"I need to make the Broccoli Casserole. Can you get the vegetables out of the refrigerator and wash them?"
He did as instructed and she prepared the roast and put it in the oven. Then, she put the vegetables he had just washed on the stove to boil. Between the boiling pots and the heat from the oven, the kitchen windows were so steamed up, they couldn't see out of them.
"I could watch you cook all day," he told her.
"You better go get ready. You're guests will be here and you won't be ready to greet them."
Two hours later, Jenny had finished the appetizers and was getting ready to take the roast out of the oven when her cell phone rang.
"Hello."
"Hi Jenny, it's Lisa. I'm sorry to be calling so late, but the gang and I aren't going to be able to make it there to serve tonight."
"What do you mean? If you don't come, who will serve the guests?"
"You mean people are still coming?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't they?"
"Haven't you looked outside?"
With the kitchen windows still steamed, she went to the door and opened it. "Oh no!"
"That's what I mean," Lisa said. "The temperature dropped and the rain turned into freezing rain. The roads and everything else are covered with ice."
Lisa was right. Everything had a thin layer of ice covering them. "Shit!"
"I'm sorry, Jenny."
She let out a deep breath. "That's okay. It can't be helped. Thanks."
Derek walked into the kitchen just as she hung up her phone. He wore a black three-piece suit with a red rose on his lapel. Her heart seemed to skip a beat at how handsome he looked.
"Have you looked outside? There's ice over everything. All of my guests have called to cancel."
"My servers just called and said the same thing. I'm sorry. It looks like the party's cancelled after all."
The oven timer went off and she went to the stove to remove the roast.
"There's no reason to be sorry." He walked over to her. "I wanted to spend Valentine's Day with you and now I will. There's no way you can drive home on that ice."
She hadn't thought of that. She would have to spend the night. "I'm sure if I'm careful and go slow, I can make it home.” She started for the door, but Derek stopped her.
"You can't drive on that ice. Think about the hill you have to go down just leaving my house. It's too dangerous."
She knew he was right.
"We have all of this food and the dining room is set beautifully. How can we let it all go to waste?" he pointed out.
"It sounds like I don't have a choice."
"Is it really going to be so bad spending the night here?"
"No, of course not. Let me get the roast sliced and in the heating tray and I need to finish putting together the casserole."
"Let me help. What can I do?"
"You can't help in those clothes," she chuckled.
Derek took off his jacket and vest and walked to the closet. He pulled out an apron that his former cook must have used and put it on.
Jenny laughed. "You look really cute in that."
"Oh yeah, you think I'm cute?" He smiled.
"Yes," she responded shyly.
"Mission accomplished then." Anxious, he rubbed his hands together. "Tell me what to do."
"First, wash your hands and then pour the broccoli and cauliflower through that colander to drain the water. Then, put the ingredients over there into the casserole dish and mix them together."
"That doesn't sound too hard." He started on his tasks.
Jenny pulled a clean knife out of the block on the counter. Looking at it, she froze, remembering the earlier event.
Derek reached around her and took the knife from her hand and put it on the counter. "Maybe we need to talk about what happened."
She turned and buried her face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around and held her for a few minutes.
"I'm okay." She stepped away.
"I don't think you are."
"But, I am. Colleen's in jail and we weren't hurt. I can't say I won't be a little more careful when I go to someone's home to cook now, but I feel safe here." She reached for the knife again, but Derek grabbed it first.
"Why don't I cut the roast and you make the casserole? I think cutting meat is a little closer to my skill level anyway."
"You're probably right."
So, they switched jobs. After she finished the casserole and put it in the microwave to cook, she put together a salad, and the meal was ready.
"I need to clean up a little before we eat, but I don't have any other clothes with me," she said.
"I'm afraid all I have are my clothes, nothing in your size, but you could probably wear one of my T-shirts, although it'll be big."
"That would work. Would you mind if I took a shower too?"
"Come on, I'll show you where everything is."
He took her hand and led her to his bedroom. She felt strange being in his room while he got out a shirt and handed it to her.
"Here's one of my shirts." He pointed to a closed door in the room. "You can shower in there and the closet inside has clean towels."
"Where am I going to sleep tonight?"
He gave her a silly grin. "Where do you want to sleep tonight?"
"I'm serious."
"There's a guest room across the hall you can use."
"Isn't there a shower in there?"
"Yes, but my bathroom's bigger. There's a lock on the door, if you don't trust me."
"Don't be silly. I trust you."
