Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
G enevieve tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach. Be grateful you aren’t stranded in your car. She shuddered at the thought. I could have died . Being so far up the mountain, no one would have saved me. She bit her nails. She glanced down at her hands. Stop it. It was such a hard habit to break. Her mind flashed back to the image of Gabe shirtless in nothing but a towel answering the door. Those rippling muscles, that smattering of dark hair on his chest.... her mouth suddenly went dry. She shook her head. No time for all that. Remember what happened last time you let a pretty face steal your heart . She sighed. Tim . She hated to admit it to herself. Hated to admit how blind she’d been. How had she not seen the signs that he was hiding something?
She jumped as a hand brushed her arm. Gabe held up his hands. “Whoa, I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You’re fine, guess I was just thinking about the storm.” And how sexy you looked without a shirt on.
“So, you know how I checked out those cookbooks from the library?” His dark eyes looked so deep and luscious she thought she might get lost in them. She nodded. “Well, I thought I might be up here by myself and wanted to try my hand at some fancy recipes.” He hesitated before giving her another sheepish grin. “Problem is, I don’t cook. At all. I do good to make myself a sandwich.”
Something about the way he looked so helpless had her fighting the urge to pat him on the head, like a little boy. “So, you decided to just dive in headfirst?” Adventurous and wants to learn new skills. I like it.
He shrugged. “Go big or go home, you know?”
She laughed. “Okay, Emeril, let’s see these recipes.” She tried not to look too taken aback when he whipped out recipes for risotto, beef bourguignon, reine de saba, potato dauphinoise, and steak Oscar. She shuffled through the pages he’d earmarked in the cookbooks, trying to wrap her head around his taste. She’d taken him for a hamburger and french fries, beer with the boys type of guy. She didn’t peg him as someone who wanted fine dining. “These look delicious.” She bit her nail. “I like to cook, but I’ll be honest, I don’t cook such... well, such fancy food. But we could do it.” She paused. “But I’m not making any promises on how it will turn out.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s just try it.” He smiled. “We don’t have much else to do.”
Genevieve nodded. “That’s true.” She tilted her head and looked up at him. “What’s got you so keen on cooking?”
He looked down at his feet. Is he blushing ? “Well, let’s just say growing up we always had people who worked for my family, cooking and cleaning. There are things I never learned to do that I’d like to learn.”
Her heart melted a little. Definitely not a spoiled brat. “Well, then we will work on these.” She flipped through the recipes. “Hmm... the risotto looks like it might be the easiest of all these. How about we try it?”
Gabe’s face lit up. “Sounds perfect.” His dark eyes sparkled, and Genevieve found herself staring at his mouth. The desire to kiss him overwhelmed her. Her desire for him scared her, not only because she’d sworn she wouldn’t get involved with anyone ever again but also because she couldn’t imagine why Gabe would want her.
She clapped her hands together. “We have more things to do. What about firewood in case the power goes out?”
Without saying a word, he grabbed her hand. His touch caught her off guard, causing her breath to catch in her throat. He led her to another room in the house, and it surprised her that her jello legs could even move. He pulled open a door to a large room that was a combination mudroom and laundry room. Against one wall was stacks and stacks of firewood. That’s enough firewood to last us for several weeks .
Gabe grinned. “I went a little overboard.” He shrugged. “At least we will be warm.”
Genevieve smiled at his eagerness. His hand still firmly clasped hers. “I think that’ll be sufficient.”
After giving Gabe a few more things to do, she studied the recipe. Risotto . The man was surprising her.