Aiden wondered if he was losing his mind.
He knew for sure he was about to lose his cool.
He couldn’t remember the last time he second-guessed himself like he was now. But he got her to agree to trust him and go for a ride and he was going to use this time wisely.
The fact that he brought her to his house, his domain—where he spent all his free time perfecting his creations—should have meant something to him. What, he wasn’t sure, but was willing to explore.
“I want you to explain it all to me nice and clear,” she said. She was getting a backbone now and he found that extremely appealing.
“I brought you here to share something with you I haven’t with another person. Not another employee. This is where I create. This is where I live. It’s where I breathe. Deep down, I know you understand that. Understand what I’m saying.”
“I do. The kitchen is the heart of the home,” she said. “It’s where it all begins.”
“Exactly.” She got it. “It’s where I want to begin. Where I want us to begin.” Wow, he hadn’t meant to drop it like that, but needed to go with it since she wasn’t looking for an escape.
He reached out and placed her hand in his, holding her stare. There was attraction, desire, and a lot of arousal in her gaze. Her pupils were dilated, her hand was a little sweaty, but there was a sizzle in her gaze that was mirroring his own.
“What exactly are you looking to begin?” she asked, her voice cracking.
“Your grandmother called me a gentleman caller. How about we start there?”
“Oh my God,” she said, pulling her hand out of his and taking a few steps back. Her face was flame red, matching the color of the shirts they wore at Fierce. “She didn’t say that, did she?”
“Yep,” he said, smiling at her and finding some of the confidence that he’d been missing lately with her. Whenever he was ready to take on the challenge of a woman, he never hesitated at all. Nic made him feel like a first-time driver trying to learn a stick shift. Starting and stopping, bucking and bouncing and pretty much getting nowhere.
“That’s so embarrassing,” she said, still holding his stare, but not blushing as much, almost like she was waiting for him to make a move.
“I thought it was nice and played right into part of the reason for my visit.”
“Part of?” she asked.
“Yeah. I want to mentor you. I want to teach you and I want you to teach me. Work with me on things that just come naturally to you. Things I’d never learn in a school, that only get handed down from generation to generation.”
“What’s the other part?”
“I want to spend some time with you outside of the kitchen and explore something else. Something with us alone.”
“This looks like a kitchen to me,” she said, her eyes moving around, her lips twitching.
“The kitchen at Fierce. We won’t always be in this room. We won’t always be in this house. But it can start here, right? A common ground.”
“It could,” she said, moving closer to him again. She reached for him and he held his breath, waiting to see what she’d do. “Will you kiss me first?”
“Gladly, but I guess I need to know why you want a kiss first?”
“Because it’s all in the kiss.”
“You’re going to lay that type of pressure on my shoulders,” he said, laughing and yanking her forward, hard into his chest—praying that he wasn’t dreaming at this moment. That Nic was in his kitchen and just asked him to kiss her. Gave him permission to not just touch, but also taste her.
“I’m pretty sure you can handle just about anything that comes your way.”
“I can,” he said, then lowered his head and touched his lips to hers. Her small hands reached up to his shoulders and around his neck, so he picked her up and sat her butt on the counter, stepping between her legs that she’d spread wide for him. Welcoming him in a way that felt like more than coming home.
At that moment, the taste of her was sweeter than any wine from Italy, richer than any pastry from France, and spicier than any dish from Spain.
She was intoxicating to him, pulling him in and making him want to gorge himself. He’d never gorged himself on anything in his life. Ever.
Sampled? Sure. Tasted? Always. Stuffed himself silly? Never.
But as her tongue dueled with his, he found that he wanted seconds and thirds. He wanted to taste this all morning and into the night.
“Nic?” he asked, pulling back a little. “Tell me if you think I’m pressuring you.” He had to know. Needed her to be on board one hundred percent.
“I asked you to kiss me, Aiden. I think that would be answer enough.” She pulled his head forward and planted another on him, and the two of them stood in his kitchen kissing for who knew how long.
***
Monday morning there was a knock at his door. He wiped his hands on the apron around his waist and went to answer it, not expecting to see his mother.
“What are you doing here so early?” he asked. He couldn’t sleep this morning. Not after spending hours with Nic yesterday. The two of them working side by side. Hands stealing touches in between lessons and knife skills. She was a fast learner and he was enjoying the time alone with her. He hated to take her back home so early, but he had to be at Fierce by three.
“Coming to give you a piece of my mind,” she said, storming past him and into the kitchen where she made herself right at home.
“What did I do?” he asked, trying to figure it out. He couldn’t imagine what punishment his mother could drum up for him this time. That was why he never got in trouble in the first place. Cleaning up a nasty-smelling boat and Cade’s puke was enough for him all those years ago. He’d tried to be the good son after that.
There’d been only one other issue in his life, and no one knew about that but her.
“How could you let your staff start spreading rumors about another one?”
“What are you talking about? Stuff like that happens all the time.” He didn’t know how his mother would be privy to anything that was talked about in the kitchen. Not unless Mason or Brody told her. They better not have, but he wasn’t going to accuse anyone…just yet.
