On the Steamy Side - Louisa Edwards [104]
Lilah had to admit as she licked her spoon clean that Delmonico pudding made an excellent summer dessert. It was served chilled, rich and delicious with the fragrant sweet almond cookies dissolving in creamy vanilla custard. The macaroons retained some of their trademark sticky consistency; the custard layered into and over them provided the perfect smooth counterpoint. The topping was the only change Devon would allow to this particular recipe, since, in his words, they didn’t have time to waste trying to improve on perfection.
Not for the first time during this meal, Lilah wished her Aunt Bertie could be here. If anyone would appreciate the lengths Devon had gone to preserve what made her recipes precious while reinvigorating tradition with a boost of fresh flavor and innovative technique, it was her aunt.
No, Lilah told herself. You left that safe life behind. It’s time you make it on your own.
As Lilah pushed her spoon through the last of her pudding, she acknowledged the high hopes she’d pinned on Phil and Angela Sparks. If Aunt Bertie couldn’t be here to share this moment with Lilah, at least Devon’s parents, who only lived an hour away by easy train ride, ought to be here for him.
She was horrendously grateful now that she’d decided to keep it a surprise for Devon. Lord, what if she’d built it all up and he’d gotten invested in the idea and then they hadn’t showed? Or even worse, what if they had shown and Devon got upset with her for meddling?
She had trouble understanding why anyone—especially someone with as much heart as Devon—wouldn’t want their family with them on such an important night. But for the first time since she came up with her grand master plan, she wondered if “family” meant something different to Devon’s parents than it did to her.
After all, if they couldn’t be bothered to buy a train ticket to come help celebrate their son’s success, they were clearly a different species than she was.
And a different species from Lilah’s aunt and uncle, too. There may have been times, growing up, when Lilah felt the lack of a mother and father of her own—but looking back, she knew she’d never truly lacked for love. If tonight were her triumphant night? Aunt Bertie and Uncle Roy would be here with bells on.
Lilah pushed her disappointment in Devon’s family aside and put on a cheerful face. As so often happened, once she started acting cheerful she found she really felt more cheerful, so when she and Tucker went backstage to do the post-performance round of praise, she was able to greet the cooks with true exuberance.
“Lolly,” shouted Frankie. He would not be scolded out of using that stupid nickname. “Are we or are we not entirely badass?”
“It was staggering,” she said, putting the back of her wrist against her forehead and making a swoony face. “I was overcome, simply overcome with the amount of sheer genius put forth by this kitchen.”
Tucker pulled impatiently on her hand, for once unwilling to stop and chat with the sous chef, so Lilah let him tow her to the walk-in kitchen where they found Devon reaching down a couple of bottles of champagne from the highest wire shelf.
“Perfect timing! Can you give me a hand with these?”
Tucker ran forward to help, receiving two chilled dark green bottles with pride. “I ate six date rolls,” he told Devon. “Lolly gave me hers.”
“They’re your favorite, huh?”
“Well,” Tucker said, cocking his head. “I liked