by Kait Nolan
She started to check the clock again just as Logan appeared in the doorway.
“Relax. Everything’s set. And it looks and smells amazing.”
When he crossed over, cupping her elbows to draw her closer, she snuggled in, reveling in his solid, steady warmth. “I just want everything to be perfect.”
“It is. You are.”
Lifting her head from his chest, she fixed him with a bland stare. “That seems a stretch.”
His lips quirked into a smile. “Well, perfect for me.” His mouth was a hairsbreadth from hers when they heard the front door open and Kennedy squealing, “You made it!”
Athena jolted. “They’re here!” Jerking away from him, she brushed at the front of her apron. “How do I look?”
“Gorgeous and a little crazed.”
Glaring, she yanked the apron off and made a beeline for the foyer.
But it wasn’t Kennedy’s editor. It was Maggie.
“You’re here! I didn’t think you were going to be able to make it.” Athena grabbed her sister up in a hug.
“I’m literally only here until tomorrow. But I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
“Maggie!” Pru shuffled in from the office.
Maggie wrapped her in a careful hug. “How’s the little mama?”
Pru laughed. “Not so little anymore.” She rubbed a hand over the swell of her belly and winced. “I swear, this baby has set up camp on my bladder. Be back.”
As she disappeared, Porter emerged from the guest lounge, a bacon-wrapped fig in his hand. “Hey, these are amazing.”
“You aren’t supposed to touch those until the guests arrive!” Athena snapped.
Unruffled, he only smiled and popped the fig into his mouth. “I am a guest.” Turning to Maggie, his smile morphed into something softer and a little sadder. “Hey Maggie. Can I carry your bag upstairs for you so you can visit with your sisters?”
“That’d be great. Thanks, Porter.” Utterly oblivious, she passed off her carry-on.
With one last look full of something that might have been regret, he disappeared upstairs.
Not my business, Athena reminded herself. That whole situation was too many years in the making for her to interfere now. She had too much of her own stuff to deal with, struggling not to get her hopes up. A cookbook might not work out and even if it did, publishing took time.
Focus on what’s in front of you.
Maggie skimmed her hands over Athena’s shoulders. “You ready?”
“It’s Kennedy’s night.” It felt stupid and selfish to be so focused on what it could mean for her.
Kennedy slid an arm around Athena’s waist. “Hey, I already went through the hard part. We’re celebrating my book launch, sure, but this is as much about showing you off.”
She appreciated the show of support. “I guess I’m as ready as I’m going to be.”
“You finished the cookbook proposal,” Kennedy reminded her.
“Your definition of finished and mine are clearly not the same.” She’d have preferred another month to play and perfect and polish.
“Perfectionist. This is fine. It’s a sampling meant to whet the appetite just as much as your food.”
“I’d feel a lot more confident if Elena’s colleague was going to be here to eat my food.”
In the momentary silence, they all heard car doors closing.
Kennedy grinned. “Yeah, about that.”
Athena swung to look at her sister as Flynn went to answer the door. “What are you talking about?”
“Elena’s not alone.”
“Oh my God.” Athena’s shock got lost in the flurry of people coming into the house.
“Welcome to the Misfit Inn.” Flynn’s cheerful welcome presaged the arrival of a quartet of women whose polished looks proclaimed Not From Around Here.
Logan’s arm slid around her waist. “You’ve got this,” he murmured.
Athena wasn’t at all sure she did. Not since her initial meeting with prospective investors for Olympus had she been this nervous. She only half heard introductions to Kennedy’s agent, Taryn Whitney, and her publicist Keely Booker who’d come along for the fun.
“And this is my colleague, Yasmine Fenton. Yasmine’s the one I was telling you about,” Elena explained.
Kennedy shook hands and beamed. “It’s so nice to meet you. Please allow me to introduce you to my family.” She made the rounds, listing off more names than the woman could possibly remember, before finally laying a hand on Athena’s shoulder. “And this is my brilliant and talented award-winning sister, Chef Athena Reynolds.”
Oh my God. What if she’s seen the video? What if she heard about my lost star? What if—
Yasmine extended a hand. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Chef Reynolds.”
Numb, Athena shook it. “I’m sorry, I only speak food when I’m nervous. Can I offer you some appetizers?”
Her grin flashed white against flawless roux brown skin. “I’d love some.”
Yasmine was gracious and appreciative, striking a good note with Athena as they made the rounds and other guests began to arrive.
“Oh my God, have you tried these pimento cheese beignets? They are to die for.”
“I know, and the bacon-wrapped figs?”
It pleased her hearing people enjoying her food. Not overanalyzing, not critiquing, just eating and appreciating.
By the time she finished giving Yasmine the tour of food, the house was full of people, laughing and chattering. Several of the appetizers had already been decimated.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to refill these trays.”
Needing a minute or five, Athena retreated to the kitchen and began methodically loading trays from the containers in the fridge. That had gone…as well as it could, she supposed. There’d been no talk of the proposal, but that was fine. It seemed wrong to do a hard sell straight out of the gate. No matter what Kennedy said, this was her night, her triumph to celebrate.