“It does, but you have to have a better handle on it. You just hired her. Don’t you be doing anything to lose her.”
“Nic?” he asked, trying to piece things together.
“Yes, I’m talking about Nic. That poor girl has had a tough enough life as it is. Here she is being given the opportunity of a lifetime to work for you and people have to start running their big ugly mouths.”
“What do you mean by a tough life?”
“Nothing,” his mother said. She walked over and picked up one of the cannoli he was trying to prepare. He didn’t want anyone to know he was replicating it at home. “Not bad,” she said after she took a bite. “Still not as good as Moretti’s.”
“It’s the ricotta. I’ve figured that much out. If I can get that right, then I’ll be good.” He hadn’t wanted to ask Nic for the ricotta recipe specifically. He knew there was a “secret” to it and he knew how much he prided himself on keeping recipes close to his vest.
“Why bother to try when you’ve got Nic to make them for you?”
True. But it was driving him insane that he couldn’t figure it out on his own. “She can do more than make cannoli.”
“That’s good to know. I knew she’d be an asset to Fierce.”
He snorted. His mother wasn’t the best cook and could barely tell you who was. “You handed me her resume after you bragged about her pasta.” He wanted to know how she knew about Nic’s life, but held back for now.
And he wasn’t about to elaborate on any rumors. She could say it first; otherwise his lips were sealed. His mother was too wise for her own good. She’d be able to tell what he was thinking just by the look on his face.
“And she cooked you one of the best dishes you’ve ever had during an interview. Go on, admit it.”
“Fine,” he said. “She did. She knows her Italian flavors like you know the five of us. She could do it in her sleep. She wants to be known for more though.”
“Then teach her. Don’t rely on her teaching you. That’s how rumors get started. Take her out of the kitchen and give her some lessons.”
“Since when do you tell me how to run my kitchen?” he asked. No way was he admitting he was already doing that. Of course if she found out, she’d brag it was her idea. He was kind of screwed either way.
She walked over to the tempered chocolate, dipped her finger in to taste, knowing it would annoy him, then ran the remaining bit on his white counter and backsplash. She was one obnoxious woman.
“You do that crap on purpose.”
“Of course I do. I love getting under your skin. Nothing ruffles your feathers but a mess. You and Mason were always my cool levelheaded ones. It will do you good to lose it once in a while.”
“So you want me to go back into my kitchen and start knocking heads together for spreading rumors? Gossiping? Something that’s been going on for centuries.”
“Of course not. That’d just draw more attention to poor Nic.”
Poor Nic. There it was again.
It sounded like the conversation he’d had with Mason, making him wonder if that was the brother that ratted him out. Then realized Mason always had his back.
“Then what do you suggest?” he asked, humoring her. He had this covered on his own, but he wasn’t about to let her know. The last thing he needed was his mother getting all up in his business. Or in his business more than she already was.
“I don’t know. Like you said, it’s your kitchen. You figure it out.” She grabbed two more cannoli and stormed back out as fast as she came in.
He’d long since given up trying to figure her out. None of them could. It was what made her the best mom ever.
***
“It’s working, Gavin,” Jolene said when she returned home. “Aiden is sniffing out the bait.”
“Nice,” her husband of over thirty-five years said, looking up from the paper he was reading on their back deck in the shade. “I’m not sure I want to know what you’re talking about.”
“Aiden and Nic.” She sat next to him and smirked. “Here, have a cannoli. I grabbed it for you.”
“How many did you eat before you decided I could have one?” he asked.
“Just two.”
“How dirty did you leave Aiden’s kitchen before you left?”
“It’s too fun to resist. I have to do it. You know that.”
“You’re so bad.” He took a bite and closed his eyes. “That boy is a wiz in the kitchen. These are great.”
“Not as good as Moretti’s, but he’s getting there.”
“I don’t taste the difference.”
“Of course you don’t,” she said. “You can’t tell hamburger helper from ground beef and a jar of sauce.”
“That’s because I’ve learned to never mention that to you. Heaven forbid I ever say anything negative about something you’ve made. You might not cook for me again. But that’s beside the point. What’s going on with Aiden?”
“Nic. The new girl. There are rumors going around that Aiden is tasting more than her food.”
“And?” Gavin asked. “Rumors are normally just that. Aiden never mixes work with pleasure. Ever. He’d never do that, which is why I think you’re way off base on this one.”
“I’m telling you, there is always some truth to a rumor.”
“What did he say when you asked him?”
“I didn’t come right out and ask him. You know I’d never be that obvious. He was pretty tight-lipped when I mentioned the rumors and he never is with me. I changed the subject and he let me, like he was trying to hide something. That just proves I’m right. Something is brewing there.”
“I guess only time will tell,” he said.
“Do you believe that, or are you just trying to pacify me?” she asked, leaning over and taking the last bite of the cannoli.
“I want dinner tonight, don’t I?” he said, laughing.
“We could go to Fierce later and get a table in the back and watch the action ourselves.”
“Which is what you wanted to do all along and thought you’d weasel it out of me.”
She kissed him quickly on the lips. “You know me so well.”