Catering to Love (22 page)

“That’s an excellent idea! We can save all the livers from all the chickens we roast and buy the dates.”

“They’re easy enough to prepare. You don’t want anything that’s labor intensive, but something to keep them coming back for more. Giving the customer a small offering, literally a gift from the chef while they wait, makes them feel special.”

“I agree.” She eyed the recipe. “Sounds delightful. I can’t wait to try it.”

“Here’s the other. It’s a double serving of fillet of sole. One piece is poached in broth, and the other piece is breaded and fried. This was a huge hit with my customers. As we know, the natural tendency for most people is to be concerned about having fried fish because of what we know today about diet. But this eliminates that guilt factor
because they’re only eating one piece of it while also consuming a perfectly healthy serving.” He grinned. “Gotta please the masses.”

“And how did you serve it?” she asked.

“Believe it or not, I actually made a Ferris wheel out of the backbone of the fish and anchored it down with the fish.”

“How clever.”

Corey couldn’t help smiling, knowing she was pleased with his idea. “Then I made a pool of pea puree and set the wheel in the center, draped the two pieces of fish side by side through the center so they were overlapping one another, and served it with a fruited rice pilaf.”

“Wow. That sounds pretty and delicious.” Gabi placed her hand over her heart. “Thank you for allowing me to use these recipes. You’ve already told me how much it would mean to you. It really means a lot to me too.”

He reached for her hand and kissed her palm, then grinned with satisfaction. He loved watching her smile, because her caramel-colored eyes sparkled like two gemstones and melted his heart. He already knew he was over Victoria, but it was what she’d done to his business that caused him the most pain. He prayed he could let go of his baggage and move on, as Gabi suggested.

In a large frying pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter and pour the long-grain basmati rice into the pan and toast to bring out the flavor. Add the stock to the pan and cover. While you’re waiting for it to boil, remember, say nice things and mean them—because women can see through you like they can see through that stock.

Once the stock boils, you’d better cover it with a lid. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes, checking after 10 minutes to be sure the stock hasn’t completely evaporated. If so, add more stock.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a nonstick skillet. Do not move an inch away from the stove, because these will burn faster than your snarky comments to her. Keep moving the pan on the burner to toss until lightly browned.

When the rice is cooked, fluff it with a fork and set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients: charm and sincerity. You know you still have them in you somewhere.

In another frying pan, melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and add in the peppers and shallots, and sauté until translucent. And if you let yourself go, you just might have her heart melting in your favor. Combine the remaining ingredients into the rice pan, toss to coat, and serve. Serves 6–8.

Corey checked the clock and released an exhausted sigh. Stretching his arms over his head, he yawned. “I can’t do anymore.”

“Me neither. I’ve been working since early this morning and I’m exhausted.”

“Hey, why don’t we go out to dinner?” he asked. “You don’t really feel like cooking after having our heads in these books all day, do you?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ll probably make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a chaser of milk and head off to bed early.”

“Aww, don’t do that.” He frowned. “Let me take you out to dinner.”

“Where?” she asked. “You’re in jeans and a sweatshirt.”

“I brought a change of clothes, hoping you’d say yes. So c’mon. We’ve had such a fun day together, I really don’t want it to end yet. Let me take you for a nice dinner.”

“You mean out where someone else will be cooking and serving me?” Her eyes opened wide.

“Exactly.” He laughed. “What do you say?”

“Okay. I think that would be fun. Thanks for asking.”

“Do you have an empty guest bedroom where I can shower and shave?”

“Actually, I do.”

He grinned as he stood. “Terrific. I’ll get my stuff out of the car.”

Gabi watched as he walked out the door and fought back her thrumming pulse. He was right. Their day together had been wonderful. She couldn’t remember ever falling this hard or this fast for any other guy. She placed markers in the cookbooks and closed them, moving them to the side of the table, and finished cleaning up their work area. Walking through the kitchen with the books, she looked up when she heard the door close again. He was carrying a pair of slacks and a sports jacket. She couldn’t see through the plastic covering, but she could tell it was a light color. A tan. Maybe it was taupe. “Wow! You little stinker, you had this planned the whole time, didn’t you?”

