The challenge had been her way of impressing teachers and earning their respect. “I do.”
“Except this one isn’t for food.” Thea waved the card as Pierre wandered over. “Take a look.”
Madison gaped as she took it and read Thea’s clear writing.
Recipe for: Madison’s Delicious Partnership
Date: January 1
Prep time: NOW
Ingredients: Trust, Belief, Friendship, Experimentation, Humor, Dating, Joy
Hard-to-find ingredients: see Belief above, Faith in the man you love
Notes: You can do it! You already love and trust Kyle, and that’s the biggest part. Let your friends help you. Let love enhance your creativity and help you cook better. Let it make you believe even bigger things are possible, in life and food. Put yourself out there more. Let the walls down. Maybe ask Brooke for a podcast recommendation.
That joke about Brooke had her sputtering. “Thea, this idea is really sweet, but I’m not like you. I don’t even know what a delicious partnership is. I’d be laughed out of my old neighborhood if I even mentioned it.”
When she tried to hand the card back, Thea onlycovered her hands. “You’re not in your old neighborhood. You’re here in Paris. But I know how you feel. When I first came here, I was in Paris, but my mind was back in my small town of Nowheresville. Do you remember?”
Madison suddenly wished her cake would catch fire so she’d have an excuse to grab a fire extinguisher and end this painful conversation. “Thea, I’m not like you and Sawyer and the others. I don’t think this way. I cook. That’s who I am. You guys are all about self-improvement and doing the whole journal thing.”
“J’adore cette recette,” Pierre commented with a squawk.
“You little traitor,” she shot back but stroked his head affectionately.
Thea gave her the most serious look Madison had ever seen on her sweet face. “I’m going to tell you something, and as my friend, you need to listen. Okay?”
Not the friend guilt thing. She was doomed. “All right, Thea. I’m listening.”
“You’ve been saying how much better all of my baking is recently, from conception to execution.”
“You’re at the height of your game.”
“Do you knowwhyI believe that’s happened?” Thea pressed.
She could hear it coming a mile away. “No, what?” she hedged.
“We cook with love, right?”
She couldn’t deny it. Nanine had taught them you had to cook from your most treasured place. “Sure.”
Thea bit her lip to contain her smile. “So…it tracks that when we have more love in our lives, we can cook with even more love.”
God, this logic was as mind-numbing as staring at theNew York Timescrossword puzzle. “Look, I know what you’re saying. You fell for Jean Luc. All that love you have for him translates to happy hormones in the kitchen. Bam. You’rebaking the best bread you’ve ever baked. And it all circles back to the high you’re on with Jean Luc.”
“Exactly!” she cried with the brightest smile of a new bride.
“But Thea!” She wanted to grip her by her shoulders. “I’m not sweet and lovey-dovey like you are. I get inspired by watchingCarriewhile sharpening my cleaver, not by going gaga over a guy.”
“Kyle isn’t just any guy, and we both know it.” She picked up the recipe card Madison had dropped on the counter and pointed to a line. “That’s why I putBeliefon the card.”
She goggled. Kyle had asked her to believe. What was this? SomeBeliefconspiracy?
“I had to find self-confidence. You need to find your belief. In him and yourself. Maybe even in love. Because Madison, I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. You love each other. And I want you to be happy. So here’s my contribution to Operation Madison.”
“What?”She nearly fell out of her chair. “Who said there was an operation? That’s not?—”
