“Where’s your phone?” he asked, patting her coat pocket where she usually stashed it, making her give a high-pitched laugh when he accidentally tickled a sensitive spot in his haste.
She blocked Spike as she freed Pierre, setting the parrot on her shoulder to keep him from the excited puppy.
Kyle suddenly thrust her phone out. She grabbed it and pulled up the message on speakerphone. His arm came around her, and she leaned against him as she hit the button, not breathing.
Chef Garcia, this is Gaston Montmorencyfrom the Michelin committee. We’re proud to inform you that Nanine’s has been awarded three Michelin stars this year for its exemplary…
She started screaming. Kyle uttered a loud cry. Pierre cried out. Spike barked madly.
The phone in her hand, she didn’t hear the rest of the message. She launched herself at Kyle, making Pierre squawk.
“We won! We won! We won!”
Her jumping up and down stopped when he wrapped his arms around her. The grip he had on her was tight—perfect—everything she could ever want in a moment like this one.
“You did it, Mad!” He gave another deafening shout. “Three stars! Didn’t I tell you from the beginning?”
She pulled back and gave him a playful shove before kissing him smack on the lips. “Do you know how long ago that was? We’ve walked on shattered glass to get here, dragged our bodies through fire.”
“And now look at you.” He traced her cheek, a loving, joyous glint in his baby blues. “You’re a Michelin-starred chef.”
“I’m a Michelin-starred chef,” she said in a hushed voice, her entire being filling with awe.
The moniker settled around her with a weird kind of reverence. She remembered the moment she’d put on her first chef’s uniform. There had been something sacred in the act, the kind of pulsing power of a greater presence—a sensation she’d also felt when Nanine had given her the boning knife Paul Bocuse had gifted to her father.
“I can’t believe it!” She put her hands to her face, practically nailing herself with the phone she still held.
Kyle gently took the phone from her and stuffed it in his back pocket. “I always believed.”
Dammit, her eyes were headed to the waterworks, and she had to bite down on her lip so she wouldn’t go all girly and cry. “Yeah, you sure did, didn’t you?”
He cradled her in his arms, not seeming to care that Pierre was ruffling his feathers to keep his balance or that Spike was launching himself at their legs repeatedly. In this moment, she felt like she was his whole world.
And given this new reality she was living in, she realized there was one more piece she needed to write in. “Kyle…”
“Yeah, Mad,” he said huskily, tracing her cheek with the greatest tenderness.
“Do you still have that ring you showed me?” she asked,feeling her smile grow even wider because all she felt was joy, the purest kind she’d ever felt, knowing this was the next step for them.
He became very still. “Are you serious right now?”
She nodded.
“It’s always with me.” He reached into his suit coat, his baby blues gleaming. “Part of me being positive.”
Hadn’t she known that in some strange way? He needed this step to complete Operation Kyle and Madison, but truthfully, she’d decided it would really be nice, being officially committed to her best friend and lover. Forever.
“Well…I’ve reached my goal of winning a star.” Kyle’s lovesick grin had her tightening her grip on his shirt. “I thought telling you officially that you’re my ride or die seemed like the next step.”
“Does this mean what I think it means?”
“Yep, and I won’t even ask you to get down on one knee.” She gave an easy laugh. “Spike would go crazy.”
“Like that bothers me, and here I thought—never mind…”
And then he lowered himself. Spike did go a little nuts, but Kyle managed to tuck the puppy to his chest while he opened the box. Her beautiful, simple—perfect—ring flashed in the light, warming up her heart.
When he gave an amused smirk, she only shook her head. “The man with the plan.”
