AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She snuggles into me, her chin propped on my chest. "I feel free when I'm with you. That's the best gift anyone has ever given me."
"Only because you haven't tasted my cooking yet. It's brilliant. The best meal I've ever made." I touch my lips to hers. "It's inspired by you."
"Me? Hmm, I hope it's not black pudding."
"No. I hate that rot."
"Thank goodness."
I step away and slap her erse. "Go into the dining room and wait for my masterpiece of breakfast dining. Have ye seen Ma and Da yet?"
"Yeah. They're in the dining room with Jack and his wife."
"How did they get in? I didn't hear the doorbell."
"Your parents saw them out the window and opened the door for them." Kate sashays toward the doorway, deliberately swaying her hips, and aims a teasing smile at me over her shoulder. "If your food is truly magnificent, I'll give you a gift that will make your eyes roll back in your head."
Then she disappears out the door.
Oh aye, I'm in love with that woman.
A few minutes later, I carry the first tray of food out into the dining room. Kate rubs her palms together and smiles in the most adorable way. Ma and Da seem appropriately impressed that I cooked, since I never did that when I was living at home. It's a skill I learned later when I realized it impresses the lasses if a man knows how to make at least a few dishes that aren't heated up in a microwave oven. Jack looks at me and lifts one brow, as if he's silently questioning my culinary talents. Autumn winks at me. I think that's her way of saying she believes I can create food that has no scorch marks on it and that didn't come out of a tin.
I lay down the tray and start setting the items on the table one by one, announcing them for Kate's sake. "Lorne sausage. White pudding, which I made especially for Kate, who doesn't like black pudding."
"Neither do you," Jack says. "Ye gagged the only time ye tried it."
"Donnae listen to him," I tell Kate. "Jack is a liar. He's jealous that I managed to get a girlfriend without holding her hostage."
Jack huffs. "Stealing Ma's white pudding from the refrigerator doesn't count as making it."
"Of course it does," our mother says. "He had to cook it, after all. And donnae harass your brother when he's making an effort for the sake of his lass."
"I don't care if some of the food is burned," Kate says. "But what I see so far looks yummy."
"Not done yet," I tell her as I set down another dish. "Porridge, which tastes better than the name sounds. The rowie, also called the buttery, is a kind of bread."
Kate's eyes widen. "Wow, you're really going all out. No wonder you got up so early."
I hurry back into the kitchen to get the last two items, then rush into the dining room to set each one on the table beside Kate. "Tattie scones and Scottish breakfast tea."
"Are you going to sit beside me?" she asks. "Or will you stand in the corner watching me eat?"
Rather than answering, I pull out the chair beside her and drop onto it.
"Glad you're joining me," she says. "And thank you so much for making all this food."
"I assumed you'd never experienced a full Scottish breakfast."
"You assumed right. I'd never eaten traditional Scottish food until yesterday, when your mom served us haggis and all that other yummy stuff." She takes a large bite of Lorne sausage and devours it with gusto. "Mm-mm-mm. You are one in a million, Callum. Not many men can whip up a meal like this one."
"Scotsmen can."
"Yeah, I guess I'm used to American guys who serve me hot dogs and guacamole."
"Welcome to Scotland, Kate. Here, we know how to treat a woman."
The lass goes back to eating and takes a large bite of every dish before deciding on her favorites. She eats three tattie scones, drinks two cups of tea, and enjoys an entire bowl of porridge, all while moaning with pleasure at every bite or sip she takes. I think she genuinely loves this food.
