Chapter 13 #2
Gary sliced them a neat hunk of Parmesan from the wheel on top of the counter, then pointed at the stack of ricotta tubs. “The flour is down aisle four,” he said before turning away to wash the tools he’d used for the Parmesan.
The sage he needed should be in the next row over.
After he’d picked out some semolina flour, Ava blocked his way out of the aisle. She put her hands to her hips. “I’m beginning to suspect what this date is all about.”
“Really,” he said. “What gave it away?”
“Cooking? Really? That seems to be all we do lately.” She scowled, but he caught the glint of amusement in her eyes. Plus, her dimple gave away the smile lurking below the fake frown.
“Can I help it if cooking is my love language?” Oops, did he just say love? It was way too early for that kind of word. “Uh. I mean…it’s what I’m good at.”
Ava eyed him. “I know.”
And what did she mean by that? He swallowed against a sudden dryness. “If you’re not having fun by the end of the night, you can plan the next date.”
“I’ve got news for you, Golden Boy. If I’m not having fun by the end of the night, there might not be another date.” She kept the mock scowl a moment before her face softened into a smile to match the light in her eyes.
“Challenge accepted.”
“I’m assuming you have a plan for all of these ingredients?” She waved toward his shopping basket.
“Prepare to be amazed.” Zach paid for the groceries, and a few minutes later, they were on their way back to the Grand.
The kitchen lay quiet and still. He’d come down earlier and gathered up some of the tools they would need for their supper. He dropped the bag of groceries next to the mixing bowl he’d found.
“Okay, the recipe for malfatti is on page one hundred and two.” He flipped open the French cookbook.
Ava blinked at him, her eyes shining.
“What?”
“Malfatti? You remembered my story.” Her mouth slowly pushed up into a half smile. His heart pumped double-time.
“It isn’t the easiest recipe to learn cooking skills on, but I thought something with meaning to you would be motivating.” Shoot. He’d ignored the bad memories connected with this dish for her. What if she didn’t want to relive all that? “We can totally make something else—”
“No. This is perfect. I’m honored you want to make this with me.” Her smile pushed up into her freckled cheeks. “Thank you. Now, tell me what I can do.”
He gestured to the cookbook. “Find something we can hold this open with.”
Ava banged around the kitchen a moment before reaching above his head and plucking a ladle hanging over the center table off its hook. “This should do it.” She leaned over his shoulder. “Is that our recipe?”
“Sort of.” He tucked the ladle onto the book.
“We’ll use the base pasta and then make our own sauce.
” He turned his head to look at her face, inches away from his own.
His breath caught. From this distance, he could smell her shampoo.
Something floral and bright. “Ah. I’ll show you how to roll the pastas into shape. ”
She blinked slowly. “You make cooking almost fun.” She moved a step away from him.
“It is fun.” Suddenly he could breathe again.
“Although, my ex never thought so.” Why did he bring her into it?
Maybe he was subconsciously comparing the two women.
But he knew better. Ava was nothing like that selfish, grasping woman he once thought he’d loved.
“Never mind. I don’t want to talk about her. ”
Because right now, all he wanted to do was focus on the woman in front of him.
Who would’ve guessed cooking could be this much fun?
The scent of sage curled through the kitchen, warm and earthy.
The past hours she’d spent with Zach felt surreal, like something she’d dreamed up but never thought could be real.
Shopping with him had been a blast, and the playful teasing from Ollie and Eliza at the bookstore had only added to the charm.
Ava couldn’t shake the feeling that Jonathon Island might just be where she was meant to be.
Having spent thirty minutes perfecting miniature cheese clouds, she and Zach had triumphed, and he was now finishing off the malfatti in the pan.
Zach moved the pan off the stove and gave the dish one last stir. He dipped in a spoon and captured one pillow of savory cheese. His lips drew her gaze as he blew on the pasta. Then he lifted the spoon to Ava’s lips.
The flavor of the buttery sage exploded on her tongue. Unexpected tears sprang to her eyes as she remembered the last time she was wanted. She swallowed the bite past the lump in her throat. “That’s amazing. Just how I remember my mom and dad making it.”
“Aw. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Zach put a hand on her shoulder.
She brushed at her eyes. “No. It’s good, actually.
It reminded me that even though my mom and dad weren’t good parents, there were times they showed how much they cared for me.
” Or at least, there were times they wanted to show off their cooking skills, but she would cling to the former thought. Even though they didn’t want her.
“Want me to plate up the rest?” Zach squeezed her shoulder before dropping his hand.
“Yes. Absolutely.”
He split the food between two plates and drizzled the butter from the pan over them.
She picked up the plates. “Want to eat out in the dining room?”
“Nah. Let’s just eat here. It’s a little more private.” He gestured to the long stainless-steel workbench running down the center of the room. “You’re fun to be around, and I don’t want to share.”
Flutters pooled in her stomach. “No one has ever said that to me before.”
Zach paused, fork halfway to his mouth. “Really? None of your boyfriends told you that you’re fun?”
“I actually haven’t had many boyfriends.” The fan above the stove kicked on, its whir filling the silence between them. She traced a finger around the edge of her plate, catching an errant bit of sage.
“You’re good-looking, funny, and smart.” He jabbed his fork in the air to emphasize each point. “I find it hard to believe you didn’t have men knocking down your door.”
“I’ve kind of avoided being in a relationship.
” Ava looked at the ceiling. Did she really want to drag all of this up?
The ceiling didn’t offer any help. But if Zach could open up about his love life, she could too.
“If you really want to know, I was engaged once too.” She took a huge bite and made a show of chewing.
“What happened?”
The sage turned bitter in her mouth. Elias.
