598A/N: First off, thank you to everyone who voted for Recipe for Love in the Daddyward contest, and placed it in 2nd! And as far as that Gimme More award? Yes, that was just the first chapter in a longer story. Everything is pre-written, and will be posted weekly. Thank you to my betas for this chapter, kneon and Alice's White Rabbit.
"Dad, we need to talk," Nessa said seriously, looking down at the pizza in front of her.
"Of course," I replied, leaning in closer. "What's up?"
I'm not used to my fifteen-year-old daughter looking so grave, so I can't help but be worried. Until she opened her mouth. "You suck in the kitchen, and I'm getting sick of takeout."
I bit my lip to hold back my chuckle at her life and death conundrum. "You know, there are a lot of other teenagers who'd love to have takeout as much as we do."
She rolled her eyes at me. "Yeah because they haven't had as much as we have. We never have a home-cooked meal! And mac and cheese doesn't count as home-cooked when it comes out of a box."
"What are you talking about? We have a full home-cooked meal every Sunday," I challenged back.
"Because Nana Esme hosts a family dinner every Sunday," she deadpanned.
"Sometimes, we get leftovers," I muttered, looking at the pizza on my plate in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Ness. I'm trying; really."
"I know you are, Dad, and you're doing a great job. If it makes you feel better, Mom's not much better. There were too many smoothies last time I went to Anchorage."
I gave her a half-hearted chuckle. Tanya wasn't much of a cook either and followed whatever the hottest healthy eating trend was. She had been my college sweetheart. She was a marketing major while I was studying architecture; we met in a history class as sophomores. We were both ambitious and wanted to settle down and start a family; life was grand. Shortly after Nessa started kindergarten, the fractures formed. With Nessa more independent, Tanya could push her career as a Marketing Strategist to new heights, becoming well known and well respected in her field.
Around the same time, my mother stepped down from her family's company, Platt Building Solutions—the company my grandfather, Marcus Platt, had started so many years ago. When he retired, he left it to her. Once she decided it was time to retire, that left the company to me and my siblings, Alice and Emmett. During those early years, there was some struggle between all of us, finding our place, but we managed. Unfortunately, to the detriment of my marriage. While I focused on making a name for myself as an architect beyond just being Esme Platt-Cullen's son, Tanya was making connections across the country. We dedicated any free time we had to Nessa, putting our marriage on the back burner.
Three years ago, after a year of marriage counseling, we separated, and Tanya moved back to Anchorage with her family. Nessa made it clear she wanted to stay in Seattle when we split, so they gave me primary custody, which Tanya didn't fight. Tanya didn't fight any of it really. She more or less just wanted a clean break. Although, I'd realized she'd been hinting more and more at Nessa going to live with her recently. Since the divorce, I tried to make more time for Nessa and be the father she deserves.
"You're complaining about pizza while talking about the land of kale?" I asked, taking a bite out of my meat lover's.
Nessa rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying is it would be nice to have more home-cooked meals. And before you say you're awful in the kitchen, I have a solution." She held up her hand to shush me and pulled out her iPad. "Here it is!"
I took the offered tablet from her hands and shot her a skeptical look. "Moonlit Bites? Nessa, this is still a restaurant."
"It's not just a restaurant!" she insisted and leaned over the screen. "See, right here? Classes! They offer weekly Basics for Beginners! You make a meal as part of the class, so we would at least get something fresh then. It's Wednesday nights; we could go together!" Nessa looked at me with pleading eyes. "Please, Dad! This could be so good for us."
I sighed and read through the information. The first class would be in less than a week. Twelve weeks, three hundred and fifty dollars a person, including a set of knives … all to make my daughter happy? "Let me grab my credit card, Ness."
"So, the king of the takeout carton is actually gonna wear an apron and get his hands dirty in the kitchen?" My brother Emmett barked with laughter as we sat around a table in our office tower's cafe that Wednesday afternoon. "That's gonna be epic, dude! Can I watch?"
