Page 54 of Falling With You

This was going to work. I wasn’t going to mess this up. We weren’t going to mess this up. And I was actually talking. Maybe not to my family, and perhaps not directly to Aiden. But to someone. So, I counted that as a win. Because I wanted to be okay. I might not have all the answers, but I wanted to be able to walk around and not feel scared. I just wanted to work out exactly what I felt for Aiden.

And if I were honest with myself, I wanted to figure out exactly what he felt for me.

Even if it scared me.

Chapter Twelve

Aiden

I’d already hada day from hell, and I really just wanted a beer and to go to bed. It didn’t matter that it was seven o’clock at night and it was my night off, I was just exhausted.

I’d had issues in the kitchen all day, mostly because we were all trying to get back into the swing of things with me actually being able to use my hands, but it wasn’t easy when the recipes that I wanted to try out didn’t work the way I wanted.

I always joked that I was the best chef out there, but I knew I wasn’t. I knew that I was damn good at my job, and sometimes you had to make mistakes in order to figure out what would work on a line as well as on a menu. We’d tried a new appetizer that had ended up taking too many steps since we wanted to start fresh rather than from frozen, and one of our entrees hadn’t been ordered with as much as we’d hoped for.

That meant that today hadn’t been the easiest of days. I hated the fact that something we tried out didn’t work like we wanted it to, and it had wasted time. I didn’t cook shit food, I made damn amazing food. But, sometimes, it didn’t work for the season and place. So, we learned. We tested. And I spent hours going over how to do my job and still love it. I wasn’t in a Michelin-starred restaurant anymore. And while I missed it, I loved my family and my place that was part of my past.

It just wasn’t what I used to have, so I figured out how to make it my own. Even if it felt like a step down.

Brendon and Cameron had come in later than I had since they were working the late shift and had growled at each other over one thing or another. Apparently, neither of them had had enough time to spend with their women, so now they were taking their issues of not getting laid out on each other and me.

Dillon wasn’t working today since he had school and lots of studying to do. The kid was working on his gen-eds and perhaps a business degree before he decided if he wanted to try culinary school. I’d only had Beckham to lean on, and that wasn’t the greatest thing. Especially considering that Beckham tended not to talk and just glowered or made jokes that might have been funny in other situations.

But I hadn’t been in the mood for them today.

I had worked the opening shift as well as the early dinner shift, and I was tired. I actually let my sous chef have control of the kitchen and left my brothers to do what they needed to do. That meant I was here alone at my house and tired.

I looked at the little ball of fluff who was trying to look innocent.

Okay, so I wasn’t technically alone since this little kitten named Diego was with me and seemed to also be the devil incarnate.

I couldn’t believe this little ball of evil contained so much wrath and energy.

Diego seemed to smile at me, then licked his paw and tried to catch his tail all at once. He ended up rolling right off the couch. I moved quickly, grabbing him in one hand and cursing, considering it was my still-healing hand.

“Motherfucker,” I muttered under my breath, and Diego looked at me wide-eyed and tried to roll out of my palm before biting my finger.

“Seriously? Seriously?” I brought the cat up to my face and stared at him. “Okay, I’m not really angry at you for destroying the pillow. I shouldn’t have left a perfectly good pillow there. I don’t even like throw pillows. But, here we are. You are in trouble for tearing it to shreds and for tossing the stuffing everywhere all over my house, though.”

Diego tilted his head at me and lifted his back legs so he could bounce them against my thumb like a rabbit. Weirdo.

“Stop looking cute.”

Diego let out a little purring mewl, and I narrowed my eyes.

“Stop it. What did I just say?”

Diego licked my thumb, and I closed my eyes.

“I hate you. I hate you.”

The little kitten made a little meowing sound that was so high-pitched and adorable, I was pretty sure I would have swooned if I were actually a swooning type of guy.

“What did I say about using your cuteness to get out of trouble?”

Diego just looked at me, his wide eyes innocent yet containing so much evil.

“I can’t believe Sienna convinced me to keep you.”