Page 14 of Recipe for Romance (Applewood #2)

~A iden~

The morning blended into afternoon more seamlessly than Aiden had expected, though truthfully, he hadn’t known exactly what to expect when it came to Nicole.

She was a puzzling woman. Her skills as a chef were more than a little rough around the edges and her organizational skills were nonexistent, but he could see that she had a fire in her belly, the same fire he’d once had and hoped to regain now that he was back home.

Deep down, Aiden always knew he would end up back in Applewood, he just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon or for it to have been the result of a hiccup in his career.

Still, he was happy to be home. Even though he hadn’t thought he would have a companion on his journey toward opening his own place, the experience hadn’t been completely horrible.

In fact, it had actually been kind of okay so far, not that he would admit that to anyone but himself.

It was bad enough that Aiden had moved Nicole in the house with him.

He didn’t need to go advertising that he was warming up to her more than he should.

Aiden wasn’t sure what he had been thinking when they stopped by the motel this morning and he announced she was going to live at his house, and while he could rationalize all he wanted about it being a logistical decision, deep down he knew better.

Sure it would make things more convenient for them to be sharing a space, they would have more time to work on her skills, his restaurant, and additional early morning wake-ups could be avoided, but as much as those reasons made sense, they hadn’t been what prompted him to do it.

Hearing that the hotel owner wanted to set Nic up with her son had jealousy slicing through his chest like a hot knife through butter.

And since when did he start thinking of her as Nic?

Pet names were for family, friends, and lovers, and she was none of those things.

Their relationship was strictly professional, bordering on friendly, but anything beyond that would be dangerous.

His career was already on life support, no need to add the complication of trying to navigate a relationship on top of that.

Romance had never been his thing. Aiden didn’t see the point in starting to change that now, even if the woman who was currently taking a hot bath upstairs was all he seemed to be able to think about.

When Aiden had shown Nicole to the spare room next to his, she’d gotten a peek at the garden tub that was in his master bath through the open door of his room.

She sighed and aimed her umber eyes up at him, practically begging without words for a soak in the cavernous basin.

As someone who spent nearly all day on his feet, Aiden understood the appeal of a relaxing bath and relented.

When Nicole practically squealed with joy, it had done funny things to his heart. And his dick.

The damn thing twitched, thinking that joining her would be the best idea ever, but Aiden dismissed it immediately.

Not only would his coming onto her be totally inappropriate, but she hadn’t given him any indication that she was even remotely interested.

She remembered his food, so any interest in her eyes when she gazed at him was likely hero worship of some kind.

He was nine years older than her too. She was in the prime of her life and he was heading closer to forty than he felt comfortable with.

There was no way someone like her would want someone like him.

The necessary but unwelcome reminder that he wasn’t the type of guy women like Nicole went for had Aiden grumbling as he shuffled papers on the coffee table.

He’d already emailed the photos to Eddie’s investor friends who replied that they would be in contact with the realtor.

It turned out when someone had stupid money like Eddie and his friends did, things moved a lot faster.

It would only take a week for the building to be transferred to Aiden and then the real work would begin.

In the meantime, he put together spreadsheets and notes for local contracting companies that would be not only reliable, but fast. Aiden wasn’t so delusional as to think that the restaurant would open any time this year, but if they hustled, they could open in January.

Aiden removed his reading glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on.

Too little sleep and not enough to eat during the day was starting to wear on him.

Shaking his head, Aiden went to stand to head to the kitchen when a plate and water glass appeared in front of him.

His eyes tracked upward from the items to the slender arms holding them until he got to the slightly flushed face of his new roommate.

Nicole’s damp hair was on top of her head in a bun that resembled a pile of cooked spaghetti, and the expression on her face was concerned, kindness towards him shining in her eyes.

Aiden couldn’t remember the last time anyone who didn’t share his last name looked at him like that, and the funny twinges that his heart had been feeling for the last twenty-four hours started up again.

