Kitchen Affairs (2 page)

Stella got in the bath while I helped Michael prepare dinner. He been working so hard lately that he was hardl
y home anymore.

Michael and I met the first day of high school. I was the quiet girl with braces and long frizzy hair.
Sexy I know.
I was new to the area and didn’t know anyone. My parents had just announced their separation and my mom moved to the other side of town putting me in a new school district. Michael and I were in homeroom together, and when he first set eyes on me, he asked if he could give me a makeover. That was when I knew he was my new best friend.

"So what's new girl?” Michael asked cheerful
ly through his beautiful bright smile. “Tell me the deats from your first day."

"Not much to tell. Pretty standard boring stuff,” I said
, taking off my white chef’s coat and apron. “Got an easy assignment of creating a new sauce for a new entrée and then got bombarded by Drake Stagliano in the freezer," I answered casually hoping he did hear the last part.

"Um, I'm sorry, say what?" he asked, staring at me, not letting it go. He stood with his hands on his hips eyeing me down for answers.

"First, he asked if I'm married, and when I told him no, he trapped me in the freezer asking me to dinner. It was weird. Not sure what it was about," I said faced away from him, so he didn’t see my flushed cheeks.

"Wow girl, you get some!" he exclaimed
, smacking me hard on the ass.

I glared at him. "No thanks." I turned and continued making dinner.

As I was mixing the sauce for a basic pasta dish, I remembered the time I was cooking for Liam. He was at the kitchen table studying for his Freud exam when he was reading Freud’s childhood history aloud. Freud was in love with his mother and felt a sexual pull to her. I remember laughing and teasing Liam for having to study theorists that obsessed with sexual development.

“Babe, our daughter will know all about Freud before first grade!” Liam joked. He read his textbooks to my tummy almost every night. It was adorable
, however, I certainly did not want our child growing up knowing psychoanalyst theories before was necessary.

“Let’s just stick to numbers and ABC’s,” I mocked. Liam was so excited to be a daddy. He lost his mother when he was only thirteen years old, and it undoubtedly affected him hard. His mother was a drug addict, and his dad tried to be there for him, but he was also grieving in his own way. Liam was ready for the responsibility even though we were young. We were in love and ready to start our family together.

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Stella was in bed by eight, so
I poured myself a glass of white wine. Drake was still on my mind, baffled that he just came out of nowhere asking me personal questions. It was like there was an attraction; any female straight or not would be attracted to that man. What wasn’t to like?

Well
, physically at least.

I couldn’t actually tell Drake why I did
n’t want to have dinner with him. I was so used to distancing and protecting myself from feeling hurt again. Losing Liam was the worst pain I had ever experienced in my life, and I did anything to prevent feeling like that ever again. I had used an emotional shield for years.

I started gazing out my window admiring the Chicago night view when a knock at the door startled me. Michael left for the evening, and I was
n’t expecting company. I pulled my fleece on, wine glass in hand and slowly opened the door. My jaw dropped immediately as I got a view of the person before me.

There standing at my door was six foot-three inches of pure perfection of a man. I did
n’t realize I was staring until he asked if he could come in, taking a step toward me. I gestured him in and shut the door behind him.

“Nice glasses,” he smirked.
Cocky son-of-a-bitch.

“Had I known I was expecting you I would’ve dressed up,” I sneered back faking a smile.
Jackass.
To avoid my lenses from fogging up, I wore contacts when I worked in the kitchen. I didn’t mind wearing either or, but wearing glasses made me look like a professor.

So not sexy.

As he walked past me, I got a hint of his cologne. His scent lingered in the air after he walked through the room. It was strong and musky.  It was inebriating. I stood there for a moment closing my eyes taking in the moment.

I offered him some wine, and as I grabbed him a
glass, my mind was cluttered trying to think of reasons why he was here. I had nothing. This was a new one for me. As I handed him the glass, his fingertips slightly brushed mine. I chewed my lip waiting for him to say something; like perhaps why he was here.

The sexual tension was obvious between us. It was like an invisible pull that I couldn’t grasp my mind around.

Why am I feeling like this? How can I feel like this when I just met him?

He smiled at me as he took the glass of white wine and gestured for me to sit next to him at the table. I complied and waited for him to start talking. I realized I was extremely nervous barely able to grab the chair and sit down.

I tried to avoid his beautiful eyes, but they just sucked me in like a wind tunnel. He wore a very fitted three-piece suit that looked positively delicious across his perfect body. He caught me staring and asked, "Like what you see?"

Oh,
shit. Busted.

"Excuse me?" I stumbled acting as if I had no idea what he talking about. Shit.

"I'm admiring the view as well," he replied as I felt my nipples harden under my V-neck tee. I hoped he meant the Chicago view, but I seriously doubted it. “That mole especially.” He pointed right above his lip on the left side where I had a small brown mole.

Liam spotted that same mole the first time he saw me. I was a sophomore,
he was a senior, and somehow we ended up in the same Math class. I advanced into pre-calculus and was able to skip to senior math.

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“You have something on your face.” He rubbed his upper lip showing me where.

“It’s a mole. But thanks for noticing.” I bowed my head back down hoping he’d get the hint. He didn’t.

“Hey Aaron!” He motioned to his friend to come by him. “I’d like you to meet my future wife.” He faced me. “What’s your name honey?”

What an ass.

