Page 42 of Seasoned
She rubbed her hands together. “Thank you for telling me. My opinion of you hasn’t changed. If you’d told me in the first place, I would have offered to help then. You don’t have to hide who you are from me. I like you the way you are.”
He smiled in relief. “You’re an amazing woman, Renee. I like you just the way you are, too, and I’m damn sorry I didn’t have the courage to tell you sooner. I’ve gotten so used to hiding my limitations over the years, I naturally did it, even after we became closer. Matter of fact, the closer we became, the more amazing I realized you are, and the more I wanted to hide that part of myself.”
“I don’t want you to hide any part of yourself.”
“I don’t want to, either. I promise to work hard as hell when I’m in these classes. Something has to change, and a wise woman once told me that anything is possible if we work hard enough.”
Her lips broadened into a smile. “Sounds like something I would say.”
He moved closer. “Is it? I’m not sure where I heard that.”
She tilted her head back to smile up at him. “I’m pretty sure I’m the wise woman you heard that from.”
He chuckled, pulling her soft body against his and sliding his arms up the curve of her back. “I missed you. Damn, I missed you.”
“I couldn’t tell,” Renee said with a pout.
“I was still deciding whether or not I was going to tell you the truth. Time slipped away from me, but don’t doubt that I missed you. You really are an amazing woman, and if you didn’t know already, I’m falling in love with you.”
Her eyes widened and she bit her bottom lip. “I’m falling in love with you, too, and I absolutely didn’t expect it.”
“Well, that’s because I’m so lovable.”
She threw back her head and laughed. He squeezed her closer, kissing and then sucking the tender skin of her neck as he inhaled her intoxicating perfume.
“That you are,” she said softly.
Adelaide & Hector
1
“Honey, I’m fine. Your father and I have been divorced for six months. You don’t have to keep checking on me.” Adelaide held the phone to her ear, a tote bag of groceries on her shoulder as she entered the house through the door leading from the garage.
Her only daughter, Karen, was on the phone. She’d gone to New York after college to start a career in theater and been out there for a year but hadn’t had much luck so far. She was certainly talented, but there were thousands—possibly millions—of Karens in the Big Apple with the same talent, drive, and hunger for success.
“I check on you and Dad because I want to make sure you’re both okay. My new roommate, Monica? Her parents divorced after years together, too, and four months later her father ended up with a shiny red Corvette and an Instagram model. Her mother wound up following the rock band Imagine Dragons across the country.”
“Sounds like fun,” Adelaide joked as she plopped the bag on the counter.
“Not funny, Mom. I want you and Dad to be normal, please.”
“We’ll be normal, I promise.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll stop worrying. Maybe. Have you heard from Junior?”
Karen’s twin, Hector Jr., was a wildlife photographer and currently on location in Botswana.
“We talked a few days ago, and he emailed a link to pictures he uploaded to the cloud. You didn’t see them?”
“No. Why doesn’t he send a text, like normal people? Oh, I know, because our parents prefer to use email like it’s the Stone Age.”
“I see you haven’t lost your charm.”
Karen laughed. “By the way, Monica wants to know if you’d like to adopt her. The carrot cake and cookies you sent last week have convinced her to sever ties with her own family to join ours.”
Monica had only been living with Karen and their other roommate for a few months, ever since the last young woman gave up on her entertainment dreams and moved back home. Since Monica moved in, Adelaide had sent cookies, chocolate cake, and an apple crumb cake as well. She was used to this type of reaction because few things gave her as much pleasure as cooking and baking, and she was gifted at both.
That’s why, on a whim, she’d stopped on her way home and picked up a multi-page brochure from the School of Culinary Arts. The school offered classes for newbies and seasoned cooks. She toyed with the idea of starting her own catering service and having a diploma would give her credibility. She placed it on the counter with the intention of reviewing it later.
