The Playa's Handbook by Brenda Jackson

Author:Brenda Jackson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780312331788
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

If Sam thought she would be doing all the cooking, he was dead wrong. Once Falon returned with the ingredients, she put him to work. First they began on the marinara sauce and she made sure he had chopped the basil leaves. Another mistake he’d realized he had made was that she used fresh basil leaves … just like the recipe called for instead of the one found in a bottle in the seasoning section of the grocery store like he’d used. He regretted taking the recommendation of a woman shopper who’d told him no one would know the difference. Once they had finished the sauce and had it simmering on the stove, they started on the cacciatore.

He smiled as he watched her move around his kitchen. Although he knew the layout of their kitchens were probably similar, she seemed so much at home in his. Sharing kitchen space with her seemed so intimate. He couldn’t recall the last time he and Kim had cooked together.

“I would think,” he said, breaking the silence, “that the last place a chef would want to be on her day off was in a kitchen.”

“Logical thinking,” she said, smiling over at him while cutting the three pounds of chicken into bite-size chunks. He was amazed at how she handled a knife and was glad he wasn’t that chicken she was expertly slicing.

“But when it comes to me there’s not much logic,” she said. “I could stay in a kitchen day and night and it wouldn’t bother me. I love to cook, always have. I blame my parents for buying me one of those Easy Bake Ovens when I was only four. My life hasn’t been the same since.”

He chuckled. “Your parents are still alive?”

She smiled. “Yes, they’re still alive and still very much in love after thirty years,” she said proudly. “With me and my brother Ron living away from home, they spend their time doing things together. Both retired at fifty-five, and neither Ron nor I can keep up with them. They’re forever traveling and doing things they enjoy doing. However, they make sure they’re in place for Christmas since that’s when Ron and I always come home.”

“And where is home?”

“I grew up in Portage.”

“His smile widened as he took a spoon and sampled the sauce they had prepared. Hers definitely tasted a lot better than his had. “Hey, we’re real neighbors then.”

She took the spoon from his hand, reminding him the sauce was to be used later and was not for his pleasure no matter how good it tasted. “So I take that to mean you’re a Gary native?”

“Yes, born, bred and raised here. I left for a little time while attending Howard in D.C., but as soon as my four years were over, I headed straight back here. I work for the city as an urban planner where I get to do a lot of fun stuff.”

“What about your parents? Are they still living?”

“Yes. They retired to Florida a few years ago.

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