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He started to reach out for her again.  Julie, I know this is difficult for you, but 
 I can t, Andrew. She took another step back, rather than launching herself into his strong
arms the way she so desperately wanted to.  I want to, but I just can t.
 Take a risk, Julie.
Julie shook her head at his softly worded urging.  I m glad you liked the cake, was all she
could say. Julie watched him drive off a few moments later, his address still tucked into her hand.
Chapter Nine
 Come on, Andrew, how hard can it be to cook one meal?
Andrew s father sat at the dining room table, knife and fork already in hand like he might start
banging them onto the wood if food wasn t forthcoming. His father had gained a few pounds in his
sixties, but he kept his hair dyed black, and his gaze was as steely as ever, perfect for convincing
juries to vote his way.
Next to Andrew s father was his mother, who had stopped counting her age sometime after she
hit forty. Between her fitness routines, plenty of days at the spa, and the occasional touch of work
from plastic surgeons, she didn t look that much over it, either.
Then there were Phil and Nancy. Phil took after their father, more heavily built than Andrew,
with the same piercing stare. He dressed with the expensive elegance a doctor with his own very
successful practice could. Nancy was blonde and bubbly, but definitely no airhead, with plenty of
success in PR to prove it. Andrew watched as she leaned in to kiss his brother.
At least somebody s love life was going well.
 Come on, Andrew, Phil said a few moments later,  isn t dinner ready yet?
 I m just finishing the game hens now, Andrew said, taking the birds out of the oven and
starting work with the carving knife.  You ll all just have to be patient.
 Honestly, his father said,  I don t know why we couldn t just have steaks. Throw them on
the grill for ten minutes and bam! they re done.
The answer to that was perfectly simple. Andrew flatly refused to serve steaks as his father
liked them, which was best described as  just this side of cremated.
Besides, steaks wouldn t have given Andrew the chance to show just what he could do with
an oven. If putting up with a few complaints about the choice of dish was what that took, then so be it.
His mother s brow almost wrinkled as she looked over the kitchen counter and said,  If you
like, I could come give you a hand with 
 It s fine, Mom, Andrew said quickly.  Our meal is nearly ready.
The sauce was bubbling away nicely, the potatoes were done, the vegetables were layered
perfectly and all that remained was to get everything onto plates. A family meal done with all the skill
Andrew possessed, just to make it that little bit more special.
Family. Such a simple word in theory, such a world of difficulty in practice.
How many times had he invited his family over for meals like this? Dozens? And how often
had they come? As often as their busy schedules allowed, certainly, but not nearly as often as Andrew
would have liked. Almost invariably, his father would point out that he had a big case, or Phil and
Nancy would be busy with either work or a night out with their friends. They d either cancel
altogether or suggest some other date, then not understand when Andrew pointed out that his constant
rounds of filming and cooking didn t allow for that many breaks in his schedule, either.
As he plated up the meal, they began to get into a discussion of some big contract his father
had worked on. That was fine, but it also meant that any minute now&
 You know, Andrew, his father said,  my offer still stands. With contracts like this, we need
everyone we can get, and I just know you d be a phenomenal lawyer if you d only put your mind to
it.
 I enjoy my career, Dad.
 Or you could go off to medical school. It s not too late, you know. You had the grades, so
there s no reason why you couldn t eventually go into practice with your brother. Think what it would
be like, two Kyles working side by side.
Well versed in years of tuning his father out, Andrew let his brain drift as he put out the plates.
Of course, it could drift in only one direction.
Julie.
Had kissing her been a mistake? Andrew didn t want to think it had, but given her behavior at
the Rose Chalet that afternoon, she didn t exactly seem to be warming to the idea of dating him.
Andrew s nature had always been to push for what he wanted, and out in the parking lot of the
wedding venue, he d wanted to kiss her again to show her exactly how good they could be
together...and what she d be missing out on if she refused to give into it.
But if he d done that, he knew Julie would have run from him, figuratively if not literally, and
that would have been that.
Still, Andrew wasn t sure he could take much more waiting.
 Andrew, his mother said, interrupting his train of thought,  your father was making a serious
suggestion. Medical school would be good for you.
Medical school would be a disaster for him, and Andrew had hoped that his family might see
it by now. He wasn t a doctor, he was a chef. He had his own life, and he loved it.
 Son  his father began, but at that moment, the doorbell rang.
Eager to put off the inevitable argument a little longer, Andrew went for the door before
anyone else could get up.
 Julie?
The woman he hadn t been able to stop thinking about looked stunning. She d obviously gone
home and changed, since she was now wearing a dark dress that did more to show off her gorgeous
figure than the clothes she wore for work ever could.
Andrew s eyes lingered on her, appreciating every detail. Her makeup was just a fraction
more than she wore during the day too, he noted, while he caught the faintest scent of perfume
standing this close to her.
He wanted to pull her into another kiss, then and there. Instead, he said,  I didn t think you
were going to come.
 I almost didn t, Julie admitted.  I m still not sure that  She finally noticed they weren t
alone. She lowered her voice to a whisper.  Andrew, who are these people?
 My family, Andrew explained.
Julie s eyes widened and he knew that if he didn t think fast, she would be back out the door
in a matter of seconds.
He put a hand lightly on her arm.  Please stay. I haven t had the chance to cook for you yet.
And I m so glad you re here.
Julie hesitated for a second or two, but then she smiled faintly.  Only if I get to make scathing
comments about your cooking, too,
Andrew guessed he deserved that.  If you think it deserves it, yes. Just as long as you stay
long enough to taste it. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]