Aaron burst into laughter as I buried my head in my hands. I felt my face heat up as I heard the rest of the class chuckle at my expense. Liam leaned down on my desk inches from my face waiting for my response.

“Molly.” I glared at him. “Now go away… hubby.” I rolled my eyes at his cheesy pick-up line.

<><><><><><><><><><>

"
You’re becoming quite the stalker," I rioted.

"I
wouldn’t go that far,” he defended. “I wanted to see you," he replied with absolutely no regard for how awkward this is.
See me?
I know where this is going.

I've read my fair share of lusty romantic novels in my day. Mostly when I was pregnant, and Liam was held up at school. I needed to distract myself from reality.
So, I asked innocently, "For business or pleasure, Mr. Stagliano?"

"Pleasure. Definitely pleasure," he said as he eyed me up and down li
ke a statue. It was as if he were reading my mind.

I uncrossed my legs hyper-aware that I haven't shaved
recently. "I'm sorry I can't help you there, sir," I smirked. I stood up to set my glass on the kitchen island hoping he’d read my cues. He following me, and trapped me between the island, and his rock hard muscles.

I
fought the urge to both push him away and lean in closer to him. His scent was riveting and I secretly enjoyed him pressing slightly against me.
Dammit, Molly.

"That's a shame, Miss..
Err Molly. I was really hoping to catch up." He smiled leaning closer to me than was necessary. I felt my palms getting sweaty against the island.

It really is a shame. Damn, he's hot.

"Catch up?" I asked puzzled. "You have no idea who I am and I have no idea who you are. Perhaps we should know each other first before we catch up?"

"On the contrary.
I know you a great deal."

"And what is that Mr. Stagliano? You know my academic standing? I'm sure you have some part of
who gets to intern in your five-star restaurant after all," I fired back in a snotty tone. I didn’t appreciate people thinking they knew who I was.

He smiled as if he knows I'm on to him. "You would be right,
Molly. But I also do an extensive background check, call references and go all the way to your high school academia."

Well
, if that isn't creepy.

"So then you knew I wasn't married?" I managed to ask, wedging out of his trap. His body was intoxicating me, and I could f
eel my heart racing as he inched closer into me.

He chuckled as if he's been caught. "You would be righ
t. I needed an opening," he confessed with a wide grin.

"What ever happe
ned to hello my name is?" I questioned, getting another glass of wine

"That's too predicable. I like to stand out."

Oh, trust me Drake, you stand out.

"
Well, now that you are standing in my kitchen unexpectedly…" I stopped as I realized Stella was sluggishly walking in rubbing one of her eyes.

"What is it sweetheart?" I ran to her bending down on my knees.

"I'm thirsty," she mumbled as she rubbed the other eye, slowly tilting her head all the way up to the strange man standing in her kitchen.

"Okay baby. I'l
l get you some water." I filled her a cup and led her back to bed. I was sure Drake wasn't expecting that.

Well,
maybe he knew with all the background crap, but still he was probably surprised.

I walked back expecting Drake to bail, but astonishingly he was pouring himself another glass and waiting patiently for my return. I smiled and put the rest of my glass down.

"She's adorable," he gleamed. “Looks just like you.”

"The love of my life," I
bragged with pride. I hadn’t thought of the opportunity of introducing Stella to another man before. I had been so focused on school and raising her that it never even crossed my mind.

"
Well, Molly,” he said dragging out each syllable of my name. “It was a delight to see you. I shall leave you to the rest of your night." He gently grabbed my hand, closed his eyes, and kissed gently down on my right hand. My whole body quivered as his lips gracefully touched my skin.

He slammed the rest of his wine down and escorted himself to the door. "Have a lovely evening," I said as I opened the door waiting for him to leave. He nodded and out he went.
Have a lovely evening? What am I his grandma?  Ugh.

The next morning I got Stella ready for school so Michael could drop her off while I got ready for my second day of interning. I took a little more time getting myself ready so I could look my best in case Drake approached me again. I looked in the mirror, pleased with my appearance. If he’s going to trap me in the freezer again, at least I will have the courage to tell him to fuck off.

Or to take me right then and there.

Still flustered with him showing up at my apartment last night with no answers, I was determined to get some answers today. What does he want and why me? I’m not particularly special in any way. In fact, I still have stretch marks proving I bared a child. However, I wasn’t ashamed of my appearance with my long, naturally wavy brown hair and brown eyes. I was the spitting image of my mother with a petite frame; however, I only made it to five feet-four inches.

Still unsure of my feelings towards him, I argued with myself the entire way to class. I was positive he would use me as par
t of a catch-and-release game, but part of me hoped he was genuinely interested in me.

Mr. Cooper had us working in groups today. He made it fun by allowing us to compete
in groups. It was a way to allow us to feel comfortable in the kitchen and to interact with our peers. I wasn’t the competing type, but I was grouped with one other woman and three attractive men, so it was a thrill to show off my skills.

“Oh gees, excuse me!” I squealed as I felt a hand brush the small of my lower back. I was smacked against a hard chest trying to keep my stance.

“No problem,” he gleamed as I stood there looking like an idiot. I quickly backed up nodding my apologies and continued walking towards the counter.
Ugh, I need to watch where I’m going.

“Brad. My name is Brad. It’s nice to meet you,” he greeted catching up to me with his hand out.

“Molly. Nice to meet you Brad,” I responded shyly wondering why he felt the need to introduce himself. I guess it was appropriate considering my breasts were just smashed up against him.
Well, that was embarrassing.