“Nathan, I’ve been cooking for my family for almost fifteen years. I might not be as fancy as you, but ask me for chiles rellenos and I will deliver.”

The way she said chiles rellenos made me want to hear her speak more Spanish. Maybe next time we had sex, I could hear her say naughty things to me. I wonder if she would call me Papi?

I took a deep breath, smelling the delicious food, glad I asked for her to make it for us. Apparently, she had everything she needed at her home, making a quick stop for us.

“Damn, that smells good, Jane.” Aiden sat down next to me with his beer. “What’s for dinner?’

“Chiles rellenos,” Jane said, as she started frying the chiles. I watched as she dipped the cheese-stuffed chiles covered in flour in an egg batter and laid them to fry in the pan, like she wasn’t near four-hundred-degree oil.

“Are we going to like it?” Aiden whispered.

“It’s going to be fucking delicious.” My mouth watered for the hundredth time. I could cook Mexican food, but watching Jane was mesmerizing. She flipped the chiles, checking on the sauce, then the rice and beans. She looked like she had done this a hundred times, and she went through the motions with muscle memory. I felt a pang of sadness when I realized she would never meet Natalie. She loved to cook and I could see them working in the kitchen together. I think they would have gotten along really well, sharing secrets and talking shit about me behind my back.

“Jesus Christ, is she making food for an army?” Callum stood behind us joining the cooking with Jane show that was already in progress.

“Callum, you are the Army. I gotta make enough for you.” She teased him as she added more chiles to the oil.

“Fuck, it smells good.” Cal went to the fridge, grabbing more beers for us, so we could continue to watch the live cooking show in our kitchen.

She took a spoonful of sauce in her mouth and groaned. “You gotta try this, Nathan. I think you're going to like it.” She held up the spoon to my mouth. I sipped the sauce, and it was amazing.

“Fuck, that is good,” I said, wanting to shotgun the sauce.

Jane’s face lit up, and she went back to cooking. It wasn’t long until we were all sitting at the dining table with a hot plate of chiles, sauce, rice, and beans. The guys looked a little weary, but I knew they would like it.