Page 65 of Culinary Chaos

“When do you think they’ll be home?” Angelica asked, fingering the edge of her jacket before dropping her hands to her lap. She wasn’t sure she could ever do that. If her father or mother ended up with cancer, she wouldn’t drop everything to go home and take care of them. She’d like to think that she would, but if she were truly honest, she wouldn’t. She’d leave all that to her brother and stop by on occasion to give him a temporary relief.

“Don’t know.” Tatum’s smile faded. “Hopefully soon.”

“There you are.” Hope stepped outside, squinting in the sunlight before she put her hand over her eyes to shade them. “I was looking for you.”

“Always wanted, aren’t you?” Tatum asked with a grin as he stood up. “Make sure you take some time to rest, Ms. Shields. You’re still recovering.”

Normally Angelica would take offense at the chide, but something about the way Tatum offered it made her feel warm inside, as though he might truly care about her well-being. Before she had a chance to stand up, Hope came over and snagged her hand, pulling her upward.

“Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Angelica asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

“You know I don’t like surprises.” Angelica allowed herself to be led, slowly, back toward the doorway that led inside.

“You’ll like this one.”

Angelica hummed displeasure, but she wasn’t convinced that was what would actually happen or not.

“Come on.” Hope pulled her again, but they didn’t go inside.

Instead, they skirted around the side of the building to yet another large open garden space. This one wasn’t filled with green things to cook with, but it was much more like a traditional garden, except it was filled with wildflowers that were just starting to bloom.

“Oh…” Angelica murmured, her eyes widening as she stopped suddenly. She hadn’t gotten this far in the original tour before she felt too sick. That was a pity.

“Yeah, I was thinking they could set up some promotional images and do weddings out here. It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Hope still had her hand in Angelica’s as she led the way to a small table in the center of a large white gazebo. “Tatum said that his dad planted everything out here.”

“For his mother, no doubt,” Angelica commented, remembering the conversation she’d just had with him.

“Yeah.” Hope grinned again, stopping at the table.

Angelica looked down, finding it set for two with a bottle of wine in the middle, sweating water glasses, and covered plates. “What’s this?”

“Killing two birds with one stone.” Hope stepped to the side and pulled out a chair. “Can we sit down first?”

Suspicious, Angelica did as she was told. She set the iPad on the edge of the table and waited for Hope to move the cloche. Under them was a stunning array of small finger foods, ones that Angelica had never seen Hope cook before. They looked to beof her normal flair, fancy and something that Angelica wouldn’t know the name of, but also more rustic than Hope typically made.

“I made lunch, with the idea that we could try out a few new recipes at the same time.” Hope slid into the chair across from Angelica. “And maybe you’d eat a full meal out of it.”

“That’s three birds,” Angelica pointed out, eyeing Hope. “I knew I should be suspicious of your motives.”

Hope chuckled, the smile lighting up her face the instant she did it. “Are you saying that we’ve actually figured each other out?”

“Hardly.” Angelica laughed a little before picking up her water. “And despite your lovely wine choice, I think I’ll stick with this while I’m here.” She’d been more conscious of how much water she consumed in the last few days, feeling better the more she drank. Damn doctors when they were actually right about something. Not that she’d admit that to anyone out loud either.

Hope explained each food item on the plate, but the information promptly went in Angelica’s brain and right out of it. Angelica was entranced by every second that Hope spoke, her passion shining through each of the words. It wasn’t what Hope was saying that made it so spectacular, it was the way her face lit up, her eyes widening and crinkling, the brightness of her tone, the energy that filled her body.

Angelica pulled off one of the small cucumber things and slipped it between her lips. The cucumber was sweet and crunchy, the juices hitting her tongue right along with whatever else was on it, but she didn’t ask again, afraid that Hope would be offended that she hadn’t been paying attention for the first explanation.

“It’s good,” Angelica said around the bite.

“It’s exquisite,” Hope responded as she took her own and slid it between her lips. A small drop of the sauce stayed in the corner of her mouth, and her tongue dashed out to chase it.

Angelica’s heart skittered, and her knees went weak. Thank God she wasn’t standing up, because she might have had to grab onto something to keep herself upright. She took another bite, but she didn’t taste it this time. She was back to being bewitched.

“I wanted to try out a few finger foods to add to the catering repertoire.” Hope leaned back in her seat, not taking her eyes from Angelica. “I want them to beef that up a whole lot in order to increase the revenue, but I’m not sure that they will.”