His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 189: Too Pretty to Eat

** Eli **

When the risotto was close to ready, Eli tried a bite before helping the new chef transfer it onto a serving plate. It was delicious, fluffy and chewy at the same time, coated with a sauce that was just the perfect balance of—

Hmm. Maybe the rest of that thought should wait till dessert time.

He hid a smile and turned to the oven, pulling out the remaining dishes for the night. He was just setting down the hot roasting pan when Harper returned from the table, sidling up to him with a deep inhale.

"Ah-ha, of course you’ve made backups, and it smells so good!" She sniffed again. "Can’t believe I didn’t notice it before ... Is that pork roast?"

"Veal." Eli scooped up the juice from the roast, poured it evenly across the top, and set the dish down next to the risotto. "It’s an easy version this time so that we could focus on your cooking. Won’t be as good as the chop, but hopefully you’ll like it enough."

The meaning of that meat choice wasn’t lost on her. "Trying to recreate our first semi-date together?" Harper studied the items laid out on the table with a fresh understanding. "I like that ... Where’s the homegrown salad though?" she teased.

Eli replied with a knowing grin. "No homegrown salad, unfortunately, so I had to change it up a bit and prepare something different." He reached for the light switch. "How’s this for a replacement?" freewēbnoveℓ.com

The lights went out with a flick of his finger, though the room didn’t turn dark. A warm glow replaced the white overhead lights, gently illuminating the space with a soft, ambient brightness.

"Wait, candles?" Harper looked to the glowing walls in surprise. "Oh, mood lights! That’s clever and so beautiful!"

Under that beautiful light, Eli nudged her into her seat and dropped a light kiss on the top of her head. "Last time, I missed the opportunity to make it romantic for you," he said. "Let me fix it for the future. One dinner at a time."

The look in those lovely green eyes softened, made warmer by the lamps reflected in them. "I thought I already told you that I considered it the best romantic dinner I’ve ever had," she smiled. "Especially when you told me that you’ve never cooked for anyone else before ... Well, even though you added lamely right afterward that it was because I counted as family."

Eli couldn’t help but laugh at his own stupid mistake back at the time. "I’m sorry, that one is on me." He brushed the next kiss over her lips, proving to her that the old statement had already been given a brand new meaning. "Can I be forgiven if I tell you that I’ve never taught anyone else how to cook either? You’ve actually taken a lot more of my firsts than you are aware."

Some of which were very important and life-changing, he added silently in his mind.

Her smile widened at the admission. "I hope those were all good firsts, then." She nodded at the risotto sitting on the table. "Shall we find out?"

~ ~

It was an amazing first, as Eli had already confirmed. They took their time savoring it, sipping wine and idly watching the purple evening sky darken into a deep shade of blue outside the window.

"Looks like a good teacher makes a world of difference. I never imagined I could ever make something that tastes so good," Harper concluded in the end when they were done with the risotto. Sitting back into her seat, she let out a pleased sigh. "Now I’m greedy and want dessert ... Though I assume there’s no homemade tiramisu this time either, is there?"

Eli set down his fork, grateful for both the perfect meal and the timely mentioning of dessert — he had taken extra care to prepare for that tonight, and he was more than ready to get to the topic now. "Actually, you might be surprised." He flashed a mysterious smile. "No tiramisu this time, but there’s something similar homemade, which is currently chilling in the mini fridge by the sofa."

"... For real?" Harper was clearly not expecting any home baking to occur on a workday away from home. Quickly finishing the last sip of her wine, she darted straight to the mini fridge, pulling out the tray inside.

It was a chocolate mousse, decorated with shaved cocoa and white chocolate curls. At a rough glance, the appearance did resemble a tiramisu quite a bit ... except for the thick layer of whipped cream on top.

"Wow, how long until I graduate to making something like this?" His girl awarded him with an impressed smile. "It looks almost too pretty to eat."

Nonetheless, even as she said that, she didn’t turn down the spoon he passed into her hand, and the first scoop was already in her mouth.

"Mmmm. So rich and smooth." She gave him a thumbs up. But then it didn’t take her long to notice something ... off. "Do you think it might need some more chilling though?" she asked as she dug into the second spoonful. "Or is it ... supposed to be this soft? I like it either way, of course. The texture is very refreshing, unlike any mousse I’ve tried before."

Eli barely succeeded in hiding a smirk. Good, apparently the girl hadn’t figured out his plan yet. "Is it that soft?" he asked in feigned surprise. "I followed the recipe precisely, so not sure why it’d turn out like that ... How’s the taste though?"

Harper took another big bite in lieu of an answer. But even as she continued to prove that she liked it, the mousse was quickly warming up under the room temperature, getting even softer as they spoke. By her fourth bite, it had finally melted enough that the whole piece in her spoon collapsed, slipping past the corner of her mouth and falling onto her shirt, along with the thick layer of whipped cream.

Oh yes. His plan worked ... and now the fun can start.