Page 24 of Recipe for Romance (Applewood #2)

~N icole~

In reality, the drive back to the house was a short one, no more than fifteen minutes, but it felt like an eternity.

After that earth shattering kiss back at the brewery, Nicole couldn’t wait to get home and explore whatever was happening between her and Aiden.

They were obviously attracted to each other, but beyond that, he had actually apologized for how he’d pushed her away, even when she had done the same thing.

It was hearing his dismissive words that prompted the distance between them, but Nicole wasn’t innocent in the rebuilding of that wall.

With a few words of amends and a kiss that melted her knees like ice cream on a hot day, that wall came tumbling down and she was glad of it.

The space and tension that wall created had been driving her crazy, but she needed him to be the one to dislodge that first brick.

Nicole was strong, but she couldn’t have handled the disappointment of trying and failing again, not with Aiden.

She’d had enough disappointment in her life already.

Mercifully, before she could fall down a rabbit hole of past failings, her headlights lit up the outside of Aiden’s craftsman style home.

When he’d told her it was a rental, it had made sense because it was so warm and inviting, not much like the man himself at all.

Now that she had been staying there for a while, she actually saw more of him in the house than even he probably did.

The bookcases filled with texts related to anything with cooking, the organization and labeling system of his kitchen that would astonish even Marie Kondo, and the family photos here and there were all indicative of the type of person he was.

Organized and passionate about cooking as well as his family.

Yes, he was grumpy and didn’t participate in the fun as much as his brothers did, but he had his own way of taking care of them.

Food could be a wonderful expression of love, and the fact that he came back to Applewood to open his restaurant was just one indication of how much he cared for his family.

Would he care for her that way eventually?

Nicole wasn’t sure, but as she spied him waiting for her on the front porch, she was excited to find out.

Smiling, she left her car and took the few steps up to Aiden, smiling when she saw the same hungry and determined look in his eyes that had existed back at the bar. “Hi.” She spoke quietly, suddenly feeling shy under his gaze. That shyness was quickly replaced by awe when Aiden smiled.

It wasn’t big or bright necessarily like his younger brother’s had been, but more understated with his lips pulled back, showing just a hint of teeth.

More than his mouth, Aiden’s eyes were where his smile lay.

The teal color was darker than usual, but there seemed to be a light shining from behind it, the lines at the corners looking like rays emanating from the sun as it peaked out from the back of a storm cloud.

It was a beautiful smile, and Nicole felt herself tumble into feelings of love for a moment before she remembered herself. This wasn’t that, was it?

Aiden didn’t speak, merely holding his hand out to her.

When she slipped hers over his, their palms warming each other’s as they stepped into the house, she felt a flutter of nerves in her chest. Sex was easy for her.

She’d had more than enough partners in the past to know what she was doing, but somehow this felt different, like more than just two people scratching an itch.

It felt like this had been building since the moment they met, and now it would finally culminate.

It would be amazing, but what would happen going forward?

Her mind started to pick up and dart from one possibility to the next, but it went silent when Aiden pulled her down onto the couch next to him, pressing their mouths together.

At the touch of his soft lips to hers, all thoughts vanished.

What did tomorrow matter when everything about tonight felt so right?

His tongue slipped into her mouth, further obliterating any doubts she’d been having.

As their tongues danced, Nicole slid down onto the couch, pulling Aiden along with her.

Her hands gripped onto the hard muscles of his arms before sliding down his back and slipping into his pants.

His ass was big and firm, and she suddenly had the strongest urge to sink her teeth into the meaty flesh.

Maybe once they made it up to the bedroom and stripped down, she would get her chance.

Aiden’s heavy body pressed her further into the couch, but she enjoyed the weight of him on top of her.

He was nearly twice her size, and she sort of loved the idea of being manhandled by him.

As his hand slid up her stomach and cupped her breast, he pressed his hardness into her inner thigh and a contented sigh left both their mouths at the wonderful friction it created.

