Page 14 of Caught in a Christmas Conundrum

As I walk in, I see that Lucas has changed his apron. Now it says,I hate being sexy, but I’m the chef, so I can’t help it.

I look away quickly. I switched aprons in the car too, and mine says,be nice to me or I’ll poison your food.

I do notice his look before I turned completely away. He lifts his brows and looks intrigued, rather than offended.

I want to be upset about that, but instead, my overriding feeling is laughter. Laughter that his reaction would be so unpredictable.

He and his assistant have gathered up the food for the second festival, and they leave while I start cleaning the kitchen. I told Phyllis that once we delivered the food, she could have the rest of the day off. After all, there are two festivals going on in town, and I’m sure she’d like to hit both of them up.

I can handle the mess. It will take me the rest of the day most likely, and then I’ll have to drive around and pick up my supplies. But the money I made today should be more than worth it.

Maybe Lucas has the same idea, because when he comes back, his assistant gets out of the car but doesn’t come into my shop. Instead, he walks around the building to where his car is parked.

Lucas walks in, and I don’t want to look up, but I have to see his apron.

Love is in the air. No, wait. That’s barbecue.

My heart sinks. Did he choose that apron on purpose? Or is he just trying to be funny? Maybe he’s trying to walk back his comments of the night before.

He comes around the sink, not saying anything but looking.

I make him wait, even though I know what he wants. Finally, I put one of the dirty pans I’ve been scrubbing in the rack and step back.

He sees my apron:get your fat pants ready.

He laughs out loud. “That’s a good one,” he says, grabbing a dish towel and picking up the pan I just set down.

“You don’t have to help with this,” I protest immediately. “You’ve done everything you said you were going to do, and I appreciate your help.”

“If both of us are working on it, we’ll get done faster, and maybe we’ll both have a little bit of time to enjoy the festivals.”

twelve

. . .

Lucas

Kate has acceptedmy offer of help, but it feels reluctant. I’m not sure if my presence makes her uncomfortable, or if she’s uncomfortable because of her reaction last night.

I want to ask her about it. I wait until we’ve worked together for a while, chatting about the food we cooked and the recipes we used, and even sharing a few almost-secrets of the trade.

She changes into an apron that says,cooking is love made edible, and I like that one. It’s not funny, exactly, but it’s true. Maybe I have a little bit of trouble with romance and telling people how I feel in a way that doesn’t make them run out the door. But cooking is my love language. It’s how I show people I love them and how I spoil them. It’s…how I tried to bridge the gap between Kate and me. I like cooking for her. Not necessarily for her to eat, but for her business. It’s…how I show love.

I wonder if she’s figured that out. Surely not. It’s just one more apron in a long line of them. I take my first apron off, and the second one says,may the forks be with you.

She scrunches up her nose as soon as she sees it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks, looking in confusion at the saying one more time, as though she might have not seen it correctly.

“You know,Star Wars. May the force be with you?” I say, but no understanding dawns across her face. And I get a bit of a sinking feeling in my stomach. “Don’t tell me you’ve never seenStar Wars?”

“Okay. I won’t,” she says, sounding a little uncertain, but there is that grin that always seems to take over, no matter how bad things get.

“I’m going to have to fix this huge gap in your social education.”

“That I haven’t seenStar Wars?” she asks, sounding surprised. “I didn’t realize that was a requirement of being a US citizen.”

“It is. I’m not sure where you missed that in high school civics, but it is imperative that you watch it at least once in your lifetime, preferably twenty times. And thirty would be even better.”

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