Delicious (Cooking Up A Storm) (14 page)

“What?”
Cara glanced up, saw her friend’s concern, and considered that for the moment. “I don’t know. Maybe it is. This is terrible,” she added, her voice rising in panic. “This is just terrible. I can’t be basing my future on Aiden. No, no, no. This is terrible.”

“
Cara,” Shelby said with a little laugh. “Calm down. You’re hyperventilating. Just relax for a second.” Shelby left the room and returned with bottled water. “Drink this.”

Cara
took a sip and forced herself to relax.

“Are you in love with
Aiden?” Shelby asked the question that she couldn’t bring herself to consider.

“What? No. No, I’m not.” But even to her, the answer didn’t ring true.

“I think you are,” Shelby told her. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

“Do about it? Nothing. There’s nothing to do.”

“Look, Cara, maybe you need to talk to Aiden about your feelings? You know, just lay it on the line for him. Tell him that you love him.”

Cara
pictured Aiden’s reaction to hearing those things from her and shuddered. “No, that’s not going to happen. That would be the worse possible mistake.”

“Are you so sure about that? I mean, I think the guy is crazy about you as well.”

“Aiden isn’t crazy about me or any woman. He’s crazy about his career. He enjoys having sex with me. Trust me. That’s it.”

“And I think you’re selling him and yourself short.”

“Oh, God. Shelby, what am I going to do. You heard Douggie. They won’t wait forever for an answer. I owe this to you and to me. But how can I leave Aiden when…”

“When you love him?”
Shelby supplied and Cara couldn’t hide the truth. “Okay, listen to me. You know, I’m good with staying here in Dallas forever. Heck, I love this town. So if you want to tell Douggie and his little posse to stick it, do it. I’ll stand behind you no matter what. You know what I say, live for the moment. Don’t count on the future.” Shelby grinned before adding, “Do what you can live with, babe. Don’t do what others expect. And that goes for Mr. Perfect as well. He doesn’t know what a good thing he has with you. Don’t settle, Cara. You’re too important for that.”

Chapter Nine 

Aiden stood at the front door of his house and couldn’t go in. What was the matter with him? He’d waited over two weeks for this—to see Cara again. Why was he standing outside his own house, afraid to go inside?

Maybe it was because of what she’d said to him before he left work.
Cara had something important to talk to him about. But there was something in her voice that told him it wasn’t something he wanted to hear. Was she going to end it? He’d been expecting the end from the beginning. Not exactly the best way to live a relationship.

“Just go inside, you idiot. She’s waiting for you,” he told himself before unlocking the door. The house was warm and inviting. He could smell something wonderful coming from the kitchen.

“Cara?” he called out as he dropped his overnight bag by the door and headed toward the kitchen.

“In here,” she answered. She wasn’t coming to meet him. What did that mean? Her voice sounded strained.

When he stepped into the kitchen, he stopped. She was standing close to the table. She had been lighting candles when he called out to her. She looked beautiful. Dressed in jeans and a filmy blouse, she took his breath away.

He smiled. She returned that smile. Then he took her in his arms and showed her just how much he’d missed her.

“Something smells wonderful,” he said when they could bring themselves to break apart.

“I’m experimenting with a new chicken recipe. It’s something spicy. I hope you like it.”

“Does this mean things are starting to level off at the shop at last? If you’re working on new recipes for the catering business, things must be more manageable. This is wonderful,” Aiden told her.

“Thanks. And hiring the extra help had been a big relief.” She wasn’t meeting his glance. Her voice sounded too perky. Something was definitely wrong.

But Aiden was patient. He waited until they were seated in front of the fireplace drinking wine before asking her what he’d wanted to know since he’d walked into the house.

“So, what’s this big news?” he asked causally, even though his fingers were trembling around the wine glass.

She didn’t say a word for a while. But she looked even more nervous. “Wait here.” Cara came back carrying a thick, black binder, which she handed to him.

“What’s this?” he managed while holding her gaze.

“You’ve heard of Grandma Brady’s Wholesome Best, right? she asked and he nodded.

“Sure, who hasn’t? They’re famous.”

“They want to buy my cookie?” she blurted out, her eyes searching his expectantly.

“They want to…what?”