Just when Nicole thought her need couldn’t get any greater, her mind started playing tricks on her.

Abruptly, her father’s voice filled the room, and any ache she’d had, any feelings of want evaporated in an instant.

Her body stiffened. What had she been thinking?

Aiden was meant to help her in the kitchen, not in the bedroom.

As much fun as that would be, it would change things between them and he was her only shot at becoming the chef she wanted to be.

There were other teachers, other ways for her to learn, but she just didn’t have the fight left to try more than she already had.

Aiden knew her, was already familiar with her ADHD, her quirks and messiness, and he had been taught by her father.

It wasn’t like learning from the man himself, but it was as close as she was ever going to get.

Nicole had let herself get distracted, again.

It was a pattern with her, a pattern that she needed to break.

Pulling back, Nicole blinked up at Aiden.

She wasn’t sure what expression was on her face, but he stared down at her with lust, then concern, and finally resignation.

Wincing, he turned to the side and scowled at the television before reaching between the couch cushions.

He pulled out a remote and muted the device, sitting up and pulling her along with him.

Raking a hand through his messy, dark hair, he turned to her with a sad smile. “We’re not doing this, are we?”

Clasping her hands together tightly, Nicole looked away from him to steel herself, her eyes landing on the television.

Gravy Train played on the screen. At least she hadn’t been going insane and her hearing her father’s voice had been real.

As Nicole watched the man who refused to mentor her show a young woman how to mince or chop an onion, she still wasn’t sure which was which despite Aiden telling her dozens of times, her eyes watered.

Sighing, she turned back to Aiden and watched the light slowly fade from behind his eyes as her own began to well with more tears. “No. We’re not.” He nodded, his shoulder slumping. Nicole reached over and took his hand in hers, needing to reassure him. “Not for the reasons you might think.”

One dark brow raised in question. “We’re not stopping because you don’t think your father wouldn’t approve of it? Because I’m too old for you?”

Nicole nearly laughed. If only it were that simple.

And too old? She looked at Aiden. He had a few strands of silver near his temples and frown lines that would no doubt deepen with age, but he didn’t look old to her.

If anything, she was more attracted to his distinguished look than any of the more baby-faced men she’d been with in the past. “I don’t care about either of those things, though if you do I would understand. ”

Aiden slid his fingers through Nicole’s hair, the light tug against her scalp grounding her when she felt like she might scatter into a million pieces from feeling too much. “I don’t.” She looked at him, seeing the conviction in his eyes, but confusion soon clouded it out. “So why are we stopping?”

Nicole sighed. “It is because of my father, but not because I care about whether or not he would approve,” she explained.

Nicole glanced down, noting the thin scars on Aiden’s hand and began tracing them lightly with her fingers before she met his gaze again.

“I have enough of a hard time focusing as it is, and I can’t let you distract me, as much fun as that would be.

I have to do this, Aiden. I have to become a chef, and you’re the only one who can help me. ”

Aiden scoffed. “There are hundreds of cooking schools and plenty of other chefs who would give you a shot, especially if your father asked them to.”

It was something Nicole had told herself again and again, and while she didn’t feel up for spilling her inner thoughts all over the place, he wouldn’t really get it unless she did.

“I know,” she breathed out. “But traditional school has always been hard for me, and I don’t want another chef, I want you.

” In more ways than one, but that wasn’t something she couldn’t let happen.

“Not only are you insanely gifted when it comes to cooking, but you already know me. Can you honestly tell me that another chef would give someone with my lack of skills as many chances as you have?”

Aiden couldn’t hide his flinch, confirming what she already knew to be true. “There might be someone.”

He barely looked convinced of the words he was speaking and they both knew that it was a lie to spare her feelings. She would be touched if she weren’t so upset that the only person who could help her was the one she wanted more than anything. Well, almost anything.

Nicole shot him a withering look. “Please don’t lie to me. Even you would never have taken me on if my dad hadn’t twisted your arm.”