enough for her to convince him to go along with whatever whimsical scheme she’d cooked up. It was her favorite of his and the one she’d probably seen the most lately.

A Peter Pan costume that was obviously too small for Aiden’s tall frame dangled from the end of his finger. After sneering at the lime green outfit, he turned to her. “What. The fuck. Is this?” His voice was exasperated, but if she listened hard enough, something she always did, she could hear the humor in it as well.

Even though they were keeping things strictly professional as far as romance was concerned, Nicole did enjoy playing the occasional tiny prank on him. Sometimes, it was something silly like jumping out from behind a partially closed door or coming downstairs in the morning wearing a large foam cowboy hat. Other times, they were slightly more elaborate like the other day when she’d swapped everything in Aiden’s closet for Hawaiian shirts and swim trunks that she’d bought at the thrift store. Getting to see the glowering expression on his face that she now found more endearing than anything else was well worth the hit to her bank account.

Nicole bounced over to the stairs, her body thrumming with excitement. “It’s your costume, silly.” She smiled and dragged him over to the family room where she had set up everything for their evening, including a big bowl of popcorn and enough licorice to give even the most seasoned dentist nightmares. “We can’t not dress up while we hand out candy, and our costumes need to be kid friendly. Just because we’re watchingScreamwhile we wait for trick-or-treaters doesn’t mean we should show up to the door wearing something creepy or gruesome.”

Aiden groaned and collapsed on the couch in a heap of long limbs. “I agreed to letting you pass out candy. Idid notconsent to wearing a costume. I’m not really a costume kind of guy.” He tossed the too small outfit onto the adjacent chair, frowning at it, but when his eyes flicked to hers, a tiny sparkle of laughter winked at her. “Besides, lime isn’t really my color.”

Nicole grabbed the costume and held it lightly over his body. “I don’t know. I think you could pull it off, but you’re right that you’re not really much of a Peter Pan. You are definitely all grown up.”

She tossed the costume aside again, her eyes running over the lines of his body, the sight of his biceps popping out from underneath his tight shirt and the hint of chest hair peeking out at the base of his neck making her core ache. Clearing her throat, Nicole smiled tremulously at him before grabbing the bag she’d stashed behind the couch. Pulling out the leather pants, blousy white shirt, and velvet jacket, Nicole presented him with the costume she’d purchased with him in mind.

“Captain Hook seems a lot more up your alley.” At the party store, Nicole had fallen in love with the Tinkerbell costume and snatched it up right away. Peter Pan was an obvious joke costume, but once her eyes hit the one next to it, she immediately started picturing Aiden as a sexy pirate. She’d also already been picturing him out of the costume as well, but that was a fantasy for when she was alone.

Aiden huffed and took the costume from her. “I can’t say this is much better.” He leveled her with a look, but the fact that he hadn’t outright refused to wear it yet gave her hope.

Nicole sat across from him, his knees bracketing hers. “Please.” Nicole put on her most winning smile and took his hands in hers, trying to ignore the way the innocent touch sent a shiver up her spine. “It will be so much fun, and you kind of owe me for not letting me get the lawn decorations I wanted.”

Aiden barked a laugh, but didn’t pull his hands away. “You texted me a picture of a twenty foot inflatable pumpkin. Forgive me if I didn’t want that blocking the entire view from the front window.” His mouth ticked up in the corner as he studied the costume. When his upper lip twitched ever so slightly, Nicole knew she had him. “I suppose I can make an exception to my no costume rule if only so you have someone to match with.”

“Yay,” she exclaimed. Practically jumping into his arms, Nicole pulled him into a fierce hug.

Her mom had always dressed up in a coordinating costume for her and she’d missed it in the years that had passed without the tradition being fulfilled. It was something she’d mentioned to Aiden almost offhandedly, but the fact that he’d not only remembered it but had agreed to participate with her meant more than she could ever express. When the elation she felt at his agreement faded, she realized that she was basically sitting in Aiden’s lap, her arms wound tightly around his middle.

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