Page 15 of Recipe for Romance

Before he could spiral further about that, Nicole sighed and leaned back on the couch. “I have ADHD,” she admitted quietly. Her voice was small, but not from embarrassment. It was more from resignation, an emotion he hadn’t expected to hear in her tone and not one he enjoyed the presence of. Nicole offered him a wry smile. “It makes things like being organized and staying on task a little tricky. The extra energy I tend to have helps with the whole long hours and being on your feet all day part of it, but the rest isn’t quite as easy to manage.”

Aiden nodded. He didn’t know much about ADHD. His brother, Travis, had sensory processing issues that made his life a bit more challenging than it might be for others, but other than that, Aiden hadn’t spent much time with anyone who had a mental health condition or could be described as neurodivergent. Not to his knowledge anyway. “How do you manage everything? If you don’t mind my asking.”

The smile on Nicole’s face looked slightly more genuine as she turned to face him more fully, her leg bumping his knee. The heat from her warm body penetrated the thick denim of his jeans and spread throughout the rest of him. Aiden knew he should move away, create space, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. “I take medication, limit my caffeine intake and anything else that doesn’t mix well with my meds,” she said with a shrug. Pulling her phone out, she swiped at the screen to show him a calendar with multiple different colored tasks on it. “I try to put everything on a calendar, even meals sometimes so that I don’t forget to eat. I also have to keep a low limit on my credit cards because impulse shopping can be a real problem. Other than that, I’ve tried a couple of other things like yoga and meditation, but for the most part, I’ve just sort of dealt with it.”

Aiden processed everything she’d just told him, his mind already spinning with possible ways in which he could help her. There was one thing that bothered him and had from the beginning though. “Why do you want to be a chef? I mean, I’m sure with the right management, the ADHD could actually be a huge asset to you in the kitchen, but wouldn’t another career be easier?”

Nicole rolled her eyes at him, a move that reminded him of other young chefs he’d worked with. Of course, he’d never wanted to kiss any of them like he did her. “You sound like my dad,” she said sadly. The reminder of who her dad was acted like a bucket of cold water on his libido. Eddie had asked him to teach his daughter, not ogle and fantasize about her. Aiden slid away from her slightly, but he still found himself leaning his body toward her as he listened intently to her words. She looked up at the ceiling for a moment before meeting his gaze again. “He doesn’t think I can be a chef.”

Aiden frowned. “He said that?” It wouldn’t shock him to learn that Eddie was a bit harsh with his own child, but still. Even Aiden would try to be supportive of his children no matter what the circumstances, and he was a bigger asshole than his mentor by a long shot.

Nicole laughed humorlessly. “He didn’t have to. He promised he would teach me to cook and then always had an excuse as to why he couldn’t. First, it was that I was too young. Then I had to finish high school and take a year to explore the world. After that, it was about me needing a degree to fall back on.” She shook her head, her expression a heartbreaking mix of sadness and anger. “Do you know how hard school was for me? I’m twenty-five and just barely graduated. There were so many hours of tutoring on top of my classes, and I thought that when I was done I wouldfinallyget what he’d promised me, but no.” She looked up at him, her eyes going wide with panic. “I get that I sound like a spoiled brat. Please don’t get me wrong, I am so, so happy that you agreed to this whole thing. I know I’m probably the last person you need hanging around while you open your restaurant and that my dad basically extorted you into it, but I really do appreciate it.”

Aiden hesitated before placing his hand over hers where it rested on her knee. Her skin was soft and supple, and while he knew he would likely regret allowing himself the simple touch later, at the moment he couldn’t pull himself away if he tried. “I know you do,” he told her. “And yes, this wasn’t something I expected when I went down to talk to your dad, but it hasn’t been completely awful either.” Reluctantly, Aiden withdrew his hand, missing the feel of her skin against his instantly.

Nicole smiled at him. “Pretty high praise coming from you.” Her eyes danced with mirth as she stared into his eyes. “I’ll take it.”

Aiden felt his mouth tick up in the corner again. The muscles near his lips had gotten more use in the last day than in the last five years. Whether he needed to assign blame or heap credit he wasn’t sure, but either way he knew it was because of Nicole. Narrowing his gaze, he tapped his knee as he went back over their conversation. “You never answered my question.”

“Hmm?” Nicole asked, her eyes a little hazy. Maybe she wasn’t as unaffected by his presence as he thought. That still shouldn’t matter to him, but it did.

Trying not to puff out his chest with pride, Aiden swallowed his desire to preen and got back to the matter at hand. “Why a chef? Why not something else?”

“Oh.” A sigh whooshed from her lungs, but a fire blazed behind the brown of her eyes. “Have you ever wanted to prove something to someone? Needed to do it so badly that it becomes almost an obsession?”

“In a way,” he admitted. He hadn’t been obsessed with proving himself to anyone outside of his family, but he couldn’t deny that he had fixated on it more and more over the years. Hell, even now his opening his own restaurant was as much about proving people wrong as it was about him cooking the foodhewanted to. “I definitely have something to prove now, but it will take more than just drive to get your skills where they need to be. It will be a lot of hard work doing a lot of things that might not come easily to you. I can give you all the guidance and advice in the world, but if you don’t have the follow through, we’ll both just be wasting our time.” Aiden had studied her face as he spoke, not seeing the fire in her eyes dim even the slightest. If anything, it burned brighter than before. “Can you commit to that?”

Nicole nodded fervently. “I can commit to that. Do your worst, Aiden Kemp. I’ll be ready for it.” With that, she hopped off the couch and wandered into the kitchen.

Her words rang in his ears. Aiden couldn’t help but wonder if she would still feel that way after she had experienced just exactly what his worst was. If Nicole did give up, it would likely be for the best. She wouldn’t be a distraction and he would get to focus on the restaurant, but as he watched her washing her dish in the sink, Aiden knew that what was for the best wasn’t really what he wanted anymore.

Chapter Eight

~Nicole~

Golden rays peeking out from behind the cotton ball clouds scattered throughout an otherwise bright blue sky shone down on the orchard she and Aiden were currently driving toward. It was as if the sun was creating a guiding path for them, and the closer they got to the farm, the more Nicole’s body buzzed with excitement. It wasn’t every day that she got to explore the childhood home of one of the best chefs in the country.

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