Page 6 of Recipe for Romance

Eddie’s icy glare melted and he smiled softly. “No worries. If anything it’s good to see that you have some fire left in that belly along with all that tiramisu you made at Zoretti’s.”

The tiramisu had been delicious, but Aiden couldn’t take credit for it. “We had an amazing pastry chef,” he admitted. Trying to get back on the topic his mentor seemed determined to avoid, Aiden tried a different tactic. “Do you think The Mill Restaurant is something you’d be willing to invest in?” The name for the establishment was a no brainer. Keep the history while also streamlining it.

Eddie studied him for a moment and Aiden tried not to squirm under the scrutiny. “I don’t think so,” he stated plainly. Defeated and more than a little pissed off that he’d made a seven hour trip for nothing, Aiden slid his untouched salad away and started to push back his chair, stopping only at the feel of Eddie’s hand on his sleeve. “Not so fast. I can’t invest personally because most of my money is tied up in my own endeavors, but I do have ties with an investment group that would do it if I asked them to, which I will.”

Sighing gratefully, Aiden nodded at his mentor-turned-savior. “I won’t let you down, Chef.” It was a promise easily made, but keeping it was another matter. He would do everything in his power to make the endeavor a success, but he couldn’t predict the future. Hopefully the people of Applewood and the surrounding area would support him as much as his family would.

The man smiled, but it wasn’t entirely friendly. There was a craftiness there that had Aiden sweating again. “I know you won’t, just like I know that the favor I ask of you in return will be done willingly.”

The other shoe dropping didn’t come as a total surprise, but something about the look on his mentor’s face put Aiden on his guard. Eddie had mentioned making a deal. Aiden had simply thought that perhaps he could get what he wanted and get out before that deal came to fruition. Obviously, he should have known better. “What exactly is the favor?”

Eddie scratched one round cheek and nodded out the long line of floor to ceiling windows that led out into the backyard. “Have you met my daughter?” The non sequitur threw Aiden for a loop, so much so that he hadn’t been able to form a reply before Eddie got up and walked toward the patio doors, shouting for his daughter to come inside.

Opening his mouth, Aiden had tried to conjure words to question his mentor, but they evaporated off his tongue only to be replaced by a steady pooling of saliva. Standing from her prone position on a lounge chair was a woman who looked more angel than human. His eyes raked over her body as she turned to follow the sound of her father’s voice. Her frame was petite and slender, encased in a sunflower colored dress so short he could see the creamy expanse of her tanned thighs. As Aiden’s eyes traveled upward, he saw that anything petite about the woman ended at her chest.

Large breasts practically spilled out of her neckline. As tempting as it was for him to stop there, Aiden kept his eyes traveling upward where they landed on the prettiest face he had seen in a long time, maybe ever. As she got closer, he could make out pink lips that formed an almost perfect bow as well as a button nose and apple cheeks that reminded him of home. Her hair was down in long waves that reached to her middle. For a moment, Aiden’s mind was lost as he tried to think of all the foods her hair color could be compared to. Butter, acorn squash, Asian pears, rainier cherries, and his mom’s cornbread all sprang to mind.

Finally when she was in front of him, her milk chocolate doe eyes landed on him and lit up with recognition. “I know you.”

Aiden was certain he’d never met this woman before in his life, but the longer she looked at him, the more her statement felt truer than anything else he’d ever known. This was not good. She was beautiful, but she was a distraction, one he didn’t need. “I don’t think you do.” His brusque tone dimmed the light in her eyes, but before he could feel guilty about it, his mentor used some of his trademark charisma to cut the tension.

“Not officially anyway. Aiden, this is Nicole.” Eddie introduced the two of them smoothly.

They clasped hands, but the simple touch was enough for Aiden to feel as if he’d burned his hand on a six-top. The skin of her delicate fingers brushed against his digits with awareness, so much so that he shook his hand out a little to try and rid himself of the feeling.

Eddie narrowed his eyes at Aiden slightly before turning toward his daughter. “Honey, I’ve got good news about your culinary training.”

Nicole’s eyes burned brightly once again, her face a portrait of happiness as she beamed at her father. “You’re going to train me?” she asked Eddie.

The smile hadn’t been aimed at him, but Aiden felt it like a shot to the heart nonetheless. The organ that had been dormant for so long kicked in his chest, but before he could get used to it, he buried the feeling underneath another pile of determination to keep his eyes on the prize. While the woman next to him was definitely a prize, she wasn’t the one he was trying to win.

Eddie clucked his tongue and shook his head at the woman, treating her more like a small child than the adult she clearly was. “You know I’m too busy, but you’re going to have the next best thing. Aiden is going to train you.”

“He is?” Nicole looked at him. The disappointment in her voice had been tangible, but the look in her eye still held some interest.

Aiden squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the look that had his libido stirring for the first time in years and prayed that what he’d just heard was in error, but of course it wasn’t. This was part of the deal to get the money that he so desperately needed, but Nicole was not something he wanted. If there was anything that would make his life harder at the moment, it was having to teach someone he was already wildly attracted to.

Knowing he had few options available, he said the words he wondered might be the start of one of the worst decisions he’d ever made. “I am.”

---