She dropped down beside him on the floor. “They’ve heard about ‘Delicious,’ and they want to buy the rights to it. Actually, they want to buy my store, lock, stock, and cookie, and turn it into a franchise. With Shelby and I basically running that end of the business. We would have free reign to make it just about anything we want.” She rushed through the details before adding, “We’d be traveling to the different stores and staying there for extended periods of time. The first would be in New York in February.”

She looked at him expecting some response. For the life of him,
Aiden couldn’t give her one. It felt as if someone had just punched him in the gut. Hard.

What was she hoping for him to say?
Aiden knew how hard Cara had worked for this moment. But traveling for extended periods didn’t sound anything like the future he was hoping for with her. Still, he tried to be supportive. He couldn’t keep her from her dreams.

“This sounds, fantastic. This is what you’ve been working for, for a long time. Congratulations.” He forced the words out.

“So you think that I should take the offer?” Her voice caught over the words. Her eyes broke from his. What was she thinking?

“I think you have to do what you want to do here,
Cara. This is an amazing opportunity for you. I wouldn’t want you to pass it up.”

“I see,” she said as she stumbled to her feet and turned away. Was she crying?
Aiden got to his feet and went after her, step by shaky step.

“
Cara, what do you want me to say? I can’t make this decision for you.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to. I was hoping for a little more input though. Just forget it.” She headed for the door when he caught her.

“Where are you going?” he added as his anger grew. They were arguing. He felt like begging her to refuse the offer. He couldn’t. She didn’t deserve that. They were arguing and he didn’t know why she was upset.

“I’m leaving. Thanks for your help,
Aiden.” She tried to pull away. He didn’t let her. “Dammit, Aiden. Let me go.”

“You’re not going anywhere until you tell me why you’re crying? And why are we fighting?”

He brought her closer, felt her body strain away from his. But her eyes couldn’t hide the truth. Sultry. She was just as turned on as he was.

Aiden
lifted her in his arms and went back to the fireplace. He laid her down in front of the fire, and undressed her. She was angry. She was crying. He didn’t understand either of those reactions.

“Answer the damn question,
Cara,” he told her as his lips moved over her body. Their anger brought an edge to their lovemaking that hadn’t been there before. It came quick. Hard. And in a rush of passion. It was over before he realized she still hadn’t answered his question.

Aiden
leaned over her. Saw her tears and felt his anger wash away.

“Baby, what is it?”

She only shook her head. Before she could answer, he heard the front doorbell chime. It sounded as if someone were resting their hand against it. She shook her head again. He wasn’t going to find out the answer now unless he pushed it. Aiden brushed away her tears and reached for her chin forcing her to look at him.

“What is it?”

The chime continued unceasing. She shook her head again. “They’re not going away.”

“Screw them.”

“Aiden, I know you’re in there.”

“Shit.” His eyes closed for a moment, then locked with
Cara’s. “Ally.”

“Who’s Ally?” she asked.

“My sister.”

For a moment, neither moved.
Aiden looked into her eyes and wished Ally away. But he knew his sister too well. She wasn’t going anywhere. She knew he was there. She’d stand on that doorbell all night if necessary.

“Shit. You’re right. She won’t go away. She knows I’m here.” He tried to understand
Cara’s expression. “I’m sorry, baby. Don’t leave. We can talk about this. Besides she’s here to meet you anyway.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. But I think we’d better get dressed before Ally calls the cops.”

He watched
Cara gather her clothes and run to the bedroom. Then he dressed as quickly as possible with hands that shook. Damn, damn, damn. Of all the bad moments in the world, Ally had to pick this time to pay him a visit. He could only imagine the grilling she would give Cara.

He heard
Cara upstairs. She was showering. She would be trying to hide the tears. Aiden wanted to go to her. He wanted to find out what she was thinking. He hated that he couldn’t.

“Ally, what the hell are you doing here?” he asked when he opened the door and his sister walked inside taking in the state of disarray from his shirt, which was half tucked in, to the evidence that something had been going on that she’d interrupted.

“Good to see you too, Aiden. Where is she?” Ally asked while pointing to the two wine glasses. She cocked her head toward the shower running upstairs before smiling that ‘I told you so’ smile of hers.

