“Cooking? Really? That seems to be all we do lately.” She scowled, but he caught the glint of amusement in her eyes. Plus, her dimple gave away the smile lurking below the fake frown.
“Can I help it if cooking is my love language?” Oops, did he just saylove? It was way too early for that kind of word. “Uh. I mean…it’s what I’m good at.”
Ava eyed him. “I know.”
And what did she mean by that? He swallowed against a sudden dryness. “If you’re not having fun by the end of the night, you can plan the next date.”
“I’ve got news for you, Golden Boy. If I’m not having fun by the end of the night, there might not be another date.” She kept the mock scowl a moment before her face softened into a smile to match the light in her eyes.
“Challenge accepted.”
“I’m assuming you have a plan for all of these ingredients?” She waved toward his shopping basket.
“Prepare to be amazed.” Zach paid for the groceries, and a few minutes later, they were on their way back to the Grand.
The kitchen lay quiet and still. He’d come down earlier and gathered up some of the tools they would need for their supper. He dropped the bag of groceries next to the mixing bowl he’d found.
“Okay, the recipe for malfatti is on page one hundred and two.” He flipped open the French cookbook.
Ava blinked at him, her eyes shining.
“What?”
“Malfatti? You remembered my story.” Her mouth slowly pushed up into a half smile. His heart pumped double-time.
“It isn’t the easiest recipe to learn cooking skills on, but I thought something with meaning to you would be motivating.” Shoot. He’d ignored the bad memories connected with this dish for her. What if she didn’t want to relive all that? “We can totally make something else?—”
“No. This is perfect. I’m honored you want to make this with me.” Her smile pushed up into her freckled cheeks. “Thank you. Now, tell me what I can do.”
He gestured to the cookbook. “Find something we can hold this open with.”
Ava banged around the kitchen a moment before reaching above his head and plucking a ladle hanging over the center table off its hook. “This should do it.” She leaned over his shoulder. “Is that our recipe?”
“Sort of.” He tucked the ladle onto the book. “We’ll use the base pasta and then make our own sauce.” He turned his head to look at her face, inches away from his own. His breath caught. From this distance, he could smell her shampoo. Something floral and bright. “Ah. I’ll show you how to roll the pastas into shape.”
She blinked slowly. “You make cooking almost fun.” She moved a step away from him.
“It is fun.” Suddenly he could breathe again. “Although, my ex never thought so.” Why did he bring her into it? Maybe he was subconsciously comparing the two women. But he knew better. Ava was nothing like that selfish, grasping woman he once thought he’d loved. “Never mind. I don’t want to talk about her.”
Because right now, all he wanted to do was focus on the woman in front of him.
Who would’ve guessed cooking could be this much fun?
The scent of sage curled through the kitchen, warm and earthy. The past hours she’d spent with Zach felt surreal, like something she’d dreamed up but never thought could be real. Shopping with him had been a blast, and the playful teasing from Ollie and Eliza at the bookstore had only added to the charm. Ava couldn’t shake the feeling that Jonathon Island might just be where she was meant to be.
Having spent thirty minutes perfecting miniature cheese clouds, she and Zach had triumphed, and he was now finishing off the malfatti in the pan.
Zach moved the pan off the stove and gave the dish one last stir. He dipped in a spoon and captured one pillow of savory cheese. His lips drew her gaze as he blew on the pasta. Then he lifted the spoon to Ava’s lips.
The flavor of the buttery sage exploded on her tongue. Unexpected tears sprang to her eyes as she remembered the last time she was wanted. She swallowed the bite past the lump in her throat. “That’s amazing. Just how I remember my mom and dad making it.”
“Aw. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Zach put a hand on her shoulder.
She brushed at her eyes. “No. It’s good, actually. It reminded me that even though my mom and dad weren’t good parents, there were times they showed how much they cared for me.” Or at least, there were times they wanted to show off their cooking skills, but she would cling to the former thought. Even though they didn’t want her.
“Want me to plate up the rest?” Zach squeezed her shoulder before dropping his hand.
“Yes. Absolutely.”
