Page 86 of Perfect Pairing
“The Delatou family holiday party is tonight. They’ve got this tradition where the women cook Thanksgiving dinner and the men handle Christmas. For years, it was obviously only Leon fending for himself, but now that he’s got a whole group of us, we each agreed to pitch in something for the party.”
He raised a brow. “And you’re pitching in by making a five-course meal?”
I huffed out an annoyed sigh, which also served to blow the stubborn lock of hair off my forehead. I was in dire need of a cut, but life had been so crazy lately with the holiday season at the winery, as well as all of Hansen’s end-of-semester programs, that it had fallen by the wayside.
“This,” I said with an eye roll, sweeping my hand over the island, “isn’t a five-course meal. I just want to make a good impression.”
“You cook for these people every day,” my dad said with a snort. “I think you’re doing just fine.”
I glared daggers at him. “Leave me alone.”
“Just saying, kid. You’re putting in a lot of effort for a simpleholiday party.”
“If I’m going to win Brie back, nothing about it is simple.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “About time you pulled your head out of your ass.”
I chose to ignore that and added, “Plus, you know food is my love language.”
“What’s a love language?” Hansen asked from the living room, where he was building some sort of Legos tower.
“It’s how you express and experience love,” I told him. “Like…you know how you get really happy when someone tells you you’ve done a good job, so you keep doing things that ensure we do it again and again? That makes me think your love language is words of affirmation. You’re happiest and feel the most loved when people are praising you.”
“Hmm…” Hansen said, tapping his forefinger to his chin and looking far older than his five and a half years. “Makes sense. So you feel happiest and most loved when you’re cooking and feeding people?”
“Exactly,” I confirmed, smiling widely.
Honestly, my favorite part of parenthood was watching him grow and learn and discover new things about the world. I knew I was going to fuck up sometimes, but I was thoroughly enjoying this stage. Hansen was so smart and curious, but also silly and playful. In truth, he was the perfect kid, and I counted my blessings every day that he was mine.
“So what exactly are you making?” Dad asked.
“Finger foods,” I replied, spinning from the stove to point at each dish on the island. “Deviled eggs, meatballs on skewers, stuffed mushrooms, fig, pecan, and brie bites, and sesamescallops.”
My dad, who had never been one to beat around the bush, narrowed his gaze on me and said, “You do realize you’re not technically part of the family, right?”
I flipped him off. “Thanks, Dad.”
He shrugged. “I’m just saying, kiddo. This is a lot of work for nothing.”
“It’s not for nothing,” I protested. “At the very least, everyone who attends the party will rave about my food, and that right there is enough to make the night a win in my book.”
“But you want more than that.”
I sighed, wiping my hands on the towel slung over my shoulder and dropping it onto the one bare spot of counter space.
Ididwant more. When it came to Brie, I wanted everything. The crazy extended family. The mass of sisters and their significant others becoming the siblings I never had. The father-in-law who terrified me and the mother-in-law who fawned over me and my son at every opportunity. The people who, when I was down on my luck and desperate for a change, gave me a soft, safe place to land. This little town and all its quirks.
The bakery, Brie’s cake batter skin. Her calling me “Chef” and me calling her “honey.” I wanted all of it. Forever.
“Do you remember our first Christmas here?” I asked my dad.
“I do,” he said slowly.
“It’s funny to think how much has changed, isn’t it?”
He pondered that for a moment. “I don’t think it’s funny, exactly. That’s what happens in life—time marches on, and the world keeps spinning around us. I think without all the Shannon drama holding you back like it was that first year, you’ve had thechance to become the man and father you were always meant to be.”
“You mean that?” I asked. “You think I’m a good man and father?”
