Page 16 of Dirty Chef
Because it’s you I cook for.
She was my muse and my biggest inspiration.
I… Christ, I didn’t know how to cook without her in my mind.
How was that gonna look in the future?
“I guess I’m good at what I do,” I replied distractedly.
The unease within kept growing.
* * *
Work continued, this time on the couch upstairs. I’d finalized the first dish of the Valentine’s menu, and now I needed to write a step-by-step list for Tracy. And Alessia, who was better than me at final touches. She also had to order some shit to make everything perfect, in her words. Such as the dipping containers.
“Have you given the dessert any thought?” I asked. While I was stretched out on the couch and worked on our laptop, Alessia was pacing a hole in the floor between the living room and kitchen in an attempt to walk off her cramps.
I’d fix dessert if she couldn’t, but in my opinion, she was way better at it. She was just held back by modesty.
“Sort of.” She winced at a pain and pressed her hands to her lower back. I’d seen Isla walk around like that before she gave birth. In Alessia’s case, I’d long since learned she had some tougher months here and there when the cramps attacked her kidneys. “I talked to Elise.”
Solid idea. “Yeah?” Elise Quinn was a friend of Alessia’s, and she had a dual shop of sorts two streets over. One half of the shop was all candy, and the other was a pâtisserie. We’d collaborated with her before.
Alessia sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to fade. “Dessert is supposed to be the most adults-only item in our theme, right?”
“In theory. It doesn’t have to be. We’ve changed our minds before.”
She nodded and seemed to relax slightly. “Alcohol-infused chocolate sweets.”
This was why I loved her. Okay, one of the million reasons. “Fuck, yeah.”
She smiled a little, walked closer, and plugged in her heating pad before she joined me on the couch. I pulled up my legs a bit so she’d have room.
“I talked to Griffin too,” she went on. “He’s available to work on Thursday—he kinda begged for it, actually. I think he needs a distraction. So, I was thinking you and I could do a taste testing up here. I’ll get the truffles and the other sweets from Elise on Thursday morning. I ordered four of each—twelve flavors—for us to experiment with.” She paused as she leaned back and slipped the pad underneath the hoodie. “We still have a bajillion of those plastic liquid dispensers from the whiskey burger you made last year.”
I nodded, liking the idea. The dispensers, or pipettes, really, had been a hit last summer. We’d stuck them down in half-open sandwiches—straight into the meat—filled with an alcoholic whiskey sauce, and left the top bun resting against the side.
“We’ll figure out which ones go well with the pipettes,” I said. “You think Elise would be willing to alter the recipes if we ask?”
Alessia nodded. “She told me that right away.” She offered me a wry smirk and pinched my toe. “You’re famous for wanting to mix ‘weird’ flavors, and she’s down.”
I chuckled.
She groaned suddenly and pouted. “I forgot the cookies in the kitchen.”
I smiled and shook my head, then closed the laptop and got up. “Which ones?”
“The double milk chocolate, please.”
“Comin’ right up.” I located the box on the kitchen island, and I paused when something caught my eye. It was a women’s magazine. “This is unlike you.” I held up the magazine, to which Alessia rolled her eyes.
“Isla gave it to me.”
I eyed the cover. Get rid of acne overnight, huh? Fucking keto recipes. Ten ways to seduce a man—Jesus. Women actually read this shit? Perhaps I was spoiled. Alessia was plenty girlie, but her stack of magazines under the coffee table consisted of history, music, and military news. The latter was part of a monthly care package from Alessia’s parents.
I put down the magazine again and returned to the couch with the best from Pepperidge Farm.
“Your emotional support human is back.” I got comfy on the couch and held up an arm. “Wanna use me as a heating pad?”
She was the icicle between the two of us. Her room may smell like lavender, but it was hotter than a sauna and I couldn’t stay there very long.
Alessia bit her lip. “Don’t make an offer I can’t refuse.”
I gave her my most charming grin. Internally, my stomach coiled up at the thought of legit having her in my arms. It happened, though it had been a while.
It was when she felt under the weather a guy could take advantage.
“Can I borrow your duvet too?” she asked and scooted off the couch.
“Sure…” I did a quick memory scan. No need for her to find my Fleshlight and definitely not the pictures of her. “You know what, I’ll get it.” I wasn’t entirely sure I’d hidden everything in my nightstand from last time.
