Page 55 of Chloé

“Then go and take a seat,” she said, shooing them out of the kitchen and to the other side of the island.

Once they were seated, she moved about the kitchen preparing several small dishes, then brought them over. Each serving was plated to perfection and looked like a work of art, and considering she’d pulled this off in their kitchen with a last-minute order for the staff, Ethan could only imagine what she could do at the restaurant, where she had everything she could ever need at her disposal.

“Okay, I have four mains I’m oscillating between. So, be honest. I want to know how you feel about them, okay? Nothing you say will hurt my feelings. I need feedback to help me tweak. To make it perfect.”

“Not sure how helpful my ‘I like it’ or ‘I don’t’ will be, Red,” Zayne replied. “But I’m willing to let you use my mouth for whatever purpose you like.”

Chloé arched a sassy brow. “Well, I’m definitely not going to say no to that.”

“Smart girl.” Ethan smirked. “Zayne is very good with his mouth.”

She eyed said mouth and bit down into her lip. “I know. But for now, I’m going to use his tongue to taste some of my…other delights.”

Zayne winked at her as she slid a knife and fork their way.

“First off, I have for you squab with a Swiss chard gnocchi. The gnocchi is made from scratch.”

Jesus, she was impressive.

Ethan leaned over and inhaled the delicious aromas coming from… “What’s the sauce with it?”

“That’s squab jus and summer truffle. The squab is cooked on the bone and roasted—gives it a more flavorful taste.”

Zayne dug in at the same time Ethan did, eager to try the first creation put in front of them. The second the meal hit his taste buds, Ethan closed his eyes and savored the flavors that exploded on his tongue. It wasn’t every day you got to eat like this, and he was not going to rush the experience.

Unusually quiet beside him, Zayne seemed to be having a similar kind of moment. Ethan opened his eyes to see Chloé looking at them both expectantly, and a sense of pride hit him.

This smart, talented woman was theirs, and holy hell was she a genius in the kitchen.

“Well?” she said when neither of them spoke. But Ethan was still trying to come up with the words to tell her it was the best thing he’d ever tasted in his life.

“Red…” Zayne stabbed the last piece of gnocchi and twirled it through the sauce, and Ethan nodded.

“I feel just like Zayne. Words are escaping me. If that’s the first option, I have no idea how we’re going to pick one. That was extraordinary.”

“Really? There’s nothing you’d change? It wasn’t too salty? Too sweet?”

“Chloé?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve eaten in restaurants all over the world, andthatwas sheer perfection.”

She let out a shuddery breath, her eyes glistening at his praise.

“It’s just…Père’s never trusted me like this before, and it makes me nervous. What if I make a mistake? What if this is a test and I fail?”

Zayne put his utensils down and sat back on his stool. “Trust me, Red. If you cook like this on the night, you ain’t gonna fail.”

“Zayne’s right. And if this is a test, he’s doing it to better you. He knows how talented you are, and if this is you practicing, I can only imagine how phenomenal it’s going to be on the night. You are going to make yourself, them, and us the proudest people on the planet.”

A smile slowly stretched across her lips as she came around to hug and kiss them both.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank us. We’re telling you the truth.”

“But…” Zayne eyed the plates on the other side of the kitchen. “I wouldn’t turn down whatever else you might want us to try for you today.”

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