"Emmett, you're a forty-year-old father and a Chief Construction Officer! You can't say things like epic and dude!" Alice scolded, shaking her head. "And I think it's admirable to learn something new for Nessa. Especially something like cooking. You'll both get a lot from it."
"Says the woman who never cooks." Emmett snorted.
"I cook!" Alice insisted. "Since we signed up for HelloFresh, I cook three nights a week. That's more than you can say."
"Yeah, but I'm even lower than boxed meal kits," I sighed, taking a bite of my chicken pesto salad. "Tonight's class is knife skills."
"We all start somewhere," she insisted with a shrug once she swallowed a mouthful of Greek salad. "Charlotte Whitlock made sure her kids knew how to cook, and Jazzy taught me."
"Who would think we'd complain about Mom being a control freak in the kitchen?" Emmett chuckled. "But for real, I'm proud of you, bro. Maybe if it goes well, you can show me something I can make for Rosie and the kids."
"If I learn anything." I groaned. "I feel like a total moron having to take cooking lessons at forty-two. I've been on my own for three years, and I'm just doing this now!"
"It wasn't the right time." Alice shrugged. "Fate works in mysterious ways."
"Well, fate and teenage girls." Emmett laughed and shoved the last piece of his Reuben in his mouth. "I gotta head back up. I've got a meeting with my project managers."
"Ewww, Em. Swallow before you speak," Alice said, disgusted. "I should head back, too. I have a call with the folks at the Olympia project."
"I'm not staying here by myself." I groaned, standing up with my siblings as we cleared our table.
With my siblings otherwise detained, the rest of the afternoon went smoothly. I completed the edits on a design for a client in Portland and met with our HR manager about interns for the upcoming summer. It felt like no time at all had passed when Nessa bounded into my office.
"Hey, Dad!" She greeted me as she plopped herself sideways on the small couch and pulled her iPad from her backpack. Being not just my daughter but the oldest grandchild of the previous owner, Nessa was more than comfortable in the building her great-grandfather had built.
"I wasn't expecting you." I chuckled. "I thought I was picking you up."
She shrugged, not looking up from her screen. "Mykayla's mom had to pick up her dad anyway. She offered to drop me off."
"I hope you thanked Mrs. Newton for that," I replied.
"I always do," she assured me. "Do you know what quinoa is?"
"It's a grain, why?"
"Apparently, we're making a Mediterranean quinoa salad tonight," Nessa muttered as she read her screen. "Do I like olives?"
"I don't think you've ever tried an olive." I laughed. "I'm sure it'll be great. And if we don't like something, we'll know not to have it in the future."
"You're right." She nodded and put her iPad away. "How long will it take to get there?"
"I don't know, Ness. Kirkland's about sixteen minutes from here?" I offered with a sigh.
"But rush hour can make it take so much longer," she whined.
"Then maybe half an hour. If we leave at five, we should make it to class by six with no issue." I looked over at her and saw Nessa vibrating nervously in her seat. "Did you want to leave early?"
"Yes, please!" she all but shouted as she jumped up from her seat. "Thank you, Daddy!"
"Nessa, patience," I said with a pointed look. "I need to let Zafrina know I'm leaving for the day." I sent my assistant a quick Teams message, letting her know I was packing up to leave now and to send my calls to voicemail. Before I could shut down my laptop, I already had a response.
I knew you'd be leaving early. Why do you think I blocked the last half hour?
I chuckled at Zafrina's foresight. Sometimes, I thought she knew me better than I knew myself. "Okay, we can head out now." I gave Nessa an indulgent smile, and she giggled and went to the door. "I swear, you were less anxious when I got you Taylor Swift tickets."
"You didn't see me and Mykayla on the train." She snickered in response as we made our way to the parking garage.
The drive to Kirkland was fairly uneventful, other than the death glare I got from Nessa when I jokingly said we should visit her grandpa at work before getting on the I-5 express.
"Before I forget, it's your mom's birthday on Friday. Call her before then," I piped up once we got on the floating bridge.
"I already did at lunch," Nessa replied, looking absentmindedly out the window.
