Page 101 of Hard Knock Hero

CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE

Aiden

We were late.Reallylate.

By the time we reached the resort in Steamboat, it was almost midnight.

We went straight to the resort’s ballroom kitchen, which was closed by then. But I found the notes my sous chef had made, along with the trays of prep work and the ingredients that still needed to be dealt with. I examined it all with a critical eye. My people had done a decent job following the instructions that I’d given them. But they were behind, and I was more of a stickler about certain things than my sous chef.

“What do you think?” Jessi asked.

I set down my knife roll on a prep table. I’d gotten it from my duffel on our way in. “The prep isn’t where I wanted it to be tonight. But with you helping me, we can get there.”

She smiled, her cheeks turning pink like I had just said something mushy and romantic. She kissed me.

And we got to work.

Jessi crashed in my hotel room with me. There was no hanky-panky, just a few hours of sleep, which was nowhere near enough even added to the nap we had taken at the sheriff’s station in between interviews.

In the morning, we were back in the kitchen. I introduced Jessi to my team. “Meet my girlfriend, Jessi Novo,” I said, to shocked silence. Dropped jaws. “I’ve had girlfriends before. It’s notthatinteresting.” But I’d never brought one into my kitchen.

Finally I glared, and everyone returned to their prep. Jessi smirked, covering a laugh, but her eyes twinkled with pleasure. I hadn’t exactly cleared the girlfriend designation with her beforehand. But I’d wanted to claim her. And she seemed okay with it. After that, I was surprised how little awkwardness there was between Jessi and the rest of my team. She folded into the line like she’d been there for ages.

We were actually going to get this done.

Around lunch, we took a break. And that was when my brother Jake strolled in with my sister Madison trailing him. “Well, well,” Jake said, pulling Jessi into a hug. “The rumors are true. Aiden brought his new girlfriend with him. I figured that had to be you. It’s great to meet you in person.”

“Wait,” Jessi said, “Aiden, you didn’t tell your family I was coming?”

“There was a lot going on yesterday,” I protested. “Jake knows that already. He talked to Owen about the DEA sending agents to Hartley.”

Madison tilted her head sardonically at me, folding her arms. “Could you introduce us properly? Also, we need photos to mark this occasion.”

“What occasion?” Jessi asked.

“Aiden hasnever, notonce, brought a woman to meet us before.”

“I’m the first?” Jessi smiled at me.

“Probably the last, too,” I whispered. Of course, my sister heard. Madison gasped.

“You two arecute.” My sister opened her arms. “Jake got a hug, so that means I need one. And I want to hear every detail about Hartley and the whole conspiracy you guys uncovered. And I have to know everything sweet and romantic that Aiden has done, so I can make fun of him for pretending to be such a hardass all these years.”

Here we go, I thought.

I really hoped Jessi could handle my family, because they could get animated. I didn’t want to scare her off already.

“He’s a hardass all right,” Jessi said with a smirk. “But I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Okay, she can handle it.

Within a few minutes, Madison whisked Jessi away to try on dresses with our younger sister Regan. “Oh yeah, I’m going to take Jessi to meet Mom and Dad and everyone else too,” Madison said over her shoulder. “Bye!”

I groaned.

“You’re surprised by any of this?” Jake asked.

I was still on break, and we were hanging out in a quiet hallway outside the kitchen. I rested my weight against a table. “Not in the least. This is why I haven’t brought anyone to meet you idiots before.” Mom and Dad would have endless prying questions. Regan and Beau, my twin younger siblings, would cause drama. Madison would probably get Jessi out of there quick enough, but knowing her, she’d have my girl drunk and doing something crazy in the hotel bar within an hour. At least Madison’s husband Nash and Jake’s wife Harper were sensible. And all the kids, my nieces and nephew, were back in West Oaks, staying with other family.

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