19
Nina
We had a special requestfor a private demonstration. Chef David Antoine called me to his office for the assignment.
“Nina, from time to time we get special requests for the bakery to be closed down for private demonstrations. These are from wealthy benefactors. This is one such time. But with an added dimension. You’ll be the only chef involved in the demonstration.”
My eyes widened. “That’s unusual.”
“Not for people with enough money to close down a bakery.”
“The request is for 8:30 tonight. Here are the standards for private demonstrations. Good luck, Chef Nina,” he said, his voice warm and friendly. He smiled at me and handed me the sheet with the standards.
Seven hours later, I watched the florist leave the shop. She’d arrived with twelve dozen white roses, a hundred white orchids. Then the jeweler Harry Winston arrived with boxes which were placed on the demonstration table. Then a fashion consultant from La Belle Couture, New York’s top private boutique, arrived with the largest white boxes.
I watched them parade in and out and wondered, who was this rich man? Why did he rent out the bakery? Who was he trying to impress? I pictured a handsome rich man and a beautiful socialite. Was he planning an engagement? Everything was in place, but still the guest was nowhere to be seen. Most of the chefs had gone home for a rare early night. Only the sous chef and the cleaning crew stayed behind to help me with the cleanup. I was truly on my own. Chef David had left too.
There were probably hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stuff on the tables now. The scent of the flowers overtook the scent of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, almond and vanilla.
The door chimed and opened and I spun around. Jacob, Adrian’s cousin, came through the door, dressed in white.
What was he doing here?
“It’s you,” I croaked.
He gave me a dazzling smile and turned to the door and pulled it open. My knees buckled, my blood pressure exploded like a stick of dynamite, my heart jerked against the walls of my chest, excitement rode up and down my spine.
“Adrian, it’s you!” I said, my pulse racing like a comet in the sky.
“Nina,” he said, and crossed the room to stand before me.
“Look at you, all dressed in white. You did all of this. Why?”
“Yes, Nina. I did it all for you.”
“For me?”
“Yes, for you. For us.”
A young woman walked into the shop, dressed in white too.
“Adrian, have you done it?” she asked.
“He is taking his time,” Jacob said.
“Nina, this is my baby sister, Christina.”
“Drop the ‘baby,’” she said, full of humor.
He took my trembling hands into his
He is here. I thought I would never see him again. Why is he here? Please, God. My heart cannot take any more pain.
“Nina, you were right to have pushed me away. I wasn’t ready then. I had to undergo this internal journey. I had to discover I have the mettle to stand my ground.
“It forced me to rethink several things. I discovered I am made of real grit, and my creativity is sufficient for commercial success. I discovered I didn’t need a hundred million dollars and the law firm if it meant I would lose you.”
He paused to wipe a line of tears from his face. His features blurred before me. I couldn’t move. I stood transfixed by the play of emotions flashing through his eyes.
Adrian is here.
A gazillion white butterflies fluttered beneath my belly.
“What I am trying to say, Nina, is that I informed my parents just about an hour ago that I am divorcing the firm and the family.”
He leaned closer to me. He was close enough to allow me to make out the dark blue edges around his iris.
“Nina, are you ready for our forever? Are you ready for me? I pledge my heart to love you every day. I’ve brought your favorite things. I’m dressed in your favorite color. I’ve done this to demonstrate my full commitment to us, to our future.” His words were soft and urgent, and held me enthralled. My heart went into hard overdrive to manage the excess adrenaline coursing through my veins, arteries, capillaries.
“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered.
“Just say yes to us. Just say yes to our new beginning,” he said with a grin he couldn”t contain.
“Yes, yes, yes, Adrian.”
His soft lips claimed my lips in a gentle kiss. I lost myself to the sensations of his soft lips caressing my own. I gave in to his sweetness. I gave in to the flurry of the wings of love fluttering deep in my belly. My head grew foggy with the sensory overload. I was kissing my Adrian again. My heart soared, pumped up by my copious flow of love for this man whose lips were staking their claim on mine. He was finally mine.
Jacob and Christina had faded into the background until one of them coughed discreetly.
We drew apart and smiled with our eyes, and our mouths, and our souls.
“I promise to never push you away, Adrian. I can’t keep running. I can’t keep parts of my heart closed off. I am ready to love you with my whole heart. I wasn’t ready when I sent you away, Adrian. Over the last four months, I’ve thought of you and of us, every day. It’s been the hardest four months of my life besides my parents’ deaths.” My voice cracked on the last words and the sadness of the last few months faded. I felt rejuvenated with the happy warmth radiating through my body.
“Now I am ready. I want this chance to love without reservation. I know I can trust my heart to you now, Adrian. Thank you for coming to find me.”
In answer, he kissed me, long and sweet, long and hard, long and soft.
“Hey, I am not here to watch you guys kiss all night. Come, we have boxes to open,” Jacob said.
This was the start to our happily ever after.
What was I going to say to my family?