“I did, but I wasn’t sure you were going to accept my apology.”

Standing on tiptoes, she touched her lips to his. “And it looks like you don’t do anything halfway. We’re going to a real nice place.”

“We are.” Noticing the heavy load she was carrying, he rushed to hang his clothes on the pot rack. “Hey, let me take those for you.”

“That’s okay. I have it.”

“Don’t be silly,” he said, pulling them from her arms.

“Thank you.” She tried to hide her surprise at his kindness, but when she saw the corners of his mouth crease into an upward curl, she knew he had gotten the message.
Getting used to this new Corey would be extremely easy. And she refused to believe it wouldn’t work this time. She sighed. “Thank you,” she said, when he walked back into the kitchen and reached for his clothes.

“You already said that,” he teased, winking. “So… where do you want me to shower and change?”

“The Sunflower Suite was just cleaned this morning after the guests left. You can use that room.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, perplexed. “If they just cleaned it, I’m going to get it dirty.”

She laughed. “Would you rather use a dirty bathroom?” Corey shrugged. “Silly man.” She flipped the kitchen light out. Pulling out her keys, she locked the door and led him out to the hallway. “Come on. I’ll open the room for you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

They mounted the stairs. He hummed with each step he took, and she found herself wanting to hum right along with him. She walked him to the door of the suite.

“Here you go,” she said, unlocking the door. “I’m going to need a half hour or so. Feel free to hang out in the room, watch some television or something to keep yourself busy until I knock on the door.” She began to walk away when she heard him say something.

“Uh… I should have told you, our reservations are set for seven o’clock.”

She laughed and checked her watch. “Hoookay, I guess I’d better hustle then.”

He grinned. “I suppose if we’re a little late it won’t matter, but a good friend of mine squeezed us in, so I don’t want to take advantage of his kindness.”

“Of course not. I just won’t dawdle.” She waved and headed toward her suite. Rushing to the shower, she turned on the water to heat while she picked out a dress. If he was wearing slacks and a blazer, she needed to match him. A sudden thumping in her heart caught her attention, and she stopped what she was doing and allowed the thoughts she’d been pushing away to play out in her mind. Giving herself the luxury of releasing the hold on her emotions was a catharsis of sorts and a license to explore her feelings. Trying to shut them out was exhausting.

The minute she closed the door, Corey was beaming like he’d just won the lottery. She’d agreed to go out with him! He hadn’t done too much damage, or at least it didn’t appear as though he had. He found himself falling for her like no other woman. He just wished he could stop himself from judging Gabi based on Victoria’s shortcomings. He had for the most part, but there were times she said things that just set him off, and he couldn’t help himself. But this little woman was the crème de la crème of champagnes. He just hoped she could see he was worth saving.

In a medium-size pan, melt the butter. Okay, your heart is sufficiently melted now, so go ahead and sauté the vegetables until tender. Transfer them to a bowl and temporarily set them aside.

Add the chicken stock to the pan and bring it to a boil. Oh yeah, your romance is at a rolling boil at this point, with a chick that’s smoking hot. So don’t mess it up. Lower the heat so you don’t scare her off again. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir constantly to avoid lumps. Once the juice has thickened, transfer everything to a blender and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the pan and whisk in the heavy cream. If the soup is too thick, add more stock. Serve hot, like you know this love can be. Serves 12.

Her knock on the door had Corey’s heart pumping like an athlete after a workout. “Just a minute,” he called out and exhaled to calm down before opening the door. He pulled his jacket off the arm of the chair and opened the door. His breath caught in the back of his throat when he saw her in a tight-fitting black dress that accentuated every curve in her body. His eyes took in the length of her, slowly and seductively, and settled on her face. He groaned and pulled her close, his hands rubbing up and down her back. He held her tightly, feeling the warmth of her body against his.