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Lady gives me a hug. “Y’all make quite the pair.”
My gaze darts to Lu. How does she feel about Lady’s implication that we’re a couple?
There’s a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. One that makes my stomach twist. But she’s still smiling, blushing a little too. That’s gotta be a good sign, right?
“Thanks for letting me borrow her a little early tonight.”
“You’ve been borrowing her quite a lot this week.” Mrs. Wade makes her way down the stairs. Her eyes catch on the finger Lu still has looped in my pants. “I wondered why she’s been smiling so much.”
I wait for Lu to drop her finger. Instead, she gives it a tug, pulling me closer to her. She looks at me, her expression sly. “It’s all the sunshine.”
“And the dick.”
Mrs. Wade’s eyes bulge. “Lady!”
Aunt Lady inhales loudly through her nose. “It must be something in the air, Lu. I’m feeling it too—the need.”
I laugh. To my surprise, Mrs. Wade does too, even as she shakes her head. “All right then. We’ll see y’all at Stede’s a little later?”
Lu looks up at me. Digs her teeth into her bottom lip. The hesitation in her eyes is gone, replaced by sharp, intelligent eagerness.
Excitement.
I’m smiling down at her now like an idiot. Still can’t get over the fact that she’s giving me another shot. Or that I can make a beautiful, smart woman like her light up.
A total one-eighty from the drawn, tired girl she was when she fell into my arms at the beginning of the week.
Lu leans her shoulder into my chest. “Sounds like a plan.”
“I can’t wait to hear what this surprise is.” Mrs. Wade rubs her hands together. “Riley, you’ve had all of us in a tizzy trying to guess what it might be.”
Aunt Lady smirks. “Could it be more dick?”
“Wow. Okay. We’re leaving.” Lu curls her arm around mine and tugs me out the door. “That was . . . not appropriate. I’m sorry.”
I laugh. “You know it don’t bother me one bit.”
Lu’s turn to scoff. “At least you know where I learned all my ladylike ways.”
“Thank God you’re not ladylike.” I glance over my shoulder to wave as Lu and I descend the front steps. Mrs. Wade is watching us, a funny expression on her face. Her mouth is twisted to the side, but her eyes—same shade of brown as Lu’s—go soft when she sees her daughter smiling.
I ain’t perfect. But I’ll do anything to make Lu Wade happy.
Case in point: I turn Stede’s over to her.
Or, in more practical terms, I offer it to her as a place to develop recipes for her cookbook with the help of a top-notch team of kitchen professionals.
I hold open the door to the prep kitchen and gesture her inside. “Go in.”
“Riley.” She looks at me.
“Yeah?”
“You’re not going to give me any hints here?”
“Nope.” I swat her ass. “Now get inside.”
She steps into the kitchen and immediately draws up short. It’s empty. Quiet. On the counter in front of us, there’s a stack of notebooks, pens, and folded linens.
This was a huge ask of Chef. Especially on a night we’re pulling out all the stops for a fifty-person party. But Chef, being Chef, was all too happy to provide an assist by not only offering to help write a cookbook, but also by clearing out the kitchen for the ten or so minutes I need right now.
My pulse thunders as I watch Lu take in the kitchen. My hand—the one wrapped around hers—feels clammy. I’m putting myself out there in a way I never have before.
Scary shit.
“Virginia Woolf said that in order to write, a woman needs an income and a room of her own.” I choose my words carefully. “I’d like to provide the room. More specifically, the kitchen. Chef Penelope and a few select members of our team have offered to help you develop recipes for your cookbook right here at Stede’s. I’ll compensate them, of course, but y’all will have to decide how you want the attribution to work.”
I step forward to grab an apron off the stack of linens on the counter. I hold it out to Lu, her face lighting up when she sees her name embroidered in bright pink on the front. “Welcome to the kitchen, Chef.”
My heart leaps when Lu takes it. She covers her mouth with her hand and lets out a laugh. Tears spilling everywhere when she looks up at me.
“This is—Riley, this is insane.”
I firm my touch on her back. She’s shaking. “I always hoped to hand the restaurant over to you. It’s yours if you want it, Lu. Come every day, or come once a year. My only request is that you finish the cookbook. Even if you don’t end up publishing anything, you’ll be glad you tried.”
Lu laughs again, turning her head to look up at me. “But really, Riley. This is way too much. I don’t want to interrupt service at your restaurant—”