“Ally, this isn’t really a good time. Why are you here anyway?”

Ally smirked. “Aiden what did you expect? Mom has been driving me crazy since you blew her off about Thanksgiving the other day. Why do you think we girls have been called in?”

Aiden
tried to control his annoyance with the Winter’s women. “Ally, I explained to Mom just the way I explained it to you. I’m just not sure. It’s going to be difficult this year. With the new job and traveling so much as it is…”

“And the new girlfriend that you don’t want any of us to know about. Oh come on,
Aiden. You’re not really fooling anyone. So who is she? Let me guess—the latest lingerie model?”

Aiden
was tempted to tell her yes simply because he knew that would send her storming out the door. Like Ally, his other sister Jenny hated the women Aiden dated in the past. She just usually wasn’t as vocal about it as Ally. Ally never missed an opportunity to tell him how she felt about the women he dated. Her favorite description was empty-headed woman who allowed men to objectify them. Ally would love Cara. They had a lot in common. Cara used to hate the women he dated as well.

The only problem was
Cara still didn’t consider herself his girlfriend even though they had been together longer than any of his other girlfriends. Including Miranda.

“Ally, look can we do this some other time?”

Upstairs Aiden heard the shower cut off. A few minutes later, the bedroom door closed. He and his sister both looked up as Cara came down the stairs.

She stopped on the bottom stair looking from
Aiden to Ally like a deer caught in the headlights of an approaching car. His heart went out to her. He wouldn’t wish this on his worst of enemies much less the woman he was in love with.

Love?

“Aiden, aren’t you going to introduce us?” Clearly, Ally was shocked. She hadn’t expected Cara. He would almost have laughed at the comical expression on her face if he weren’t still wrestling with that last vivid realization.

Love? He couldn’t believe he’d been so blind. He loved her. It all seemed so clear looking at
Cara here with his sister. The reason why he’d been so afraid to tell anyone in his family about their relationship. He loved her. He’d been in love with her for a long time.

“Obviously not.” Ally stepped forward took
Cara’s hand and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Allison—Aiden’s sister. Well, one of them.” Ally was speechless for a second. She looked Cara up and down while she continued to babble. “I’m the youngest. I live the closest to Aiden. That’s why I’m here.” She stopped, turned back to Aiden and punched him in the ribs with her elbow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“
Cara. This is Cara Bennett, Ally,” Aiden managed to say with the help of his sister’s elbow.

“
Cara? What a pretty name. It’s nice to meet you, Cara.” Ally smiled at Cara before turning back to Aiden. For the first time in longer than he could remember his sister was floored.

“Nice to meet you too.”
Cara looked extremely uncomfortable. Aiden could sympathize. His sister had that effect on him as well.

“I’m impressed, brother. Not your typical.” He couldn’t believe his sister had actually said those things out loud.

“Ally, for crying out loud.” He went to Cara and put his arm around her. “Would you lay off before she thinks we’re all freaks and runs away screaming?”

He looked down at
Cara who seemed about ready to bolt at any moment. “My big sister. She’s always sticking her nose into places that it doesn’t belong. Where’s Brad anyway? I can’t believe he let you make this trip.”

“Brad doesn’t tell me what to do. And anyway, you’ve been so hush mouthed about your personal life lately that we knew something was up. Way to go,
Aiden. You’ve finally found someone worthy of you.”

Aiden
closed his eyes tight. He didn’t dare look at Cara. That typical Ally statement had to be the worst one to end all relationship remarks he’d ever heard. He decided the best way to deal with it was to ignore it.

“So now that you’ve seen her, I expect you’ll be leaving?”

Ally looked slightly taken aback and Cara moved a little closer to him. At least she wasn’t still angry like before. But they definitely had unfinished business that he couldn’t begin to think about with Ally standing here in his living room.

“
Aiden, it’s the middle of the night. I can’t get a flight out until tomorrow. I was hoping to stay the weekend.”

Aiden
was hoping that she would leave but she was his sister and he couldn’t let her stay in a hotel.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, where are my manners? Have you eaten?”

“Yes, I ate on the plane. But I’ll take some wine,” Ally said before plopping down into the chair close to the fireplace. Close to where he and Cara had just made very angry and very passionate sex.