Page 263 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
She shrugs. “I don’t think about food like that. I follow recipes. I do what I already know is going to work—what others have already proven works. I don’t take risks.”
“I’m sure that’s not true. I mean, look at you. Look at the career you’ve had.”
She scoffs. “The career I’ve had was handed to me by my father. I wasn’t qualified for it, and the only reason I survived is because I had an amazing sous chef and a staff who probably knew if they didn’t tolerate me, they’d lose their jobs.”
“Tatum, I’ve seen you working. You’re good at what you do.”
“No, I know,” she concedes. “But you don’t get to be head chef at a restaurant like Le Vin by beinggood.I’m not fishing for compliments here. I’m a good chef. But I don’t know how toinnovate.Not like you do. Not like the sous chef at Le Vin who replaced me when I left—the one whoshouldhave had the job all along.”
“Is that why you left California?” I pick up the pot of hot water and pour it down the sink, then take the towel back from Tatum to dry my hands. As soon as her hands are free, she pushes them into the front pocket of her hoodie.
Tatum knows how to rock her chef’s whites, but there’s something about this casual version of her that I like even more. Her guard is down, her demeanor open and curious, and she seems happy to just be here. Hanging out. Talking about food, opening up about her life.
Her lips lift into a small smile. “I thought I was getting dinner at your place in exchange for all my secrets.”
I step closer, resting my hand on the counter beside her. I lean forward the slightest bit, holding her gaze as I breathe herin. She smells like Carolina jasmine in spring, which is now, officially, my new favorite scent.
“I’ll feed you whenever you want, Tatum. With or without the secrets. You just have to ask me.”
She bites her lip, her expression coy. “What if I get hungry at two a.m.?”
“I’ll send you to bed with snacks just in case.”
“What if you just finished the longest shift of your life, and you’re bone-deep exhausted, and I feel like eating a steak?”
“If you ask me with the expression you’re wearing right now, I’d probably go out and kill the cow myself.”
Tatum stills, her eyes widening the slightest bit. The tone of our conversation has been pretty playful, but that last line might have pushed things a little too far. Not that it wasn’t true, but still. That doesn’t mean I should have said it out loud.
I clear my throat and step backward, running a hand through my hair.
Tatum grabs a dish towel and folds it, then shakes it out and folds it again, a slight tremble in her hands.
The fact that she’s as nervous as I am sends a surge of emotion right to my heart.
I’m starting to care about this woman.
Reallycare.
With anyone else, I would have moved on long before now. Cut ties before anythingrealstarted to develop.
But Tatum snuck in on the sly. I was so busy pretending to be annoyed by her presence, I missed how quickly that annoyance turned into something else entirely.
And now it’s too late to do anything about it because there’s no way I’m walking away now.
Brody’s words echo in my mind.She seems different.
He’s right. Tatumisdifferent. And I don’t want to lose the possibility of whatever this might be.
“Hey,” Brody calls from the living room. “Everything’s set up. You guys ready to play?”
Tatum meets my gaze, a small smile lifting her lips. So she thinks I’d kill a cow just to get her the steak that she wanted. This is no big deal. We’re chill. Everything ischill.
“We should probably go,” Tatum says softly. “Your brother seems very enthusiastic about this game.”
“He’s the nerdiest of us all,” I say, happy to have something—anything—to contribute to the conversation that won’t make me look more stupid. “And I’m warning you now, he’s hard to beat. Especially if he and Kate are on the same team. She’s a travel writer, so she knows everything about everywhere.”
Tatum’s eyebrows lift. “So that’s how we’re playing? Us against them?”