Yasmine wandered in. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I had to see if there were more of those pan-fried ricotta dumplings.” Spying the tray Athena was in the middle of refilling, she grabbed another one and bit in. Her dark eyes closed and she gave a low moan of satisfaction. “This is fantastic.”
Some of the nerves settled. Athena knew her food made up for any deficiencies in her social skills. “Glad you’re enjoying it. It pairs particularly well with the pinot Grigio from Temptation Vineyards.”
“I’ll definitely try that. And I know you’re basically working this party, but later I’d love to discuss the possibility of a cookbook.”
Athena briskly wiped her hands on a kitchen towel. “Already?”
“It’s why I came down here. Elena’s been raving about your food since the inn opened last year. There’s no question you can cook. We just need to come up with proof of viability for me to take back with me to New York.”
“Actually, I think I’ve got proof of definite viability.”
They both turned as Ari slipped out of the family living room. Of course the kid was eavesdropping again.
“What are you talking about?” Athena asked.
“After the party,” she promised. “We’ll round up the New York folks and I’ll show you.” She slipped out of the room.
Staring after her, Athena explained, “That’s my niece, Ari. I have no idea what she’s cooked up.”
Yasmine just smiled, clearly amused. “I guess we’ll find out at the end of the night.”
Athena intended to find out sooner than that, but her imp of a niece managed to successfully evade being cornered until the food had been demolished and the last guest had been ushered out the door. Athena finally found her head-to-head with Kennedy in the office.
“Ariana Rosas Reynolds Bohannon, what are you up to?”
Ari just angled her head and looked at Kennedy. “Is the middle naming supposed to have the same effect if it comes from someone other than a parent?”
Ke
nnedy snickered. “Come on. Let’s round everybody up.”
“You’re in on this?” Athena demanded.
“I am. Just be patient and we’ll explain all.”
Athena found herself herded, along with both her sisters and their husbands, Logan, and the contingent from New York, into the family living room. A projector had been set up. Where the hell did that come from? As people settled in chairs and on the sofa or leaned against walls, Ari opened a laptop.
“Okay, so now that we’re done with the celebration portion of the evening, I have something else to show you. I think we can all agree that the food tonight was phenomenal.”
There were murmurs of agreement.
“I know when y’all head back to New York, you’ll be taking a cookbook proposal with you. But there’s more to be factored in here than just the awesome food.”
“You mentioned viability of concept,” Yasmine said.
“So I did. Over the past few months, since Athena’s been home, she’s been teaching me to cook. I recorded most of those sessions, along with the classes she taught in conjunction with Maxwell Organics.”
Athena had known Ari had recorded things, but she’d said it was just for posterity, for her own reminders. Where was she going with this? As fresh tension coiled low in her belly, Logan stepped up behind her, pressing a hand to the small of her back. She leaned into him, wishing her knees didn’t feel so weak.
“She’s a heck of a good teacher, and she could totally do her own show. So Kennedy and I did some editing of those videos to create a pilot web series.”
Oh shit. What has she done?
Ari kept her eyes fixed on the laptop as her fingers flew over the keys. “I give you The Misfit Kitchen.”
A website opened, slick and clean, with a picture of Athena laughing in the inn’s kitchen front and center. Ari took them through it, clicking on About the Chef, showing some of the videos that had been edited down for a shorter web format. There was a classroom portal and a signup for people interested in in-person classes. “It can be expanded in a lot of different directions. There’s even space to attach a food blog, if that’s something you’re interested in.”
Not knowing what else to say, Athena asked, “How does this prove viability of concept?”
“The whole thing is monetized and subscription based, and there’s already been an overwhelmingly positive response,” Kennedy explained.
“Wait, it’s live? People are actually subscribing?”
“In droves.” Kennedy took over the keyboard and pulled up some other page with charts and numbers that meant absolute bupkis to Athena.
“How? This couldn’t have been up all that long.”
“Celeste helped, and I put together a social media campaign to get things off the ground. It’s not too shabby, if I do say so myself.” Kennedy looked a little smug.
“Those are some impressive numbers,” Yasmine agreed.
“I don’t know what to say,” Athena murmured.
Across the room, Ari knit her fingers together, clearly thinking Athena would be mad. “We thought it would be a good way to give you back control.”
They’d put her online without her consent. How did that give her back control?
Kennedy picked up the thread. “Web series are a big thing. If you decide to go with this, it can be done with minimal budget, dialed up or down as time and money allows. You’d retain full creative control and could teach exactly what you want. You’re in the driver’s seat. Over time, it would create a massive online presence to promote whatever endeavor you choose to pursue, whether that’s small-scale private cooking classes, a restaurant, a cookbook, or some combination of all of that.”
Anxiety began to recede, replaced with something that might’ve been excitement. With this she could do a cooking show focused legitimately on the food. She could teach the farm-to-table concepts she was so passionate about to a larger audience without having to deal with them directly. Every episode would help to create an online presence that would eventually overshadow the infamous video.
“Well, what do you think?” Kennedy demanded.
“The pair of you are nosy, interfering busybodies who clearly subscribe to the school of it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.”
