Chapter Twenty-One
Bethany
Valentine’s Day
As far as weekends go, my weekend with Nick at Cold Spring ranks in my all-time Top 5. Despite his mom’s prickly attitude at first, the time with Nick was extraordinary, amazing, incredible, unimaginable, wondrous, phenomenal. Okay, maybe I looked a few of those up in a thesaurus. Getting Francine’s approval before I left was the cherry on top.
It’s been ten long days since I’ve seen my boyfriend. Our daily phone calls and texts aren’t enough. I need some in-person Nick time, but it looks like I won’t see him until two weekends from now. My heart sinks just thinking about how far away that is.
To add insult to injury, today is Valentine’s Day. The day I vigorously trained for at the Cordon Blue cooking school, under the tutelage of Chef Nicholas DeLuca. Yet, I won’t get to use any of those skills today, as I had hoped.
Mandy strolls into my classroom while I’m putting Valentines on every child’s desk. Little cards decorated with cute animals and clever sayings like, “Will you be Mine?” or “Bear Hugs” or “Happy Valentine’s Day.” I know that the last one isn’t very original, but that’s what was in the multi-pack I bought.
“What’s up?” I ask when my friend takes a seat at my desk. She eats a couple of chocolate kisses I have in a bowl for the kids.
“No word from Nick? Why can’t he come see you again?”
I shrug. “Something about one of the contractors finishing the wood on the bar. The guy got behind and today is the only day he can come over to complete the task.”
Frowning, Mandy takes a bite of chocolate and asks, “Can’t Henri meet him?” Her words sound garbled by that last piece of chocolate, but I get the gist of what she’s saying.
“Apparently not!” my reply comes out more heated than I intended, but I’m very disappointed to spend Valentine’s Day alone. “Are you preparing the fancy meal we learned at cooking school for Stu?”
Mandy shakes her head. “Nah. Stu and I are going out to Olive Garden. That’s Stu’s idea of a fancy restaurant.”
Laughing at the pouty face she makes, I say, “Well, at least you don’t have to eat by yourself.”
“If Stu finds a basketball game on his phone, it will seem like eating by myself.”
Mandy deserves a better boyfriend than Stu. I’ve told her that numerous times, but I don’t mention it again.
“Text me if you get bored. I’ll be eating a microwave dinner and drowning my sorrows in wine.”
My friend giggles. “Nick would be appalled if he heard you use the word 'microwave' around him.”
I blush. She’s right, Nick would laugh his butt off at the prospect of a microwave dinner, especially on Valentine’s Day. I make a shooing motion with my hand, “Okay, I need to get ready for the little people. Enjoy your date with Stu.”
Taking my subtle hint, Mandy grabs a few more chocolate kisses and disappears down the hall to her classroom.
***
I stare at the contents of my freezer trying to decide which enticing microwave meal I’m going to nuke tonight. The choices are lasagna, fried rice, or chicken lo mein. This fancy occasion calls for lasagna, so I pull out the package and begin to read the cooking instructions on the back of the box.
Ding Dong!
The sound rouses me from my attempt to decipher the instructions on the frozen meal. Maybe Mandy ditched Stu and she’s here to join me for a frozen culinary delight. I rush to the door and fling it open, ready to tease my friend.
My eyes fill with delight and my jaw drops.
“Nick!!!” I squeal and yank him into my apartment. He almost drops the bag he’s carrying from my exuberant welcome. I plaster kisses all over his face, neck and lips. We hug awkwardly with the bag trapped between us. I stand here in disbelief, smiling at Nick with a pleasantly surprised look on my face.
“You came all the way here?” my voice squeaks from the awe that I’m feeling. Little tingles run through my body at the sight of him. He traveled all the way here to be with me for Valentine’s Day. Does he love me?
“Would I miss our first Valentine’s Day together?” he teases as he walks towards the kitchen and places the bag on the island. My unopened package of frozen lasagna sits in plain sight on the counter. Nick points to it, “You were going to eat that?”
Biting my lip, I nod a guilty affirmative.
A belly laugh rumbles from deep inside Nick’s chest. He comes over and pulls me into an embrace. “Bethany, you are priceless.” He smacks a quick kiss on my lips, then releases me. He shakes his head and chuckles while he unloads the bag. I sneak over and put the frozen meal back in the freezer.
“Is your mom still visiting?” I ask over my shoulder, feeling a tad bit guilty that Nick must have left his mom to eat alone on Valentine’s Day.
“Wild horses wouldn’t drive her away.” He chuckles. “I left her in good hands. She’s having dinner with Henri.”
Oh my! Is romance brewing between those two?
Nick organizes the food from the bag while I watch. Pastry sheets, asparagus, two Cornish Game hens, dark chocolate and several other ingredients come out of the bag.
“You’re cooking the meal from class?” I say excitedly.