He should probably go for a run. A heart attack at thirty-four was not out of the realm of possibility for someone who enjoyed as rich a diet as he did.

Nicole wiggled the plate a little, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich she’d made sliding forward a little to reveal a pile of ibuprofen sitting there as well.

“Aren’t you going to take it?” she asked, laughter in her voice.

“I can put away a lot of food, but I don’t think I can eat more than one sandwich. Hot baths zap my appetite.”

Aiden took the plate and water glass, grunting as he did.

After slamming the ibuprofen, he took a large bite of the sandwich, groaning as the salted peanut butter he favored mingled with the sweet strawberry preserves.

Chewing thoughtfully, he noted that while her cooking skills might have a long way to go, the woman could make a decent PB and J.

Intrigued by her impeccable timing, he gazed at her. “How did you know I had a headache?”

“I could tell,” she said matter-of-factly.

Aiden stared at Nicole. No one could ever tell anything about him other than he was a grumpy bastard, but then again, maybe no one but her had really bothered looking.

He continued to watch her as she sat next to him and made herself comfortable on the small two seater sofa that came with the house.

Almost all of the furniture came with the house, but Aiden had found that the neutral tones and soft yet sturdy fabrics suited his taste.

It also looked a lot warmer than any apartment he’d had before.

He spent so little time at home that his old places had little more than a mattress on the floor and a chair next to stacks and stacks of cookbooks.

Looking around the family room now, Aiden nodded happily at the fireplace, the painting over the mantle that was a picturesque view of the local orchards, and the wooden bookshelves filled with his books both about cooking and the occasional thriller he’d purchased on the recommendation of his dad but never made the time to read.

“When I came downstairs, you were staring at the computer screen, with your eyes crossed and your face all scrunched up.” Nicole mimicked the look she had apparently seen on his face and Aiden stifled a chuckle.

She was beautiful and adorable, and he was having those not-so-professional thoughts again.

“Then I remembered you didn’t really have anything to eat besides coffee and two bites of my omelet, so I figured you would start getting hangry soon and wanted to head that off. ”

Aiden scowled. “I don’t get hangry.”

The withering look she shot his way spoke volumes about how annoyed he must have looked. “That’s exactly what someone who is on the cusp of getting hangry would say.” Nicole sat back and popped a bite of her own sandwich into her mouth.

Aiden’s gaze was stuck on her lips until he noticed that the movement had made the oversized shirt she wore slip down to expose more skin on her shoulder, skin that Aiden suddenly found far more appetizing than the sandwich in front of him.

Licking his lips, his gaze moved lower over the leggings that were practically painted onto her body.

They left little to the imagination, but Aiden had always been creative and would certainly come up with many ways to fantasize about those legs later on.

Nicole would likely be staring in his dreams every night from now until she left, whenever that was.

Sighing heavily at the thought of being tortured nightly by her presence, Aiden pushed the sandwich away and started shuffling his papers again. “Oh my god,” Nicole cut in. “Please don’t tell me I can’t even make a sandwich right!”

Aiden glanced over at her and she looked genuinely distressed, so he made a big show of taking another large bite. “It’s fine,” he mumbled. A few crumbs sprayed towards her, but Nicole was too busy wincing to notice. “It tastes great actually.”

She peeked one eye open and stared at him. “You’re not lying to spare my feelings, are you?”

Aiden swallowed the ball of doughy sandwich, the roof of his mouth a little sticky from the remnants of the peanut butter. “Do I strike you as someone who cares about someone else’s feelings?” He grabbed his glass of water to clear his throat as she considered his question.

Aiden did care about other people’s feelings, usually his relatives’.

Other than his family, no one else’s feelings had mattered more than his own before, but something about Nicole was different, special.

That alone should have him putting more distance between the two of them, taking her back to the motel and letting her go out with Mrs. What’s-Her-Name’s son, but he couldn’t find it in himself to do it.