"Oh, great." I tried to hide my surprise. Nessa was usually forgetful about things like this. "How's she doing?"
"Fine," she mumbled. "She and Irina are leaving on a cruise."
"Irina?"
"Yeah, Mom's girlfriend." Suddenly, her eyes popped open. "Oh, my god! You didn't know about Irina! Did I just out Mom to you?"
"Calm down. I know your mom's bisexual." I chuckled. It may seem weird, but it was a reason she gave me a chance back in college. Most guys she met thought bisexual meant into threesomes or they could watch. I was the first guy she met who understood it just meant she could fall for a man or a woman. "I just didn't know she was seeing anyone."
"Oh, well, yeah," Nessa replied sheepishly. "Well, it's only been a few months. They met at Aunt Kate and Uncle Garrett's New Year's party. She's really excited for me to meet Irina when I go up there this summer."
"I'm sure you three will have a lot of fun." I gave my daughter a comforting smile, letting her know I wasn't upset with this news. There was no doubt in my mind that while I did really love Tanya at one point, she was never the love of my life. I didn't even know if that person existed.
"Dad, you know I'm okay with Mom dating Irina, right?" she asked quietly, looking out over Lake Washington.
"Of course. You should want your mom to be happy. She deserves it."
"And you know I'd be okay with you dating, right?"
I let out a sigh and looked over at my daughter sheepishly sitting in the front seat, playing with the hem of her school uniform skirt. "Ness, I appreciate that. There just isn't anyone I'm interested in. Besides, you're my focus."
"Dad, I'm fifteen. I'll be going to college soon. You shouldn't be lonely."
"I'm not lonely," I insisted. "I've got family and friends. My life is good right now."
"Just don't say no to someone because of me," she stated. "You deserve to be happy, too."
"I am happy, Ness." I gave her another smile. "Promise."
The rest of the ride was silent as I contemplated what Nessa had said. I am happy; I'm sure of it. But could I be happier?
It wasn't too much longer before we made it to the restaurant, almost an hour before our class was set to begin. "I told you we didn't need to leave at 4:30," I teased Nessa as I pulled into a parking spot across the street.
"Yeah, but you always say it's better to be early than late," she replied, sticking her tongue out at me. "Look, there's a coffee shop right beside the restaurant. We can wait there."
"I don't know, Ness." I breathed out, looking at Clearwater Roastery, a hipster cafe on the corner. "That doesn't look like the kind of place that'll have something you drink."
She just shrugged. "Why not? I have coffee all the time."
"What?" I looked over at her, surprised. "Since when?"
She just laughed at me. "Dad, I grew up in the birthplace of Starbucks. There's one around the corner from my school." She just shook her head as she climbed out of the car.
"You know it'll stunt your growth," I mumbled as I followed her out of the car.
"Nice try, Dad." She rolled her eyes at me. "You and Uncle Emmett are coffee fanatics and are over six feet tall. Aunt Alice only drinks tea and is the same height as Emily. Cynthia's not far behind either." Of course, she'd bring up her tiny aunt and her twelve- and nine-year-old cousins.
I followed closely behind Nessa as we crossed the street, wondering when my little girl became such a young woman. It seemed like just yesterday she wanted extra whipped cream on her hot chocolate, and now she's drinking coffee and talking about going off to college.
"Hi, what can I get you?" A dark-skinned woman with a short bob haircut and a lip ring asked as we approached the counter.
"I'll have a honey lavender latte," Nessa ordered confidently before looking at me. "Dad?"
"Just a large drip coffee, black," I muttered, pulling out my wallet.
"Your total is $11.02. Please tap your card here." She gestured to the small payment machine under her screen. "And your drinks will be over there."
"Why don't you grab a table, Ness? I'll get the drinks."
"Okay." She shrugged and bound over to the small bank of tables by the window while I leaned against the counter.
"Hey, Bella!" The barista at the counter said warmly as the next customer entered the coffee shop. "The usual?"
