Keeping her eyes on the road ahead of them as they drove home, new chef Emily smiled as she heard the kids in the back bickering at one another. "I'm so happy you enjoyed everything."

Aaron shook his head. "You thought we wouldn't? Emily, you're a fabulous cook."

"I know."

The older brunette laughed at the cockiness he heard in her tone, and shared a smile as they pulled into the driveway. "And trust me, I think I had the best dish."

"Lies," the teenager spoke up from the back. "Mine was the best."

"No, mine!"

Hearing Jack pipe up from behind her, Emily let a satisfied smile grace her face. "Thank you all so much."

Amelia popped up from the back and leaned over the front seat to kiss her mother's head. "No problem, working girl."

Emily let a smile float over her face, feeling Aaron's hand brush against hers as they both went to unbuckle their seatbelts. "Thanks, babe," she laughed, getting out of the car before helping little Jack out of his car seat. "You ready for bed, bud?"

The little blond boy graciously nodded his head, his tiny arms wrapping around Emily's neck.

She followed closely behind the man who had taken her and her daughter into his home and walked in when he held the door open for her. Eyes wide, the brunette mother took in the sight before her.

They had cleared everything out of the dining room but the table and shelves where now dozens of candles sat scattered, lilies and two candles side by side sitting in the center of the glazed wood that made the dining room table. Two plates sat across from one another with the shining silverware on perfectly folded napkins.

"What is all this?" she breathed, letting Aaron take Jack from her hold and set him down to scamper off to his room.

Aaron led the younger brunette into the dining room, his hands settled delicately on her shoulders. "It's a congratulatory dinner for you and your successful first day of work."

Emily laughed as he pulled her chair out for her. "And what if my first day was a disaster?" she asked, letting him push her chair back into the table once she was seated.

"Then it would be a condolences dinner."

The new chef bit her lip as her daughter brought out a dish covered by a silver top. "What's this?" she smiled happily.

Amelia set it in between the two adults, one of who was moving his seat closer to the woman who had caught his eye. "Happy first day, mama," she smiled, sharing a kiss with her mother before leaving to go put Jack in bed.

Emily sighed, wanting to smile when Aaron lifted the cover from the platter to reveal a beautifully decorated cheesecake. "Aaron, this is beautiful."

"Is everything alright?" Everything had seemed fine.

"I'm fine," she nodded, trying to smile for the older man. "You're just kind of reminding me of this waiter at the restaurant."

Aaron's face immediately fell, his eyes hardening. "Did something happen?"

The younger woman was quick to shake her head. "No, everything's fine. But while you all were waiting for me to finish up, I was handing him one of the last bowls of soup that I had prepared and it spilled all over him." Her voice grew quieter as she moved her gaze from the single father before her. "He looked really angry for a second and I started having an anxiety attack. I thought he was going to hit me," she whispered pitifully.

Aaron cautiously put his hand over the beautiful woman's and waited until she looked up to him. "What happened after that?"

Emily gnawed at her bottom lip. "I couldn't breathe and he got me a glass of water, and then when I started to calm down I realized that he wasn't going to hurt me. It was just a little embarrassing."

"I'm so sorry you felt that way," the older man sighed, interlacing their fingers. "Do you want to just go and rest? It's been a long day for you."

"No, I want to have dessert with you," she smiled, nodding encouragingly to the older man. "So, a romantic dessert date?"

Aaron smiled to the beautiful brunette and handed her a spoon. "Romantic dessert date, just you and me."

The mother of one let him set the cheesecake to her lips, and she laughed around the dessert when he made a face as he fed her.