4 Years Later

~~

"Taylor, how's that Beef bourguignon coming along?" I demanded from one end of the kitchen.

"Almost done, chef!" Taylor, my apprentice, responded from the other end.

I nodded in her direction and turned my attention back to the cheese soufflé mixture I was currently working on.

"Will you please tell me if this Velouté tastes okay?" Lucas, another one of the young chefs working under me asked as he held a wooden spoon in front of me to taste.

I took the spoon from him and placed it between my lips. All at once the familiar comforting taste and velvety texture of the Velouté sauce flooded my senses.

"It's delicious." I patted Lucas on the back. "Good job." He gave me a grateful smile before scurrying away to finish his other tasks.

I poured the soufflé mixture into the porcelain dishes and put them in the preheated oven. Make sure to set the timer for twenty-five minutes.

The kitchen was filled with chaotic sounds and delicious smells. All around me, chefs and waiters hurried to serve food to waiting customers.

I sighed in contentment.

This is what I lived for.

I had gotten my culinary diploma two years ago and finished my chef's apprenticeship last year.

Now, I was working as a Head Chef at Septime, one of the best Michelin Star restaurants in Paris.

"Boss is looking for you." One of the waiters suddenly called out to me.

I raised my eyebrows in question and the waiter shrugged.

I wiped my hands on my apron and turned to Lucas "Keep an eye on the soufflé's, will you?"

"Yes, chef." He responded with a mock salute and I gave him a wink.

~~

I made my way to the small office at the back of the restaurant. I knocked on the mahogany door once.

"Come in." My boss's familiar voice beckoned.

"You asked for me?"

"Yes." She responded.

"What can I do for you?" I gave her a pointed look.

"Keep me company." She gave me a cheeky smile.

I rolled my eyes. "You can't just pull me out of work because you're bored, Nora."

"Sure I can. I own this place." She shrugged.

Her pretty blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

I laughed.

Nora was the owner of Septime. She owned two other restaurants in Paris and another one in Nantes.

She was also my closest friend.

We'd hit it off when she'd taken my job interview. She had hired me on the spot and we'd grown closer over time.

"You can't play favorites when it comes to employees. Someone might file a complaint against me saying that I use our friendship as an excuse to slack at my job."

Nora rolled her eyes this time. "Please. Everyone in this restaurant knows that you work harder than anyone here. Also, everyone working with you here loves you too much to ever file a complaint against you."

My expression sobered. "You know, sometimes I wonder what would have happened if you hadn't hired me."

Nora frowned. "You probably would be working for another fancy Michelin-star restaurant. I, on the other hand, would have lost a great chef," she smiled softly "and an even greater friend."

She sighed dramatically before getting up and heading to the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked in surprise.

She gave me an innocent smile. "Since you refuse to leave work to spend time with your best friend I'll just have to go to the kitchen to spend time with you."

I shook my head and laughed before following her out the door.

"So, have you changed your mind yet?" Nora whispered from beside me. She didn't specify but she didn't need to, I knew exactly what she was talking about. She'd been bugging me about it for the past six months.

"No!" I gave her a glare.

She pursed her lips but thankfully didn't argue further.

My glare was still focused on Nora as I pushed open the kitchen doors and stepped inside.

"Surprise!" A chorus of voices greeted us.

My eyes widened in disbelief.

All the waiters and cooks stood in a semicircle in front of me, a banner reading 'Happy Birthday Angelica' hung over my head.

Lucas stood in the center holding up a huge chocolate cake with sparkling candles.

"Happy birthday Chef!" They all said in unison.

My hand flew to my heart, my eyes grew misty. "You guys remembered," I whispered.

"Of course we did," Nora responded as she hugged me tightly. "You're our family and families take care of each other."

~~

"Thanks again for today, Nora. I can't begin to tell you how much it meant to me." I leaned my head against the sofa and sighed.

We had come back to Nora's house. It was practically my second home now.

"Stop thanking me. It was nothing." Nora said over her shoulder as she poured two glasses of red wine, one for me and one for herself.

She came to sit down beside me on the sofa and handed the glass over to me.

For a moment we sipped the wine in silence.

"So..." Nora trailed off. "We never finished our earlier conversation about my brother."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going out with your brother Nora!"

