Page 41 of Recipe for Romance

Aiden squeezed her, the pressure on her body helping to ease some of the tension and disappointment that seemed trapped underneath her skin. “I’m proud of you,” he breathed out.

Elation at his words filled her soul, but it didn’t seem to make sense. Nicole blinked up at him in confusion. “Why? I didn’t reach my goal, and I still suck in the kitchen.”

Aiden looked at her pointedly. “You don’t suck in the kitchen.” She reflected the same look back at him and he smiled slightly. “Okay, but not as much as you did before. But I’m proud of you for trying, for knowing your own mind enough to make an informed decision, and for realizing that you don’t need your dad’s approval.”

“Because I have yours?” She was teasing slightly, but having Aiden’s approval meant quite a lot to her.

His expression turned serious. “You have mine, but I meant because you have your own.” Aiden blushed slightly, the pink on his cheeks adorable. “I started this restaurant because I wanted to, but also to prove other people wrong. After being with you, I don’t care about that second part quite as much.”

Nicole smiled. He could talk until he was blue in the face about not caring about what happened to his reputation, but she knew him better than that. “But still a little right? I mean, you are still Aiden Kemp, grumpy chef extraordinaire.”

Aiden barked a laugh and slung his arm over her shoulder, steering them back to the dining room. “You’re right. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t want to rub my success in a few faces, but all of that comes a very distant second to my number one goal which is doingsomethingI love with thepersonI love by my side.”

Nicole pulled Aiden aside before they were back in mixed company. “I love you, too.” As she reached up to slant her mouth over his in a passionate kiss, Nicole felt more grounded in her decision. Yes she was letting go of something that had been important to her, but she was gaining so much more in return.

Chapter Twenty-One

~Aiden~

Standing in front of the motley crew of kitchen and serving staff felt almost surreal. Aiden had hoped for this, worked hard to make it happen, but the fact that the soft opening of his restaurant was tonight still felt like a bit of a dream. The space looked amazing, the pictures Lottie had found hanging straight along the walls, and not a single napkin or piece of silverware was out of place. It looked exactly how he’d pictured it in his mind when he’d taken photos of the burnt shell of a building and sent them off to his investors.

It wasn’t just the inside that looked amazing. Nic had gone to extra lengths to make the outside of the entrance look just as warm and welcoming as the rest of the place. The day after the Christmas they’d spent with his family, the two of them making omelets together in the kitchen for everyone else that morning, Aiden and Nic had gone to a post-holiday clearance sale. White string lights she’d wrestled away from a middle aged man now hung in trees he’d ordered planted months ago, lighting up the newly painted wood of the exterior as well as the flagstone walkway that would lead customers up to The Mill Restaurant.

Aiden’s chest fluttered with nerves as he gazed at the group in front of him. Servers wearing their apple ties looked polished and ready to greet customers while the cooks, most of whose aprons were already splattered in various colors as result of their food prep, looked ready to tackle whatever orders he threw at them. They were untested, but after witnessing how Nicole had guided the servers through their training and his putting the cooks through their paces over the last six weeks, Aiden felt confident that the night would go off with only the most minimal of hindrances. While his biggest concern should be the food, most of his worry was for Nicole, not because he didn’t believe in her, but because her father was expected that evening.

Eddie Malone as well as the men in charge of financing this little endeavor were flying up to dine in their restaurant. Aiden was only slightly worried that they would find his menu a little too pedestrian, but he believed with certainty that once they tasted the food, they would come to see that cooking simple comfort food to the best of his ability had been the right direction.

Aiden wanted the food to be perfect, but he also knew that perfection wasn’t a possibility. There would always be someone who found fault in his cuisine, most of the time that person being him, but he was cooking it with love. Love for the ingredients, love for his family who had supported him along the way, and love for the woman who made the dream of owning a restaurant that much more fulfilling by inspiring him to become a better version of himself. Maybe his food would taste the same as it had before, but the way he made it would be different.

The manner with which he asked those under his command to make it would be different as well. When his sous chef and line cooks had shown up that first day, Aiden had slipped back into his old persona. The grumpiness took over and he barked at them about sloppy work and inconsistent knife cuts, but one visit from Nic had changed that. In the midst of one of his tirades, she’d come in, placed her hand on his arm and passed him a small bag of corn chips, a knowing look on her face.

The small but significant gesture acted as a reminder that Aiden could be better, and not just for her, but for everyone he came into contact with. He still got grumbly with the cooks when their station was dirty or their knives dull, but he also said thank you more frequently and tried to praise more often than he censured. Things were going well, and as he gazed down at Nic who was beaming up at him, an expression of pure belief in his ability as well as her own, he knew they would continue to go that way.

Light reflected off of the glittery, red apple broach that was pinned near the neckline of her dress, but Aiden pointedly kept his gaze on her face. When she’d come out of the office wearing the form-fitting black dress, it took every ounce of his willpower not to abandon his prep for the evening and drag her back inside for a quickie. Being with her settled something in him, and as confident as he was in their ability to pull the evening off, he wouldn’t turn down a little tension relief. Nicole nudging him with her elbow drew him out of his fervor and back to the matter at hand: his speech. Aiden had given enough talks before a restaurant opening in his career to know what to say, but this felt far more momentous.

Hoping he could put the appropriate amount of gravitas into his voice without scaring anyone, Aiden began. “Tonight is an important night for all of us. The success of this restaurant hinges on how smoothly the evening goes.” He looked around at the faces of the people in front of him, trying not to worry that they seemed to hang on his every word. “You might consider that an overstatement, seeing as how this is friends and family night, but if anything, that makes it more important than any other night this place will ever see.”

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