The billionaire's only desire-Chapter 70: cooking lessons

Aiden has resumed picking Maya up after work and watching her like a hawk. And she is perplexed about it. Why has he returned to acting like her bodyguard? Is she in some sort of danger?

He is currently hovering around her while she is prepping to cook.

"Don’t you have a girlfriend you can go bother instead?" Maya snaps at him, angrily chopping the carrots she is going to use for a Moroccan-style chickpea, carrot, and spinach soup.

It’s Tuesday, and she only spent part of the day at work, as she does every Tuesday. She was looking forward to relaxing and cooking at her leisure, but Aiden ruined that with his sudden, hawk-like behavior.

"I don’t have a girlfriend and don’t plan on getting one anytime soon," Aiden said, popping a carrot into his mouth.

"Don’t you have a sports car company to run?"

"My chief of operations (COO) is very competent."

Maya grumbled. "Great, I’m stuck with you."

"Instead of complaining about my presence, why don’t you put me to work? I want to learn how to cook anyway." Aiden rolled up his sleeves. "What should I do?"

Maya dropped the knife and squinted at Aiden. "Are you serious?"

" "Yes, please give me cooking lessons,"

"Okay, go find an apron and put it on."

Aiden saluted. "Aye, Captain." He went into the pantry, quickly found an apron, and put it on.

River walked in, followed closely by his twin, Oliver. It was as if there were a magnetic force; Dalton and his brothers couldn’t be apart, even for a day.

"Bro, why are you wearing an apron? You look ridiculous in it," River laughed at Aiden.

"Maya is giving me cooking lessons."

"Oh, can I join?" River asked enthusiastically.

"Me too," Oliver horn in, as usual.

"Alright, boys, put on your aprons and wash your hands," Maya instructed, switching into her authoritative sous chef mode.

"We’re done. What should we do next?" River asked.

"River, you can cut the garlic," Maya replied.

"Aiden will cut the onions, and then Oliver will help chop the rest of the carrots," Maya gave each person their role.

"Watch and learn, Oliver," Maya sliced the carrot, cutting it lengthwise into thin strips, then stacked those strips and cut them again horizontally into matchstick-sized pieces.

"I got it!" Oliver took the knife from Maya and began chopping the carrots just as she had demonstrated. He was doing it perfectly and gracefully.

Maya was not surprised that Oliver was skilled with the knife; after all, he performed surgeries.

She then moved to his twin, River, and demonstrated how she wanted him to cut the garlic.

"Your turn, Aiden. " Maya, fetch a knife, a chopping board, and the yellow onions. She held the knife with a claw grip, making several thin vertical cuts along the length of the onion, then made horizontal cuts across it.

’Try it,’ Maya handed the knife to Aiden.

Maya’s eyes widened in alarm. Aiden’s gaze had darkened, making it quite frightening to look him in the eye, with his murderous grip on the knife. The way he was cutting the onions screams, ’Psychopath.’

Maya shivered and quickly moved away from him; she was genuinely scared. He was acting completely unhinged.

Maya began to drain the chickpeas for the Moroccan-style chickpea, carrot, and spinach soup they were making. She poured a can of chickpeas into a strainer and drained the liquid, known as ’aquafaba,’ into a bowl.

Maya giggled as lips brushed against her neck, her back pressed against a strong chest, and muscular arms wrapped around her waist. She inhaled the alluring scent of Dalton’s cologne. "Dalton," she said, his name sounding seductive on her lips.

"Ew, you two should get a room; we’re trying to cook here," Aiden cringed, acting like a teenager embarrassed by his parents’ display of affection.

In the past, Aiden’s reaction might have made Maya feel shy, but now she was comfortable doing PDA with Dalton in front of his brothers. So, she simply laughed it off.

"Aiden, go find someone to date and leave these two lovebirds alone," River said, picking up a piece of carrot that his twin had chopped and tossing it at Aiden.

Maya shot River a stank eye. She hates it when people play with food. River got the memo and offered her an apologetic grin. "Sorry, Chef DeLuca. I won’t do that again."

Maya rolled her eyes.

"Do you want to join us?" she asked Dalton as she poured oil into a large saucepan to heat.

"No, I will just observe," he declined.

"Dalton doesn’t need any cooking lessons. His father taught him plenty when he was alive," River revealed.

"He even left him a cookbook," Oliver added as Maya instructed him to add the chopped carrots to the boiling oil in the saucepan and demonstrated how to stir. He understood and began to stir as he had been taught.

Maya was intrigued and quipped, "Really?"

Dalton nodded.

"Was your dad some sort of cooking prodigy?"

"He learned from my grandfather, who was a big-time chef running a restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen in New York back in the day," Dalton revealed, his eyes gleaming as he reminisced about the past.

"Is your grandfather still alive?" Maya inquired. When she noticed that the carrots were slightly softened, she added ¼ teaspoon of salt and some celery, then told Aiden to add the onions he had chopped, and it was his turn to stir.

"My grandfather died when I was 15."

"Oops, sorry. What happened to his restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen?" Maya asked, particularly interested in that restaurant.

"My grandfather left the restaurant to a friend of his. It is now run by that friend’s grandchildren."

"Interesting," Maya cheep. "Oliver mentioned a cookbook. Can I see it, please?" Maya pleaded like a child asking for candy.

Dalton’s lips pursed in amusement. "You can have it. It’s all yours."

"Really?" Maya’s eyes sparkled. Her toes curled at the thought of a treasure trove of recipes waiting for her in that cookbook.

"Dalton, it seems you’re good at cooking. You don’t need me at all," Maya pointed out.

"I don’t have time to cook. I’m a busy man."

Maya gestured for Dalton to come closer and whispered so only he could hear, "We should have a cooking date sometime. I would love to cook with you."

"Your wish is my command." Dalton kissed the bridge of Maya’s nose. An uncomfortable clearing of throats from his brothers filled the kitchen, prompting them to reluctantly pull away from each other.

Maya resumed cooking. When the onions were golden in spots, she took over from Aiden, pushing the onion mixture to one side of the pan. She instructed River to add his chopped garlic, and then she added cumin, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, and the remaining tablespoon of oil to the empty side of the pan. Maya had River stir the spice mixture for a while before she took over, stirring until the spices became fragrant and coated the bottom of the pan.

There you all are," Charlotte entered the kitchen, changing Maya’s mood.

"Oh, hi, Maya," Charlotte acknowledged her.

Maya shot her a tight smile.

"Guys, it’s been a while since we went horse riding, so let’s do that today—right now!" Charlotte proposed. Her tone made it sound more like an order than a suggestion.

"Sorry, we have cooking lessons with Maya, so another time. " Oliver said to decline.

"

"Oh," Charlotte’s voice ached with disappointment. "What about when you’re done?"

"We will take baking lessons too," River claimed, even though Maya had no plans to bake anything. She intended to offer the ice cream she made yesterday as dessert. But now, she guessed she had to bake something.

Charlotte’s face blunders further. "Then we’ll reschedule it."

Maya was shocked that the twins didn’t skip the cooking lessons to hang out with Charlotte. Nonetheless, she was happy they chose to stay in the kitchen with her rather than go on a horse ride with Charlotte.

Maya couldn’t help but smirk, and Charlotte caught her.

They exchanged a glance. Resentment was evident in Charlotte’s eyes.

Maya stopped being nice and shot a disdainful look at Charlotte. The hate was mutual.

Charlotte was taken aback but smirked viciously in response.

Maya interpreted this as a warning sign. Whatever havoc Charlotte intended to cause, she was more than ready to face it.

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