The kitchen was filled with amazing aromas that made Kory’s mouth water. That was no secret.
Stone walked over to her, causing Lady to turn her attention to Kory. Kory squatted and tousled Lady’s fur while trying to listen in on the hushed conversation between Stone and Annette. All she could get was that the food was in the oven. They exchanged other words, but Kory wasn’t privy to any of it.
As Annette walked past, she said, “Happy birthday, Kory,” and left.
Stone slapped his hands together, rubbing them. “Come have a seat,” he said, pulling out a chair from the table. She grinned and walked over, letting him hold the chair for her. That was weird. No guy had ever done that for her and, frankly, she didn’t see the point. What she did appreciate, though, was the effort Stone was going to, trying to make her day special. “What would you like to drink? We have champagne chilling for later, but for dinner, would you like wine?”
Kory waved a hand. “If we’re having champagne later, I’ll stick with water for now.”
“Iced tea if you want.”
“Oh. Okay.”
It was less than two minutes that Stone had two glasses of iced tea, complete with lemon slices, on the table. “You hungry?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” She watched as Stone pulled a mitt onto his hand and opened the oven. He pulled out a large plate and brought it to the table, placing it in front of Kory. “In case you wondered, yes, it’s hot.” She smirked but continued watching as he pulled out a second plate and placed it beside his tea. She let the smells from the plate waft up and into her nose and her mouth began salivating.
Stone sat down after turning off the light over the stove. Kory asked, “So what is it?”
He lifted his fork and pointed to the large encrusted item on her plate. “That there is Chicken Kiev. Next to it are the best mashed potatoes you’ve ever had in your life.” Kory had to admit that they looked smooth, like they would melt in her mouth. She could see the red skins blended into the potatoes, but they appeared to be flawless. “Next to it is a vegetable blend that might look strange, but I promise it’s a taste explosion.” Kory almost laughed at his description of the thinly sliced medley of red cabbage, carrots, and some white vegetable she couldn’t place. Stone already had a knife in his hand and began cutting the chicken. “I hired the French chef in town. Yeah, this isn’t stuff he serves in his restaurant, but he’s the best chef I’ve ever known, and we discussed extensively what kind of menu I wanted for your birthday. It’s a little bit of the familiar mixed with a touch of the exotic and I think you’ll like it.”
Kory wasn’t sure about the food, but the sentiment was perfect.
Dinner was amazing. Kory was shocked that she’d been able to eat it all, but the portion was perfect. “I hope you have room for dessert,” Stone teased. She wondered if he meant literal or figurative dessert, but she wasn’t going to ask. He had a twinkle in his eye that she didn’t want to extinguish. He was having fun surprising her. She just nodded and smiled.
He took a fairly small box out of the refrigerator and set it on the island. “Come check this out, Kory.”
She got up and walked over, peeking inside the white box. In it was a small cake adorned with white frosting, accented and piped in a light blue, decorated with flowers of the same delicate azure hue. Tiny letters said Happy birthday, Kory. Her smile was small at first, but then it spread over her entire face when she appreciated the lengths Stone had gone to. She looked at him. “I love it.”
“I thought about getting a sheet cake, but then we’d feel like we had to eat it all. So I had this one made just for you.”
Her jaw slackened before she found her tongue. “I can’t eat all that.”
Stone laughed. “That’s not what I meant. I’ll eat half.”
“Oh.”
“Ready for some bubbly?”
“Sure.”
He pulled a knife out of the large wooden rack on the island and set it down. “You can cut it if you want.” Kory noticed the two dessert plates behind the box and nodded. While Stone walked over to the fridge, she examined the box and saw that there were areas on the sides where the box fit together and that she could pull them apart, giving her easy access to the cake. She decided to split it as evenly as she could—right down the middle—and once she’d cut it in half, she slid the knife underneath each slice to transport it to its plate.
Small cake or no, Kory couldn’t finish her half. She didn’t want to be uncomfortably full.