His Unveiled Passion novel Chapter 56

Inside the apartment, Stephen was wearing an apron and cooking dinner for Tessa. Leaning against the kitchen doorframe with her arms crossed, she watched him with an amused expression.

"Who would've thought someone like you could cook?" she teased.

Stephen calmly rinsed the vegetables. "Didn't you ask me last time where I got the food I brought you?"

Turning slightly, he gave her a faint smile. "I made it myself."

Tessa couldn't hide her surprise. "You cooked it yourself? Why did it taste exactly like the dishes my mom used to make?"

Stephen smiled. "I learned it from your mom during the few meals I had at your place."

She raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Impossible. You only came over a few times back then."

The first time they met, she had just turned ten. Her mother passed away shortly after her 12th birthday. In the two years between those events, Stephen had visited her house fewer than five times. How could he have possibly learned her mom's cooking skills?

"I don't believe you," she said, giving him a suspicious look.

Stephen sliced celery into thin strips and then marinated the beef. "Remember how I said I'd take you somewhere? We couldn't go that day because you were injured. Let's go tomorrow."

"What does that have to do with cooking?" she asked.

"It's related."

"Alright then."

Soon, Stephen finished cooking two dishes and a soup—beef and celery skillet, tomato frittata, and zucchini soup.

Tessa usually had a light dinner or occasionally skipped it altogether. But with Stephen cooking and the dishes perfectly matching her taste, she surprisingly finished a whole serving. The two of them even finished everything on the table.

After dinner, she offered to wash the dishes, but Stephen stopped her. "You sit down. I'll do it."

Grinning mischievously, she teased, "Wow, Stephen, you're so handy in the kitchen. Should I marry you and take you home?"

Stephen chuckled and flicked her forehead lightly. "I'll marry you."