The lump of malfatti turned to mush, and she swallowed it.
“Not much to tell. He strung me along for several years until I finally had the nerve to confront him about setting a date.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then stared at the table.
She ran a finger through a drop of butter that had spilled, smearing it a few inches.
“Elias led me on, always bragging about my job with the newspaper and bringing me to all his events.” She swirled the butter again.
“I’d had doubts about him for a long time, but I didn’t listen to my gut.
And then he proved that I was right all along.
He said I was nice to have around and he liked me a lot, but he had no intentions of marrying me.
That he wanted something different out of life.
When I broke it off with him, he immediately got engaged to someone else.
As far as I know, he’s never married.” She shrugged and then wiped her fingers on a napkin.
“Since then, I haven’t seen the point of getting into a relationship.
No one sticks around, anyway.” Her heart squeezed.
Zach stood and then pulled her to her feet.
“C’mere.” He wrapped her in an embrace. He smelled like pine and pepper and a hint of lemon.
She sank into his arms, resting her head on his chest, his chin tucked on the crown of her head.
His heart beat a rhythm beneath her ear.
“No one should have treated you that way.” His voice rumbled through her.
“You are worthy of being loved and cherished.” His words resonated within her, deep and comforting.
They spread to fill long-empty spaces in her heart.
She pulled back to look at him. “I could say the same about you, you know. The way your ex treated you was terrible. You deserve to find love and happiness.”
His gaze searched her face. She reached up and stroked an errant hair off his forehead. He glanced down at her lips. Her breath caught, her heart stumbling over its next beat. She tipped her face up. The air in the kitchen stilled as he dipped his face closer to hers. His arms tightened around her.
“Ava,” he murmured. Then, finally, his lips met hers.
Warmth bloomed in her chest. Zach kissed her as though she were something precious, something to linger over. His thumb traced a circle on her shoulder blade.
Forget belonging on the island, she was beginning to feel she belonged right here. In Zach’s arms.
He tasted of spice and browned butter. A flavor she associated with home.
She curled her fingers into the back of his shirt. Holding on as if he would fly away at any moment.
Because that’s what people did, right? Left her?
She broke contact with him, breathing hard.
He rested his forehead on hers.
“What are we doing?” There was no way this could work between them, right? “Just a week ago you hated me. Are we really trying to have a relationship?” She let go of his shirt and stepped back out of his arms.
“Ava, wait.” Zach reached his hand toward her, but she moved out of his reach. “I think with a little more time and…and…” He raised his hands, palm up. “I don’t know, the right ingredients for a relationship. We could really make something between us.”
She couldn’t help the smile. “Right ingredients? Once a chef, always a chef.”
“Guilty as charged.” He crossed his arms loosely. “What do you say? Want to give it a try?”
She crossed her arms, mimicking his stance. “Just what do you consider the right ingredients?”
“Off the top of my head? Spending time together. Extending understanding. Not betraying each other. Maybe following through on promises?” He uncrossed his arms and counted them off on his fingers.
“That sounds like a pretty good list. I’d add finding things to agree on.” Picking up her purse from next to her, she pulled out her notebook and pen.
Zach laughed. “Is that a tiny notepad and minuscule pen? Really?”
She gave him a cheeky grin. “I’ve told you I always travel with paper.”
“Doesn’t that get to be a bit much? Why don’t you just use the notes app on your phone?”
“I feel better writing things out longhand. It has more emotional meaning to me that way.” She jotted down the things they were talking about.
“Are you really taking notes on our conversation?” Zach leaned back, crossing his legs at the ankles.
She looked up at him before glancing away. Her cheeks heated. “I tend to forget things, even important things. I wanted to be sure to note what is important to you.” She pointed the end of her pen at him. “You’re growing on me, Golden Boy, and I want to show you I care about what you care about.”
“That kind of talk might earn you another kiss.”
“I’ll take you up on that.” She tossed her notebook down.
An hour later, Ava made it back to her room and collapsed on her bed, limbs heavy with exhaustion. Tonight had been wonderful. But…her head spun.
She wanted to believe Zach. To trust that he meant what he said.
But every time her heart leaned toward him, her head yanked her back—reminding her of all the times she’d let herself believe before.
People always said the right words. That they wanted her.
That she mattered. And yet, time and time again, their actions told a different story.
She needed clarity.
She pulled out her phone and dialed Emily.
“Ava, what’s the emergency?” Emily’s voice was thick with sleep.
“Sorry, did I wake you?” She hadn’t even looked at the time.
“It’s no problem.” Emily cleared her throat. “What’s up?”
“I kissed Zach. Or maybe he kissed me. Zach and I kissed.” Shoot. Now she really sounded like a teenager.
Emily squealed. “What? That’s amazing. Was it amazing?”
She remembered the sense of belonging she’d felt in his arms. “Yes.”
“Okay, but I don’t think you’d just call me because of an amazing kiss. Even if it has been years. What’s really up?”
“I just don’t know if I can trust him to stay with me. And what about me moving to Jonathon Island? And he wants to move to the West Coast. And what if he just wants to have a good time and not commit?” Her thoughts pinged around faster than the blades on a blender set to high.
“Whoa, slow down. One thing at a time.” There was a rustle on Emily’s end.
“Okay. First, you’re just starting out in a relationship.
Trust takes time. Second, sure, you’re moving, but there are many ways to stay in touch these days.
Third, see point two. Fourth, as I keep telling you, not everyone is like Elias.
There are good guys out there. Maybe Zach is one of them. ”
A few minutes later, Ava hung up. Emily’s words rattled around in her mind.
Had she found someone she could rely on? Or would he let her down like so many had before?