"Oh really? Just this week, you told me that you had trust issues with me."
"Well, many of those issues disappeared when you saved me from Colleen."
Derek smiled. "That's good enough for now. Let me get some clothes to change into and I'll leave you to your shower."
"Oh, don't change." He gave her a puzzled look. "I may not be all dressed up, but I liked how you looked in your suit earlier."
"Okay. You get ready and I'll open a bottle of wine for our dinner."
He left the room and she closed the door, purposely not locking it in case he was still on the other side. After her shower, she dressed and found a hair dryer in the closet to dry her hair. She put a little makeup on from her purse and a spray of perfume that she always carried with her.
She walked into the dining room and had her breath taken away. Derek stood when she walked. He had put his vest and jacket back on. He smiled and she melted. The room lights were dimmed and he had brought out lit candles. He had cleared all the dishes from the table except for two settings. The food was on the table and a bottle of wine wrapped in a towel sat in a bucket at the side. At that moment, she was actually happy about the ice storm.
She walked over where he waited holding her chair for her. "This is beautiful, Derek. Thank you."
Before she could sit, he touched her chin and lifted it up and he leaned down. "You're beautiful." He gently kissed her on the lips.
She felt her face grow warm. "You always make me feel so special."
"You are special." They sat down.
He poured her wine and she took a sip. "Pinot Noir. That's a good choice to go with roast. It's very good."
Derek served the food and they enjoyed their meal together.
"That was a fantastic meal," he said, placing his fork on the plate.
"I'm sorry your guests missed it."
"I'm not one bit sorry. This evening has been so much better with only the two of us."
"We still have dessert. I hope you saved room." Jenny picked up the plates and carried them to the kitchen.
Derek followed behind her with the roast and casserole. "We should probably put these away."
"Yes, can you cover each one with some foil and put them in the refrigerator?"
He did as requested while she sliced two pieces of the Chocolate Rum Cheesecake and put the remaining back in the refrigerator.
They walked back into the dining room. "Let's take this to the living
room," she suggested.
"Marvelous idea. I'll pour some sherry to go with it."
In the living room, he got both of them two small glasses of sherry and handed one to Jenny. Taking off his jacket and vest and loosening his tie, he joined her on the couch. He took a bite of the cheesecake. "Oh my God, Jenny. This is unbelievable."
"I'm glad you like it."
"I'm glad you made two of them, because I'm going to eat both of them."
"You're going to get fat," she teased.
"It'll be your fault," he managed to say between bites.
"I probably should start cooking healthier meals for you and no more desserts."
Playfully, Derek pouted.
"Well, maybe on special occasions," she added.
He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss.
"What's that for?"
"For being here with me on Valentine's Day."
"I didn't have anything to do with that. I was going to leave, remember?"
"I'm glad everything turned out the way it did." Derek put her plate on the table next to his and then put his arms around her for a kiss. Suddenly, the lights went off and they were in darkness.
"Did you plan that?" she asked.
"No, but I kind of like it."
"Seriously, Derek, what happened?"
"My guess would be that the ice caused it. I have a flashlight in that drawer next to you."
She turned the flashlight on and handed it to him. He walked to the window at the side of the room that overlooked the town. "The whole town's black."
"I wonder how long it will be out."
"Probably all night. It looks like there's a half-inch of ice on everything out there." He walked back to her. "If you'll hold the light, I'll get a fire started in the fireplace."
She took the light and held it over him as he worked on getting a fire lit.
"There, I think it's burning now." He stood up. "I'm going to go change clothes and bring in some pillows and blankets. We're going to have to sleep in here tonight."
"Don't you have a generator, or something?"
"No, and even if I did, it couldn't run the furnace. We'll be fine in here with the fireplace." He took the flashlight and left the room.
The fireplace illuminated the room so she wasn't left in the dark. There wasn't much she could do about the situation. She and Derek in a cold, dark house on Valentine's Day, perfect, she thought.
A few minutes later, Derek came back in with a couple of pillows and blankets. Jenny helped him with the load. He now wore a blue long-sleeved flannel shirt and jeans. She thought he looked almost as good as he did in the suit.
"You should probably put this on." He handed her one of his other flannel shirts. "Here's an extra flashlight too."
"I need to use the bathroom."
"The main one is down the hall on the right," he said.
"I remember." She took the flannel shirt with her.
After relieving herself, she put his shirt on. "I've got dresses shorter that this," she said to herself as she rolled up the sleeves to a manageable length and went back to the living room.
