Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 90448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“It’s a surprise.” He paused from chopping, opened up a bottle of wine near him, poured two glasses, and handed me one.
“You only do surprises on special days. What’s up?”
“You looked pretty sad when I walked in.” He turned my way. “I figured I would soothe your soul with food.”
I ignored the comment. “Well then, if I guess what you’re making will you tell me if I’m right?”
He sipped some of his wine and nodded.
Reddish meat sat in a Ziploc bag inside a bowl. It had to be pork. Gabe took extra-special care handling chicken and pork in order to not spread bacteria. If it were steak, he would have left it out in the open on a plate. Tomatoes, garlic, onions, and peppers piled together in a bowl.
Maybe it’s some sort of stew or sauce.
The peppers were green and around four inches long.
A spicy sauce since he’s using poblanos.
He edged to the right a little as if he were concealing something. I went to his area and nudged him to the side. A stack of chocolate lay on a plate. A bowl of brown sugar stood behind it.
“Mole!” I shrieked.
Although Gabe had been trained for years in classic French cuisine, he had a fascination with Mexican food. He’d dreamed of opening a high-end Mexican restaurant one day and always talked about how he would elevate the style of cooking until people preferred Mexican meals over French. I laughed, until he cooked me a mole dish. The savory sauce slid across my tongue and caressed me with the slightest hint of chocolate. I fell in love instantly.
“You’re right.”
I reached for some of the chocolate behind him. He blocked my hand. “Jasmine, what’s going on with you and this Mr. Stone?”
I recoiled. “Nothing. Why would you ask?”
“You and I have been friends for a long time, so you lying to me is pretty impossible. Plus, I watched you both in Lan last week. The guy was seriously into you.” He placed his glass of wine down, took mine too, and set it on the counter. “And what’s up with you living here?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it.
“And what about those two other women in the hallway? They’re just as beautiful as you. That can’t be a coincidence.”
I released an exasperated breath. “I’m embarrassed to talk about this with you.”
“Don’t be.” He held his hand up in front of him. “You know I won’t judge you.”
“I may test that loyalty tonight.” I chuckled, but his face remained serious.
“I cook, you talk, and by the time we’re done let’s hope you’re in a better mood.”
“You promise you won’t tell anyone?” I twisted my ring on my finger.
“I would never tell anybody.”
And so for the next hour, I confessed everything to Gabe—the arrangement, my fears, what I’d witnessed already, and how it hurt me.
“So what do you think?” I asked as I leaned back on the counter behind me.
“Wow. This is a hard one.” He held a spoon full of sauce, blew on it, and then positioned it an inch in front of my lips. “Try it and let me know what you think.”
I sampled some.
The delicious sauce awakened my taste buds.
I gave Gabe a thumbs up.
“Well, you have two options,” he said. “One, you can end it now before you get hurt anymore. Two, you stay in this situation, but do things that won’t harm you.”
I wrinkled my forehead. “Like what?”
“Stay at your place. It sounds like you aren’t comfortable in this mansion, so why even force yourself to be here?” He dropped the spoon I’d used in the sink. “And if you can date other people, then do that. It would probably keep your mind off what he’s doing.”
“Maybe.” I shrugged.
“You should really think about dating other men.” He placed the lid on the pot and faced me, holding a tiny bowl of melted chocolate. “You could start with me.”
“Excuse me?”
He came close to me until only the bowl was between us. “I’ve been taking it slow with you because I thought that’s what you liked, but damn girl, it’s been close to five years and this guy swoops in and grabs you within days.”
I dipped my finger into the chocolate and tasted it. “I don’t know, Gabe. I’ve thought about you and I getting together, but could never really see it working out.”
“Why not?” His eyes followed my chocolate dipped finger as I sucked on it. “Aren’t you attracted to me?”
Was I? Whenever I thought about Gabe coming to visit me I got really excited, but I never knew if that was due to him making great food or if it was having a gorgeous man in my kitchen.
He was definitely handsome. Vivian had coined him the Sexy Cook. And all the food magazines raved about his looks as well as his cooking.