Page 13 of Princesses & Pastries
"You can." I grab her bowl, which gets her attention.
Nate takes it from me. "I'll be back."
He disappears from the kitchen, and I lean against the wall, trying to put words to how I feel about being here. I wouldn't go as far as saying that things feel normal, but it is nice to be back in the same space as him.
Now I just have to work out how to get things back to the way they were, because I want that more than I want anything.
Chapter 7
"What am I supposed to do with them?" Nate asks as he looks down at the bowl full of meat scraps for Ember. There's some offal in the mix, as well as a couple of bits of gristly meat that I know she'll love tearing into with her sharp teeth.
"Just put the bowl down in front of her, she'll do the rest."
He nods and heads over to the oven, a little cautious in his movements. He sets the bowl down in front of Ember. "Is this what you want?" he asks.
She lifts her head, sniffing the air and trying to decide if she trusts the new bearer of food. She looks over to me, seeming to be seeking reassurance.
"It's safe," I promise her.
That seems to be all she needs in order to decide that the food Nate has brought her is trustworthy, and a stream of flames burst from her mouth, charring the meat and filling the kitchen with a savoury smell.
Ember doesn't waste any time gobbling up the meat.
"Hopefully, that will help me get into your dragon's good graces," Nate says.
"If you feed her a few more times, it's bound to," I promise.
"Good to know." He washes his hands. "And now, to the second most important task."
I frown. "Which is?"
"Managing your impatience," he teases. "For someone who loves instructions and order, you do like to complain about them sometimes."
"No doubt that's something you haven't missed while you've been away," I murmur.
"I've missed everything about you, Evie." The way he says it makes it clear that he means it, and a small blush rises to my cheeks.
"Well, you might be glad to learn that I've learned a little bit of patience. Croissants have just been testing that."
"There's plenty of time to work on that," he promises. "Croissants are a waiting game."
I sigh. "I know, I know."
"But don't worry, I have a trick that should satisfy even the most impatient of princesses."
"Oh?"
"Would you pass me the scraps?" he asks, gesturing to where he left them.
I hand them over, and he rolls them out until they're in one piece. He adds some butter on top of the dough and folds it over. He rolls it out again, then repeats the motion a few times.
"Are you making a cheat laminated dough?" I ask.
"Pretty much," he says, stopping when he seems to be satisfied with the butter in it. "Normally, I'd do this step after I've trimmed the dough before baking the croissants themselves, so it would already have butter in it, but this works just fine."
"I'm intrigued," I admit.
He laughs. "Well, you can do the next bit, if you want?"
