A Wife Worth Investing In by Marguerite Kaye

Author:Marguerite Kaye
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-03-06T15:27:24+00:00

Chapter Seven

Owen set his napkin down and picked up his wine glass. ‘That, I can say without fear of contradiction,’ he said, ‘was the best meal I’ve ever eaten.’

Phoebe chuckled, touching her glass to his. ‘Well, I was never going to go far wrong by serving venison, was I?’

‘How so?’

‘Back at the Procope, don’t you remember? When we played my game of guessing favourite foods. I guessed that your favourite dish was a hearty breakfast of ham and eggs, and you told me that you preferred a dinner of venison stew.’

‘How very ungallant of me. Stew does not adequately describe the fragrant dish you served tonight.’

She rested her chin on her hands. ‘You cannot remain a culinary philistine if you are investing in London’s newest and most popular restaurant, Owen. I intend to educate your palate, starting now. Tell me what you think was in the dish, besides the venison.’

‘Mushrooms.’

‘Very good. What else?’

He frowned in exaggerated concentration. ‘Chestnuts—yes, there were definitely chestnuts.’

‘Think of the flavours, remember how it smelled. What other ingredients spring to mind?’

‘I feel like I’m back at school and I’m about to fail a very important exam. I’m sorry Phoebe, I haven’t a clue.’

‘There was bacon, to give it richness and a little fat because venison is a very lean meat. The warmth comes from cinnamon—though I used a very little of Mr Murray’s extensive spice store—cloves and a pinch of nutmeg. The sauce is a reduction of red wine, the good beef stock I made this morning, and the pulped flesh of a tomato for a little bit of tartness. Oh, and bay, onion, salt and pepper of course, those go without saying.’

‘Of course they do,’ Owen said. ‘And what it added up to was the best plate of venison I’ve ever tasted. I mean that.’

‘Thank you. I won’t bore you by dissecting the other dishes, I’m just happy that you sampled all of them.’

‘I am certainly enjoying my food a great deal more these days—no doubt due to the excellent company provided by my dining companion. I’m also very honoured to be the recipient of the first dinner you’ve cooked since you returned to England, though it was much more homely fare than I was expecting from a top chef.’

‘I reckoned that you’re not fond of overly refined and elegant food.’

‘Not particularly, to be honest, but isn’t that what restaurants like the one you aspire to open serve?’

‘I cooked this meal just for you, as a thank you. When I sought you out earlier and interrupted your training—’ She broke off, for despite her determination not to think about it, she remembered the kiss and felt the heat stealing over her cheeks. ‘I should have knocked more loudly.’

‘I’m glad you didn’t, but I want to assure you that what transpired was furthest from my thoughts. Or would have been, until very recently.’

‘There’s really no need...’

‘Oh, but there is.’ Owen picked up his wine glass, changed his mind and set it down. ‘Let me explain, or attempt to.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.