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At least she’d had the wherewithal to set the table nicely with candles and cloth napkins, which Aria had brought over earlier—after she’d squealed like a baby goat over the fact that Rory was planning to cook dinner.
Grant picked up a shrimp, which dangled like a sad little comma from his fork.
“I had to clean and devein them.” Rory poked at the shrimp in her dish. “It was pretty gross. How the hell you do this all day is beyond me.”
“You did a great job.” He peered at the shrimp and popped it into his mouth. “Delicious. How did you cook them?”
“In something called acourt bouillon.” She ate one of the shrimp, which was tough but not inedible.
“Really? That’s a classic broth for poaching.”
“That’s what Jacques and Julia told me. I’ve discovered thatclassicmeansit will take you forever and you’ll burn yourself twice.”
He grinned and nudged her wineglass toward her. “Relax. Presentation is a major part of cooking. Act like everything came out exactly the way you intended.”
Rory let out her breath and forced herself to calm down. Grant would love whatever she cooked, even if it was frozen pizza. He wasn’t necessarily easy to please out in the world—like her, he was too guarded—but it was easy for her to please him.
In fact, pleasing him might have been the easiest thing she’d ever done.
He proclaimed the rest of the meal excellent, though it wasn’t. The beef was overcooked, the potatoes undercooked, and the sauce was too salty, but it didn’t turn out to be the disaster Rory was expecting. Grant ate every bite and scraped up the extra sauce with a buttered roll.
“I was going to make crepes Suzette for dessert, but I was afraid I might set the whole place on fire.” She picked up their plates and brought them back to the kitchen. “So I made Julia’s dessert crepes. She said it was okay to make them ahead of time.”
She warmed up the crepes and arranged them on plates with berries and whipped cream. The dish turned out to be the best one of the night, and after they were done, Grant leaned across the table to kiss her.
“Thank you. I can’t remember the last time someone cooked for me. I couldn’t be happier that it was you. Go take a break. I’ll clean up.”
“You’ve been working at the restaurant all day.” Rory put her hand on his chest to urge him to sit back down. “You’re not cleaning the kitchen when you get home. Drink your coffee. I’ll throw everything in the dishwasher.”
“Come on. We’ll do it together.” He picked up more dishes and headed into the kitchen.
Togetherwas the way they seemed to do things the best, and within half an hour, they’d cleaned up the kitchen—including the splatters on the ceiling—and stretched out on the sofa with Rory’s feet in Grant’s lap.
“Really.” She leaned her head against the cushion and closed her eyes. “You’ve skyrocketed in my esteem like you wouldn’t believe. Cooking is hard.”
“Depends on what you’re cooking.” He rubbed the soles of her feet. “I could give you some lessons.”
She opened her eyes. “Cooking lessons?”
“Sure.” He wiggled her big toe gently back and forth. “Just basics like roasted chicken, and mac and cheese. Maybe a frittata or fried rice.”
Much as Rory liked the idea of Grant teaching her to cook, a touch of unease diluted her pleasure. Six weeks from now, she’d be living alone again, without him to serve her gourmet meals as if he’d conjured them up out of thin air. If she hoped to live on something besides candy and preservatives, she’d need to know how to cook a chicken or a frittata.
Whatever afrittatawas.
“That would be great.” She nudged his leg with her foot. “I’d like to take lessons from you. I’m a really good student.”
“I know you are.” The hint of a smile tugged at his mouth. “Straight A, right?”
“Mmm. I’m very eager to do extra credit, too.” She slid her toes up the length of his thigh back to his lap.
“I’ll have plenty for you.” He stroked his hand underneath the leg of her yoga pants. “In fact, you might be the teacher’s pet.”
“Mightbe?” She arched an eyebrow.
“Gotta prove yourself first.” He edged his fingers higher to her calf. “Raise your hand a lot. Sit in the front row. Ask to stay after class and review the lecture notes.”
“I’ll do all of that.” She sat up and touched his whiskered jaw. “I might even do some kissing up.”