Ari cringed.
“And you’re both geniuses.” Athena crossed the room to pull them both into a fierce group hug. “Thank you.”
“You’re not mad?” Ari whispered.
“I’m not mad. You’re awesome.” She tipped her head to Kennedy’s. “You’re both awesome.”
Elena nudged Yasmine. “I told you this family was a publicist’s dream to work with.”
“It definitely gives me plenty of fodder to play with when I pitch it to acquisitions. Athena, let’s talk concepts.”
Grinning with relief, Athena picked up a glass of wine and clinked it to Yasmine’s. “I would love that.”
Epilogue
Filming in Progress.
Logan hesitated at the sign on his front door. He’d expected her to be done by now, but maybe he’d had a bit of a lead foot all the way back from Nashville. As the dogs weren’t milling around, waiting to slide past him, he took a chance and quietly slipped inside. Shrugging out of his jacket, he hung it on a peg by the door and followed the sound of voices.
Athena stood at the island, her hair up in one of those messy twists as she tipped a casserole dish toward the camera. “Isn’t that gorgeous?”
She sure as hell is. Smiling to himself, Logan leaned in the doorway and took her in. Those wide gray eyes were sparkling and that smart mouth he loved so much curved in a broad, easy smile. Happiness practically radiated off her. And why shouldn’t it? With the help of her sisters, she’d managed to carve out a niche for herself doing exactly what she wanted—highlighting the farm-to-table cooking she was so passionate about.
The Misfit Kitchen web series and the accompanying food blog had been a runaway success in the past four months, hitting enough subscribers by the beginning of October to effectively cover her dad’s care and solidifying the cookbook deal with Yasmine’s publishing house. Maggie’s growth projections had convinced her it was worth investing more in the show by building a dedicated facility that could be used not only for filming but for hosting cooking retreats in conjunction with the inn. She even had a call scheduled later this week with a cookware company to discuss corporate sponsorship. All in all, everything was coming up roses. Athena had buried that viral video in good press and earned back her good name her way.
She was settled and happy. To Logan’s mind, that meant it was time. He slid a hand into his pocket to finger the box that had been burning a hole all through his deliveries and the meetings with two new restaurant clients. He’d been patient. He’d given her time. He was beyond ready to take this next step, and he was counting on her being ready, too.
“That’s all the time we’ve got today, and this will be our last episode this season. But tune in next week anyway, as I’ll be giving a quick tour of how the brand new Misfit Kitchen facility is coming along. If all continues to go according to schedule, we’ll be filming next there just in time for the new year. And I’ll be having a special guest chef coming to join me. Moses Lindsey is one of the best pastry chefs I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, and he’s coming down to do a weekend workshop. Links to signup for that are on our website.” She aimed a blinding smile at the camera. “Until next year, I’m Chef Athena Reynolds, wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.”
“And cut!” Scott Barker, the cameraman and one half of Athena’s two-person crew, straightened. “That was fabulous. I think we got it all in one take.”
“Thank God.” Athena rolled her head and unclipped her mic pack before making a beeline in his direction. “You’re back!”
“I am.” Logan took her mouth in a lingering hello kiss. “Mmm. You smell like rosemary and cream.”
Her arms linked around his neck. “Rosemary au gratin potat
oes. Hope you like them because that’s part of what we’re having for dinner.”
“I am not opposed to a trial run of Christmas dinner. Though it feels weird to have the kitchen decorated for the occasion when there’s still a jack o’lantern on the front porch.”
“We’ll take them down,” Ari promised.
“It’s good to have the season in the can early,” Scott said. “Plenty of time to edit and fix any errors and upload.”
“My minions speak the truth. Plus, it gives me the next couple of months to work on recipes for the cookbook. Yasmine wants a finalized list by the end of January.”
“Then let it be so.”
Athena slipped away to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. “How did your meetings go?”
“They both signed on the dotted line as brand-new Maxwell Organics clients.” Two more to add to the roster that had grown by leaps and bounds since the summer. “Really today was just a formality. They made up their minds after the tour.”
One of Athena’s ideas had been to set up an overnight visit and tour of the farm in conjunction with the inn for chefs and restaurateurs. So far it had resulted in more than a half dozen new contracts with Nashville and Knoxville area restaurants thanks to Athena’s encouragement and the contacts she’d cultivated once she reached out to the foodie scene in the southeast. He’d just about maxed out what they could provide, at least until Porter finished building the new greenhouse. But that would be after he finished the official Misfit Kitchen.
“Woo! I’d say that’s something worth opening a fresh bottle of wine to toast.”
They’d have more than that to toast before the night was over if he had his way. “I picked a few options up while I was in Nashville.”
“We’ll figure out what goes best with this balsamic-glazed pork loin. You two are gonna take some of this home with you, right?” Athena looked at her crew.
“Do I ever turn down food?” Scott asked.
“You do not. It has been rumored you have a hollow leg.” Ari teased with a grin at the early twenty-something Scott that made Logan wonder if he needed to have a word with Flynn. “It’s the best part of this gig.”