He pauses and then looks intently at me. “No, you are.”
We’re in trouble if that’s the case. I may be getting two frozen meals back out of the freezer.
Staring at my feet, I grumble, “Are you sure? I didn’t exactly get an A in your class, if you recall.”
Another laugh escapes. “Sweetheart, admit it. You want me to cook for you.”
I walk over, put my arms around Nick’s waist and smile into his brown eyes. “Yes, please.” Touching him again like this makes me all mushy inside. My knees want to buckle, but somehow, I stay upright.
“Alright, but you’re my sous chef and assistant.” His look is stern, like the master chef he is, telling me with his expression that I’m not getting out of this assignment.
I straighten to my full height, salute, “I’m all yours, Chef. Just tell me what to do.”
My “I’m all yours” statement hangs between us. Our eyes lock. He pulls me tight, showing me with his lips how he feels. He expresses so much emotion in that one, passionate kiss, it leaves me breathless. I feel his fingers against my face as he brushes some hair out of the way and tucks it behind my ear.
“You’re a huge distraction, Miss Hunt. Now let’s cook!” he says in his deep, sexy voice.
***
“Umm, so delicious!” I moan as I lick my fingers, smiling over at Nick.
He looks so intoxicating. We’re sitting at my kitchen table and he’s wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt that hugs all his well-defined muscles. Wowza!
Two Cornish Game hen carcasses sit on the plates in front of us. We prepared the meal together with Nick providing instructions and occasional kisses every step of the way. Some of my training came back to me, especially when I helped stuff the hens. I was careful not to launch either of them onto the floor.
“Do you want to make the crepes? I never got to see the ones you made in class before we had the water bath.” He directs a heart-melting smile at me while feeling up my knee under the table.
I hop up out of my chair. “Yes, I’d like to make them. I can do this.”
My exuberance makes him smile. Maybe I’m being overly confident, but I’m going to make those crepes without his help and they’re going to be awesome.
Nick joins me at the counter while I whip up the batter, following the recipe to a T. Next, I put dark chocolate on the stove to start melting, at a low temperature just like my sexy teacher advised. Then I get ready to cook the crepes. Pulling out my sauté pan, I place it on a burner.
He stares at the pan with a grin. “Bethany, have you ever used this pan?”
Squinting back at him, I reply, “Maybe?”
He shakes his head.
I coat the pan with batter just like he showed us in class. Watching it carefully, I cook the first crepe, then slide it out of the pan and onto a plate. It’s a nice circular shape, browned to perfection. I smile with pride. “I did it.”
Nick pulls me into a hug, nibbling on my ear as he says, “Yes, you did. A+ for the student.”
I turn back to the stove to cook the rest of the batter. Six perfectly cooked crepes later, we’re ready to fill them with raspberries. Nick does the first one and I mimic what he does. We drizzle the melted chocolate on top, then add a dollop of real whipped cream. Nick insisted on making whipped cream from scratch. When I told him I’ve only used whip cream from a can, he bent over laughing so hard I had to punch him in the arm.
We sit side by side at the kitchen island and enjoy the crepes. They are delicious. I moan and groan with delight over the dessert. “These are delicioso!” I say, in a fake Italian accent while kissing my fingers like I’ve seen people do in movies. I may be laying it on too thick, but this is a huge win for me. Making crepes and not burning any of them.
Nick gazes at me, then grasps my hand. “I love you Bethany Bacon Hunt.”
His quiet admission takes me off guard. My eyes peer at him as I chew the last bite of crepe. “You do?” I squeak.
“I do.”
His admission loosens my tongue. “I love you, too Chef DeLuca.”
We stare at each other for several minutes. My leaky faucet drips every few seconds, but that’s the only sound in the room. We’re communicating with our eyes, no words required.
“Would you consider moving to Cold Spring? I hear they have kindergarten teaching jobs there.”
I smile. “There’s also an armoire there waiting for me to refinish,” I tease.
“Is that the only other reason you’d consider moving there?” He cocks an eyebrow and waits for my response.
I tap my chin, as if I’m deep in thought. “The guy I love lives there, too.”
He stands while pulling a tiny box from his back pocket. “Let’s make it permanent. Will you marry me?” Holding the box out to me, Nick waits patiently for my reply. His brown eyes look serious yet happy. A huge solitaire diamond ring sparkles back at me from inside the box.
Tears leak from my eyes. I press my fingers to my lips in shock and delight. When my brain starts working again, I nod several times.
Nick leans over and slides the dazzling ring on my finger, “Was that a yes?”
I jump up, throw my arms around his neck, and squeal, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
He picks me up, we kiss and spin in a circle. I’m laughing while at the same time crying happy tears. The emotions of knowing I’ve found the love of my life are a bit overwhelming, while at the same time, they are so very fulfilling. This is a perfect Valentine’s Day.