Page 43 of Simply Irresistible
My dad had grilled all the time when I was growing up, but he never made dessert. Or pizza, for that matter, which Ty had offered up tonight as an appetizer. Grilled pizza?! Could you believe it? It was ah-mazing.
Tyler offered a wicked grin. “Just wait until you taste it, Spice.”
I shivered from the desire in his eyes. I’d gotten home from Paris late yesterday evening and promptly crashed, then I had to take care of some things at the office today, so Tyler and I didn’t see each other until lunch. He brought me my favorite gazpacho soup from the Spanish deli down the street, and I ate it at my desk while I busily returned emails and sent personal notes to some of the connections I’d made in Paris. After work, I was exhausted. He called us a car to take us to Hannah’s so we could enjoy dinner together and some alone time.
Dinner had been amazing. It was one grilled course after another. We had a grilled vegetable salad, grilled caprese pizza with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese, and then he perfectly prepared two swordfish fillets and grilled some tiny potatoes and more veggies for sides. Everything was delicious, and he even prepared some of it on an indoor grill. He was so talented, and I hoped that one day he would be able to put that talent to good use.
“Mmm,” I moaned some more as I tasted the chocolate covered bananas. The chocolate sauce had a hint of amaretto that was set off by the crushed almonds. “You are a grill god.”
He laughed. “That’s a new one.”
“It won’t be the last time you hear it, I promise.” He winked, then cleared some of the extra plates out of the way as I continued to stuff my face with the chocolate deliciousness. “Are you trying some new recipes or something?” I wondered.
He rinsed off a plate before sticking it in the dishwasher, then turned off the sink and looked at me. “I started writing some draft columns.”
My grin went from ear to ear. “Really? That’s fantastic!” I jumped off my stool and ran around the counter to hug him. I was so happy he was finally doing it. “What are you writing about? How do you feel? Can I read them?”
Tyler laughed and kissed the top of my head. “Calm down, Spice. I’ve only written a couple pieces so far. I’m just trying some different things out to see if I can find my groove, so-to-speak. I’d love for you to read them, just not yet. I want to do at least one more read through of each one first.”
“I’m so proud of you,” I whispered, my head still against his chest. “I love that you’re doing this...that you’re going after what you want. It’s so cool, Ty.”
“Thanks, baby.”
***
“Paris at night was so beautiful. The little shops and cafes and the streetlights and old architecture. It’s so hard to describe.” I snuggled deeper into his side, my head laying on his bare chest. We were back at my apartment, in my bed. He’d wake early in the morning to go back to his place to change before work. I’d have him leave things here, but there truly was no room. Same with his place. We may need to rectify that one day.
“Well, I guess I’m just going to have to go with you when you show your designs during fashion week and see what there is to see in Paris.”
I loved that he said it so matter-of-factly, like there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that I would be showing my designs in fashion week one day. He believed in me so thoroughly, just as I believed in him. I was so happy he was starting to explore his writing. There was definitely something there and once he found it, he was going to thrive.
“Did you meet any cool people?” he asked.
“Tons! I met so many designers and a lot of them were very down to earth. I was afraid they’d be pretentious or too overwhelmed to talk, but they were really great. One designer was brand new and so nervous, but her designs were beautiful. She used such vibrant colors, and the outfits were things normal people would wear. It gave me hope, you know?”
“Yeah, that’s great. I’m glad you got to see that.”
“Me too. I was kind of afraid, you know? I mean I’ve worked in the field long enough to know that there are tons of different designs because there are a lot of different tastes to appeal to, but I’d always hoped I’d land myself with a runway show like what’s at the fashion weeks, but I wasn’t sure if mynormalstuff would make it there. But this gave me hope.”
“You’re gonna do big things Melanie Athena Katsaros. Big things.” He kissed my forehead again, and I closed my eyes.
“You’ll do big things, too, Tyler Scott.” I sat up, holding the sheet to my chest. “Wait a second. How do I not know your middle name?”
Tyler laughed. “Because I never told you.” He pulled me back down beside him and tucked me into the Melanie-sized nook by his side.
“Why not?” I asked, totally offended because he knewmymiddle name. I wasn’t even sure how he found out. Probably at the barbeque at my parents’ house. They were always using first and middle names. Sigh.
“Because it’s lame.”
“AndAthenaisn’t lame?”
“I think Athena is a pretty great name, actually.”
“My parents aren't here. You don’t have to butt-kiss.”
He laughed again. “I’m not trying to kiss anyone’s ass. I really do like the name Athena.”
“What’s your middle name?” I tried again.