"Give him a chance Angelica. Just one date. He wants to meet you."

I gave her an exasperated look. "It's not about giving him a chance. It's because I'm not ready to be in any kind of a relationship yet, I'm not prepared to be emotionally invested in a person right now and going out with him would just be giving him false hope, it would be unfair."

"It's been four years Angelica. You need to let go of the past." She said quietly.

My back stiffened and I clenched my jaw.

Nora didn't know much about my past only bits and pieces, but she knew that there had been a man who I had loved dearly and lost. It had been one of the reasons we had bonded so well. Nora had lost her husband too, so she understood my pain all too well.

"You never moved on from your husband. You never fell in love again. So why are you pushing me so hard?" I demanded. I twirled the glass in my hand making the crimson liquid swirl.

Nora gave me a small smile.

"You misunderstand me, Angelica. I apologize. Maybe I have been pushing you too hard but that's only because I want you to be happy."

I raised my eyebrow and gave her a pointed look. "I have no doubt that your brother is a great guy, but I don't need a man to be happy. You're a strong and independent woman yourself, you know that having a man in your life isn't a necessity. A woman can be complete without a man."

Nora shook her head. "That's just it, Angelica. Ever since I met you, I've seen you living an incomplete life, like something major is missing. You push yourself, give everything you have to your work but that's not healthy. You can't keep using your job to distract yourself from how lonely you are. You should have something in your life to look forward to besides your job."

I tried to swallow the lump that had lodged itself in my throat.

Nora's voice became gentle. "It doesn't have to be a man, it doesn't even have to be a person, it just has to be something that makes you whole again. You deserve so much more than living an incomplete life." Her hand grasped mine. "You're right Angelica, you don't need a man to be happy and I'm sorry if I've been pushing you too hard but you need to know that the reason I've been asking you to do this isn't because I think you'll immediately fall in love and have a happily ever after. In complete honesty, you might never fall in love again. Love, like the one we've experienced, is one in a million. But the thing is, opening your heart up to the possibility of happiness, to the possibility of love means that you've healed, that you're ready to live again. And that's all I want for you, I want you to stop holding on to the past and start living in the present."

Hot, wet tears trailed down my cheeks but I didn't wipe them away.

"I don't think I can ever forget him. I'll never be able to get over him. It's always going to be him, Nora." I whispered.

Nora pulled me into a tight hug.

"You misunderstand Angelica, healing isn't about forgetting the person you love." She leaned back to look at me, her own eyes shining with tears. "Healing is about keeping the beautiful moments you had with them in your heart while letting go of all the pain." She gave me a soft smile. "Love isn't supposed to bring you sorrow it's supposed to give you peace."

The sound of the bedroom door slamming shut suddenly had me jumping in surprise. Nora's son Rayan sauntered into the living room.

"Hey. When did you guys get back? His hair was disheveled like he'd been sleeping. He plopped down between the two of us on the couch.

"A while ago. How was soccer practice?" Nora asked.

Rayan groaned. "Brutal."

I laughed. "Well if it's any comfort, we brought you some chocolate cake." I ruffled his already messy hair.

He threw an arm around me and enveloped me in a bear hug. The kid was only seventeen but he was huge already, almost a foot taller than me.

"I know Ma's trying to get you to start dating just thought you should know that I think you're awesome and I would totally date you." The cheeky little brat gave me a wink before jogging to the kitchen."

"Rayan! How dare you say such a thing to your Auntie!" Nora shrieked in horror.

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing.

"I think I should take that as my cue to leave," I said still chuckling.

Nora gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about my embarrassment of a son!" She hollered loud enough for Rayan to hear.

"I was kidding!" He shouted from the kitchen.

"Teenagers." I shook my head in bewilderment. My expression softened. "It's late, I really should get going. Thank you once again for the surprise and for the talk."

I stood up from the couch and gave Nora one last hug before heading to the front door.

"Hey, Angelica?" Nora's voice stopped me just as I was about to step outside.

"Was it worth it? Loving him, even if you lost him in the end?"

I paused. My trembling lips curved into a smile.

"Loving him was worth everything."

~~

A/N:

CHAPTERS 31, 32 & 33 HAVE BEEN UPLOADED TOGETHER.