"Yeah. I also need two large drips for Dad and Billy, and a caramel ice cream latte for Jake," a light female voice replied. On instinct, I looked up at the counter and saw what had to be the most beautiful woman I had seen in my life, interacting with the barista. She had long wavy brown hair tied back in a low ponytail and was wearing skinny jeans and a loose V-neck T-shirt that would look common on anyone but her. She also looked like she had to be at least twenty years younger than me, which suddenly made me feel like a pervert. "Dad tried insisting on coming over here, by the way. I think he was hoping to get a glimpse of the boss."
"I'm sure Mom would have appreciated it!" The barista laughed. "That'll be $21.49."
The girl handed over a couple bills with a smile on her face. "Here you go; keep the change!"
"One large drip and one honey lavender latte," another tanned guy, who looked related to the cashier, announced.
"Thanks," I muttered, grabbing my cups and taking one last look at the gorgeous woman at the counter before joining my daughter.
"I saw you looking," Nessa said quietly once I placed our drinks on the table. "Why don't you say something?"
"I wasn't looking at anyone," I insisted, but Nessa gave me a look that said she didn't believe me. "It wouldn't matter. She's too young for me."
"So, what? If you think she's pretty, say something."
"Vanessa, drop it," I replied sternly and took a sip of my coffee.
"Thanks, Leah! Thanks, Seth!" the stranger called out with a wave.
"She totally checked you out, too, Dad," Nessa snickered.
"Probably wondering how I put up with you." I snorted. "She's gone now anyway, so it's a moot point."
"Yeah because I'm sure she walked so far away in the last couple of seconds." Nessa snorted.
"Don't you have some homework you could do?"
She shook her head with a smug grin. "I already did my algebra homework with Mykayla, and I need my computer to work on Spanish."
"Smart ass," I mumbled and sipped my coffee.
Once enough time had passed and we had finished our drinks, we left the coffee shop with a last goodbye before heading next door to the restaurant. Waiting at the host stand, there was an extremely tall, tanned boy. While he had to be about as tall as Emmett, his boyish features looked closer in age to Nessa. "Hey, welcome to Basics for Beginners." He shot us a bright smile that only widened when he looked over at my daughter in her school uniform. I knew I should have sent her to public school … "Hey, I'm Jake."
"Vanessa Cullen, but everyone calls me Nessa," she replied with an uncharacteristic giggle.
I cleared my throat loudly. "Checking in for the class. Vanessa Cullen and Edward Cullen, her father," I interjected authoritatively, hoping this boy would get the hint.
"Jake, stop harassing the customers and do your damn job," an older man with a mustache and a slight limp piped up in a gruff voice and peeked down at the list. "Edward and Vanessa Cullen? Charlie Swan. Pleasure to meet you."
He held out his rough hand to me, and I accepted the shake. "You too, sir. Are you the chef leading the class?" I had remembered seeing the name Chef Swan on the course listing, but I couldn't remember if there was a first name or not.
"No, no, I'm no good in the kitchen." He laughed with a soft smile. "My daughter's the boss around here."
"I know the feeling." I chuckled, looking down at Nessa, who was back to silently flirting with the large boy beside us.
"Don't worry, Jake might look big, but he's harmless. Like one of those Newfie dogs," the older man laughed. "Jacob, shouldn't you be working? Don't want to get on Bella's bad side."
Bella … Why did that sound familiar? "Sure, sure." Jacob laughed. "See you later, Nessie."
"Bye, Jake." She waved her hand with a coy smile as we headed toward the back of the restaurant where the class was set up.
"You hate the nickname Nessie," I deadpanned once we were out of earshot. "You said it reminded you of the Loch Ness Monster."
"Dad, don't embarrass me," she whined as we found our workstation. Everything had been labeled clearly with our ingredients and recipe card between each of our cutting boards, neatly folded apron, and knife rolls. Whoever this Chef Bella Swan was, she seemed highly organized.
Slowly, the other groups filtered in and took their spots at the stations as we unrolled our knives, put on our aprons, and waited for the chef to join us. "Good evening, class!" A familiar voice floated through the room, and I felt my heart catch in my throat. It was her! The girl from the coffee shop! "Welcome to Basics for Beginners! I'm Chef Isabella Swan, but please call me Bella. The only one who calls me that is my boss and tonight's Aro's night off." She giggled. "Before we begin Knife Skills 101, I'd like everyone to introduce themselves."
