Sweeter Than Candy (The Davenports 1)

“Do you even care?” I ask bluntly.

He clears his throat. “Yes. It was a bad representation.”

“You know the way we treat others says a lot about ourselves.”

“I do, but Rachel wasn’t the only one stressed that day. I’m not used to feeling so helpless. Especially when it comes to my baby sister. After our parents died we took over rearing her as best we could. We can all be a little over the top when it comes to Rachel.”

“If that’s a little over the top, I’d hate to see angry,” I say dryly.

His lips curve up. “We’re a passionate family.”

His cool and calm demeanor is lost on me when I saw his fire first.

“Gross understatement.”

“I want to welcome everyone, and thank each of you for coming. It’s your interest that allows us to continue holding these classes. For those of you who’ve never been to one of our classes, my name is Kathy, and we’re going to have fun tonight. Anyone can cook. It’s a matter of having the proper instructions. Look at the person sitting beside you and introduce yourselves.” She waited as greetings are exchanged. “These are your partners for the rest of the evening.”

I turn toward Asher and glare.

“Howdy partner.” He winks.

Bastard. It’s slightly flattering. Not that I’ll let him know I feel that way. Sighing, I roll my eyes.

“Come on. I’ll show you the ropes. Give me a truce for the next hour-and-a-half.” He holds out his hand. “Truce?”

I slip my hand into his, and we shake. “Truce.”

“Now that we’ve met, I’ll pass out binders. It’ll have the step-by-step instructions for each course, which will help you continue to follow along.”

The white binders are passed around, and I forget about the animosity between us as we look over the paperwork.

“First up we’ll be making an arugula salad with pears and walnuts. Healthy food does not have to be boring. Salads come in all kinds of combinations. Don’t be afraid to play with textures, tastes, and different kinds of leafy greens. This is a classy salad. It’s a few steps up from your everyday starter, but it’s also low prep.”

I smile. I like Kathy.

“I’m going to set you up at your stations now.”

She moves us to our station. I can’t help but feel like I’m in some sort of home ec class.

“First rule of cooking, cleanliness. You always want to have a clean workspace, clean hands, and clean ingredients. So, let’s wash our hands, take out all of our salad ingredients, and chop up our lettuce.”

We’re quiet as we follow her directions.

“Do you want to chop or mix the ingredients?” Asher asks

“I’ll mix this time.”

We find an easy rhythm as we chop and mix our way through the salad and on to prosciutto-wrapped asparagus.

“The oven is preheated to four-hundred-and-fifty. What’s the next step?” he asks.

“We need to line the baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat it with olive oil.”

“I’m on it. So are you cooking to gain more recipes or improve your skills?”

“Both. How about you?”

“Definitely to improve my skills.” His sheepish expression makes me laugh.