by Kilby Blades
Even as the silence stretched between them—as uncomfortable as it was—her compulsion to reconnect with him became stronger. The truth was, she’d thought of him all those months when she and Dev had flown off to far-flung places on half a dozen pleasure trips. She’d thought about her father a lot.
“You still happy writing that column?” he wanted to know?
“You follow my column?” she asked with surprise. She’d made mention of it in one of her letters.
After some soul-searching, and life-rearranging, and a very nice offer from The Times, Shea had agreed to reprise Kent. As her work at The Big Spoon had proven, she loved the culinary world too dearly to give up completely. No longer confined to just New York, Shea reviewed the places she came across in her travels. The column was twice monthly instead of once weekly and it had given her a good excuse to eat some very nice meals on the paper’s dime.
The travel had achieved other things, too. Dev had sorely needed a long vacation. After some convincing from Delilah, he’d pulled a Shea and resolved to take a year off. He’d gone with her to New York to visit Carrie’s babies, then spent a month with her in L.A. as she’d hustled to sell her script. He even knew investors who inhabited the film production space. After California, he’d indulged visits to Japan and Singapore in pursuit of Michelin Stars. She’d been his partner in hiking Machu Picchu and they were slated for Yosemite in February. When she’d added his dream destinations to her own set, the list was long.
“You ought to take credit for your work in your column,” her father groused in a tone of voice she remembered. “Use your real name.”
For him, it always came back to legacy. Nothing was more important to him than their name. Shea had a feeling, even that might change. Dev had been as subtle as a sledgehammer about his intention to propose. He’d also made it clear that, if he was going to do it, he wanted to meet her family, not to ask them for anything but just to know them, because only Shea could give herself to him.
It was one of the things she loved most about Dev: he was a family man. It was the people who had made him who mattered most. In Dev’s world—and now hers—family was perfect in its imperfection. Families grew together, and messed up, and forgave.
“Hey, Dad…” she changed the subject. “We’ll be in Chicago before the summer ends. If you want to have dinner, I’d love to see you and Mom.”
As she waited for his answer and peered again to the patio below, something caused Dev to look up. When he did, his lips melted into a slow smile. That thing that always happened when they looked at each other—that current of electricity that flowed between them—had only grown stronger over time.
And that was the best part of everything: for all the things that had come to an end, life with Dev was full of beginnings. She’d sold her script and was onto the next—this one a crime thriller Kendrick had inspired. She’d moved into Dev’s house—which he’d begun calling their house—months before. They’d renovated her office and were in the middle of remodeling the bedrooms in the upstairs.
“Alright…when you come into town, you give us a call,” her father finally said. “And bring that man of yours.”
Thank you for reading Shea and Dev’s story! I hope you loved Spooning Leads to Forking. It’s the second novel in my Hot in the Kitchen series. The first one was called The Secret Ingredient. It’s about Cella Dawes, a famous television chef who moves to a seaside town to write her next cookbook and finds more than she bargained for in her sexy next-door neighbor, hot doctor, Max Piccarelli. Publisher’s Weekly called it a “saucy romance full of lovely characters who complement each other like a fine wine does a good meal.”
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If you loved Kendrick, see the books marked with an asterisk below: he factors into a couple more of my books and he has his own forthcoming series. He’s a very interesting character and you’ll have to subscribe to my newsletter to keep tabs on The Benefactor, the first book dedicated toe him.
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Anyway, the release date has yet to be set for the next book in my Hot in the Kitchen series. To keep tabs on the release date for my next small town culinary romance, please join my newsletter. And whether you loved or hated Spooning Leads to Forking, please, please, please leave a review.
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If you’ve already read The Secret Ingredient, here are a few titles you might try next:
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Steamy Contemporary Romance
My ten-time award-winning debut novel, Snapdragon, is the origin story of Darby and Michael, whose friends-with-benefits arrangement goes off the rails. The rules are simple: unattached companionship, toe-curling sex and a clean break when it ends. And either one can say the single word that will break it off: “Snapdragon”.
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Laugh-Out-Loud Romantic Comedy*
Is family drama your thing? In Crazy Old Money, no one will come out unscathed when understated billionaire Marsh brings his woke black girlfriend to Thanksgiving dinner with his stuffy, old money family. With forced proximity and alcohol, what could possibly go wrong?
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First Love Romantic Comedy (Young Adult)
Finally, Friended, my 90’s music nostalgia social media romance that explores love in the time of Instagram. Publisher’s Weekly says “This YA mosaic novel uses music as an effective backdrop for a tale of social media, drama and romance.” It takes a wickedly-funny look at first love.
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Best-Friends-to-Lovers Gay Romance
Adam Bomb, follows famed portrait photographer, Levi, who moves to San Francisco to get over his smoking-hot billionaire hotelier best friend. Just when he thinks he’s surrendered to things staying platonic between them, Adam drops another bomb...
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And even if you’ve read everything I’ve ever written, don’t forget to join my newsletter if you want in on freebies, bonus content, and too much information about my crazy life (seriously—I publish a column called TMI Thursdays. And I totally overshare).
About Kilby Blades
Kilby Blades is a 45-time-award-winning author of Romance and Women's Fiction. Her debut novel, Snapdragon, was a HOLT Medallion finalist, a Publisher’s Weekly BookLife Prize Semi-Finalist, and an IPPY Award medalist. Kilby was honored with an RSJ Emma Award for Best Debut Author in 2018, and has been lauded by critics for “easing feminism and equality into her novels” (IndieReader) and “writing characters who complement each other like a fine wine does a good meal” (Publisher’s Weekly).
When she's not writing, Kilby goes to movie matinees alone, where she eats Chocolate Pocky and buttered popcorn and usually smuggles in not-a-little-bit of red wine. She procrastinates from the difficult process of writing by oversharing on Facebook and Instagram and giving away cool stuff related to her fiction novels to her newsletter subscribers.
Books By Kilby Blades
Contemporary Romance
The Secret Ingredient (Hot in the Kitchen #1)
Spooning Leads to Forking (Hot in the Kitchen #2)
Snapdragon (Hexagon Universe: Love Conquers None #1)
Chrysalis (Hexagon Universe: Love Conquers None #1)
Vertical (Hexagon Universe Standalone)
Crazy Old Money: A Billionaire Rom-Com (Hexagon Universe Standalone)
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Young Adult and New Adult Rom-Com
Friended (Modern Love #1)
Ended? (Modern Love #2)
The Art of Worship: A Novella
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Contemporary Gay Romance
Adam Bomb (Moguls, Royals & Rogues #1)
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The Worst Holiday Ever Anthology Series
Worst Holiday Ever: A Family Drama Romance Anthology
Worst Valentine’s Day Ever: A Lonely Hearts Romance Anthology
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Non-Fiction
The Book Marketing Audit
The Book Reviews Booster
Marketing Steamy Romance
Kilby Blades, Spooning Leads to Forking (Hot in the Kitchen Book 2)