As each table stated their name and why they were there, I found myself too distracted to pay attention. What are the chances the beautiful stranger from an hour ago was not only here but would teach these lessons each week? Life was funny like that.
My daughter's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "I'm Nessa, and this is my dad, Edward," she introduced. "We're here because … well, my dad sucks at cooking, and I'm sick of pizza."
"Thanks for that, Ness," I muttered while the room chuckled softly at her candor.
"Don't worry, Ness. I'll whip him into shape," Bella said with a wink. "Although, I hope you'll enjoy week ten. It's Homemade Pizza night." She turned and headed back to her spot at the front of the room. "For now, we're starting small. We'll be making a Mediterranean quinoa salad, so you can practice knife skills. I pre-cooked the quinoa and chicken, so they'll be chilled for your meal."
"If we're not even cooking, why are we here?" a disgruntled husband asked as the woman with him slapped him on the arm.
"Good question, Alec. Here's one for you. How can you expect to cook anything if you don't know how to prep the food first?" Bella stared up at the argumentative man until he shied away under her glare. "For the record, I have included the steps for cooking the quinoa and the chicken in the recipes for you to take home. However, if you don't feel ready to actually cook the chicken, you can substitute pre-made rotisserie chicken."
Over the next hour, Bella would show a technique for us before moving around the room as we attempted it ourselves, only jumping in if she saw we needed some assistance. As I struggled with dicing the bell pepper, I saw her make her way over. "Here, let me help you," Bella said, stepping in with a reassuring smile. Guiding my hands over the cutting board, she clarified the art of dicing with her instructions and patient encouragement. As we worked together, the initial challenge transformed into a shared triumph. I had never enjoyed being in the kitchen before, but under Bella's guidance, I discovered the joy in mastering this skill, realizing that it wasn't just about the technique; it was about the camaraderie and the satisfaction of creating something delicious together. "There, perfect!" She declared at my small pile of peppers. "Great job, Edward." She squeezed my hand before moving back to the front of the room to move on to the homemade dressing and plating.
"And here is your complete salad!" She held up her own bowl in explanation as we each took in our own. "You'll find lids under your station so you can take these home to enjoy, but I always recommend tasting before we leave so you know if it needs any seasoning." She grabbed a fork on her station and made a bite with a taste of everything, held it up in explanation, and popped it into her mouth. I've never been jealous of a fork before. "Dive into this salad. The nutty quinoa, sweet tomatoes, crunchy cucumber, tangy olives, creamy feta, and a zingy lemon dressing. Simple and tasty!"
I took a bite of my own and had to hold back the moan that almost escaped my mouth. Who would have thought something so simple and easy could taste so good? I swear, Bella is a culinary genius.
"And that wraps up everything for tonight!" she concluded with a smile on her face. "Next week, we'll really cook when we create homemade fettuccine Alfredo with garlic bread. Don't forget your knife rolls, and I can't wait to see you all on Wednesday!" She gave us all a friendly wave as we thanked her for her time and began packing away our knives.
"So, is there any way I can get your number?" Jake asked Nessa once he came into the room with a busing tray.
"Jake, I really don't think I can sign off on your hours if you're not actually working," Bella reprimanded with a grin.
"Bells, come on," Jake whined.
"Give me your phone," Nessa piped up, ignoring those of us around her.
"I swear, that kid's gonna give me an aneurysm one day," Bella grumbled to me under her breath.
"I know the feeling." I glanced over at my daughter, handing the phone back to the boy. "At least, you don't have to live with him."
"True, I can ship him back to his dad." She laughed. "Other than Jake, I hope you and your daughter enjoyed the class."
"It was great," I replied honestly. "I'm looking forward to next week."
"Me, too." She gave me a soft smile and squeezed my arm once again. "It was great meeting you, Edward."
"You too, Bella."