Derek threw another piece of wood on the fire and joined her on the couch. Jenny kicked off her shoes and pulled her feet up under her to cuddle closer to Derek. He pulled a blanket up over them and put his arm around her.
They sat in silence for a while with the crackling of the fire as the only sound until Derek asked, "Can we talk about this trust thing?"
"Sure."
"After the events earlier today, has anything changed?"
"You mean since we know you didn't sleep with Colleen?"
"Yes."
"It has changed. I understand what happened and feel better about it. It hurt thinking that you would have slept with her when you said you had feelings for me."
"Look, I was really drunk that night, so drunk that I didn't remember whether I did or didn't have sex with her. I'll be honest, if I hadn't passed out, I might have done it without thinking."
"I'd like to think you wouldn't have," she said snuggling closer.
"Are you cold?"
"Just a little."
"I have something for you." He reached to the floor at the side of the couch and handed her a small box with a ribbon on it. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"But, I didn't get you anything."
"Yes, you did. You gave me tonight. I've never been happier. Now, open your gift."
She untied the ribbon and opened the box. It was difficult to see in the limited light, but she saw that it was a heart-shaped ruby ring. "Oh Derek, it's beautiful." She put it on. "And, it fits! How did you know what size to get?"
"I had a little help from Becky."
"She knew about this?"
"Now, don't be mad at her," he warned.
"I won't. Wait, if you had your dinner party tonight and I didn't stay, how were you going to give this to me?"
"I planned on coming by your house after all of my guests left and I would have camped out at your front door until you let me in."
"I wouldn't have let you stay out there."
Derek kissed her. "Jenny, I want you so bad," he whispered.
"I want you, too."
He looked into her eyes. "Really?"
"Yes."
He kissed her again while moving his hand to her chest to unbutton her shirt. He made quick work of it and slipped his hand inside and smiled. "I thought you had my T-shirt on underneath."
"I took it and my bra off when I went to the bathroom."
"You knew we were going to do this?"
"I hoped."
"I don't know if you realize it, or not, but I have fallen so in love with you."
"I love you too, Derek."
They quickly removed any and all barriers between them.
"I'm afraid this may go pretty fast. I've wanted you for so long."
"We have all night to do it slowly." She felt him enter her body and he did come quickly, but she thought it was exquisite. The whole night was.
Chocolate Rum Cheesecake
For the crust:
1 1/4 c. crushed chocolate wafers
1/4 c. cocoa
2 T. sugar
1/4 c. melted butter
For the filling:
2 - 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
5 - 12 oz. packages semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1/2 t. almond extract
1 t. vanilla
1/3 c. rum
2/3 c. sour cream
Preheat the oven to 300°f. Grease a spring form pan.
To make the crust, combine chocolate wafer crumbs, sugar, cocoa, and melted butter. Press into bottom of spring form pan and chill.
To make the filling, beat the cream cheese until it's smooth adding sugar gradually. Add in eggs one at a time and mix at low speed. Add cooled chocolate, vanilla, almond extract, rum, and sour cream. Beat at low speed until completed blended. Pour into the spring form pan and bake for 1 hour. After the hour, turn off the oven, but leave the cake in for one hour longer. Cool at room temperature and then chill for at least 24 hours before serving.
Epilogue
In May of that year, Jenny graduated from Culinary School. Becky won the lottery and she and her husband retired to Florida after giving the bakery to Jenny as a graduation gift.
Derek bought the abandoned store next to the bakery and had it renovated as a gourmet restaurant for Jenny.
Colleen was convicted of conspiracy, theft, arson, and attempted murder. She was sentenced to thirty years.
Wes and Cynthia split up over the Colleen fiasco. She took a job reporting the news in Lincoln, Nebraska. Wes kept up with his playboy ways.
Ellen and Jenny became good friends after getting to know each other better.
In December, Derek and Jenny were married in a small ceremony with only family and close friends attending. They spent their honeymoon at a chalet in Aspen, Colorado.
> The End
###
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carol Preflatish lives in southern Indiana and shares a log cabin with her husband and two cats in what seems like an enchanted forest with a menagerie of wildlife constantly visiting. Her interest in writing began in high school when she worked as a reporter, photographer, and Sport's Editor for the school newspaper. She is currently the author of five novels and two non-fiction books. Carol enjoys writing romantic suspense and is a member of the Sisters in Crime organization and Kentuckiana Authors.
http://carolpre.webs.com/
http://carolpre.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolPreflatish
A Kitchen Affair Page 18