Page 103 of Cooking Up My Comeback

Her shoulders relax. “Really?”

“Really. But I have one condition.”

Her eyebrows raise.

“We do this together. Full partners. I don’t want you carrying this vision alone.”

She steps closer. “I wouldn’t want to.”

“Good.” I reach for her hand. “Because I have some ideas too.”

“Such as?”

“Corporate sponsorships. The Keith family I grew up with? They have a foundation supporting community development projects. This could qualify for funding.”

Her eyes widen. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. Plus, I’ve been considering the food truck strategy. What if we use it for catering community events? Double revenue stream, built-in marketing for the restaurant.”

She stares at me like I solved world hunger.

“Brett, that’s genius.”

“We’re a good team.”

“The best team.”

Something in her voice carries a certainty that makes my pulse quicken. Like she’s not talking about business anymore.

“Amber,” I start, then pause. How do you tell a woman she’s become your entire future without scaring her away?

“What?”

“Yesterday, when your dad pulled me aside...”

“I heard,” she says softly. “I heard what you promised him.”

“I meant every word.”

“I know.” She steps closer, close enough for me to smell her vanilla shampoo. “I also heard what you said to me. About wanting to be there for soccer games andschool plays.”

“I do want that.”

“Good. Because Mason has a Lego competition next week, and Crew’s got a fishing derby he’s been preparing for all month. And Tally...” She pauses, smiling. “Tally informed me this morning you’re ‘acceptably cool for a grown-up’ and I should ‘probably keep you around.’”

My heart does something acrobatic. “High praise from a teenager.”

“The highest. She doesn’t approve of many people.”

I reach up to cup her face, thumbs brushing her cheekbones. “What about you? Do you approve?”

“I more than approve,” she whispers. “I’m falling in love with you, Brett Walker.”

Everything stops. The world, my breath, my ability to think coherently.

“Yeah?” I manage.

“Yeah. With your contractor knowledge and the way you remember Mason likes his sandwiches cut diagonally. With how you listen to Crew’s fishing theories like they’re the most important discoveries in the world. With how you don’t try to win Tally over—you let her come to you on her terms.”