Page 31 of Princesses & Pastries
I blink a few times as her question sinks in. "Am I in love with Nate?" I echo.
"Yes."
"How would I even know that?"
"I don't know." She lets out a breath, and for a moment, I don't think she's going to continue. "Love is...a complicated thing to explain. It's like wanting to see someone all the time, feeling like your day is better just for being around them. Enjoying even the most fleeting of touches. I don't think I'm doing the feeling any justice. But when I've been in love, I've known that I don't feel the same way about anyone else."
I frown as I consider what she's saying, because I do feel all of that towards Nate. I want to spend as much time with him as I can. He's my safe place, the person who understands me better than anyone.
But I'm not in love with Nate.
Am I?
Chapter 14
The kitchen is bustling by the time I get there, and I feel a little guilty for not going to the tasting meeting yesterday, even if there was no actual way that I could have been functional and dealing with people, especially not in a situation where I was supposed to be giving feedback.
Chef Martina spots me and hurries over, dipping into a bow. "Your Highness."
"Thank you for putting on an extra tasting for me," I say.
She nods. "I know that it's important for you to know how things are going, and Chef Matthews offered to take you through all of the dishes."
My heart skips a beat even at the mention of Nate's name.
"Normally, I wouldn't be comfortable letting a foreign chef deal with this kind of thing, but I think we can make an exception," she says with a smile that could mean anything.
Including that she also thinks I'm in love with Nate.
I push the thought aside, even though that's difficult to do when there's nothing I've been able to think about since Veronica asked the question yesterday.
"I appreciate it all the same," I say. "And Chef Matthews would never do anything to endanger the banquet."
Chef Martina nods. "On that, we agree. I believe he's waiting for you in your kitchen."
"Thank you. I look forward to trying all of the food."
Her smile gets bigger, which I have to assume means that she's happy with what I'm saying. We part ways, and I make my way into the other kitchen, stopping when I see Nate there waiting for me.
Even though I don't mean to, I study him, unable to avoid thinking about the questions Veronica asked me yesterday. He is handsome, there's no doubt about that. He's tall, with dark brown hair, and a broad frame that comes from working in the kitchen so much.
He looks up, noticing me staring at him. "Like what you see?" he jokes.
A blush rushes to my cheeks at being caught. "I like looking at you," I murmur.
He grins. "You'll like looking at what I've got for you to try more," he says, gesturing to the oven.
Except that I realise that isn't true. I love baking. I love being able to look at food and seeing how it fits into a banquet, but none of that compares to how much I want to spend time with him.
"Evie?" he checks when I don't move. "Are you feeling all right?"
"I'm fine," I say quickly.
"If this is too much, I can rearrange for another day."
I shake my head. "We don't have long until the banquet, and that wouldn't be fair to everyone else."
"Fair enough. I have tastings of every course except for dessert from my father."
