A Sweet Mess - Jayci Lee Page 0,50
brown shopping bag, and the other was a plain white one. She’d never been to a restaurant that recycled random shopping bags for takeout.
He turned sideways to get through the doorway with his load, and Aubrey belatedly stepped aside so he could get inside.
“Did you order their entire menu?”
“Not quite,” he said with mischief in his voice.
“You should go change out of your suit. I can set the table.”
“No, I’m fine.” He placed the bags on the kitchen counter and pulled his tie off. “What I would like for you to do is get a nice, cool drink and hang out in the living room for a few minutes.”
“What are you up to?” She glanced sideways at him with narrowed eyes. But instead of answering, he gently pushed her out of the kitchen, handing her a bottle of sparkling water.
“Trust me. It’ll be worth it.”
About fifteen minutes later, Landon came into the living room and offered her his arm. She looped her arm through his with a shrug. He looked adorably excited, and she didn’t want to be a party pooper. When they stepped into the kitchen, she saw the table overflowing with beautiful food.
“Oh, my gosh. How did you do all this? I thought you were picking up takeout.”
“It is takeout, but I didn’t want you to miss the restaurant’s amazing presentation. I know the owner, so I asked them to pack the food for me in their serving wear. I promised to return everything tomorrow.”
Aubrey sat down, pulling her chair forward. “Okay. Tell me what I’m looking at.”
“This dish,” Landon said, pointing to a twelve-inch-wide plate with an indentation in the center the size of a soup bowl, “is the two-hundred-years pad thai. A recipe passed down for generations. That split langoustine on the side isn’t just for decoration. It’s so sweet and fresh, it’s one of the stars of the dish.”
“What are those little mounds?”
Pointing to each, he said, “Salt, chili flakes, and crushed peanuts.”
“And that’s a carrot rose? It’s as detailed as the roses I make for my cakes. I build mine petal by petal. How the heck did they carve a carrot into that?”
“Very carefully.” Landon chuckled, obviously pleased by her appreciation. “The food’s going to get cold. Let me move on to the rest.”
There were tamarind prawns nestled in a fresh pineapple bowl, sliced lengthwise; steamed fish in lime sauce in a steel, fish-shaped bowl; and red curry with rambutan, a close cousin of lychee, per Landon, stuffed with ground shrimp in a shallow golden pot with large handles on each side. It truly was a feast for all senses.
“I’m going to eat all of this,” Aubrey said fervently, her eyes never leaving the table. “Just kidding. I’ll let you have a little.”
Landon tossed the bean sprouts, chili flakes, and crushed peanuts into the pad thai and then finished with a splash of lime. Aubrey dug in as soon as he served her a generous portion. If ever there were a perfect bite, this was it. The dynamic scent blended into the flavors that first met her tongue—tart, sweet, and salty with a hint of nuttiness. Then there was the texture. The not-too-thick rice noodles were so chewy but not sticky, the sauce adding just the right amount of moisture.
She insisted they split the langoustine, pulling the succulent flesh out of the shell. She was delighted by the taut, crunchy outer texture, proof that it was fresh and perfectly cooked. And the sweetness. It wasn’t dessert, but it certainly was satisfying for a main dish.
Aubrey loved the addicting flavor of the tamarind shrimp, and the lip-puckering lime sauce and fresh cilantro on the tender steamed fish was refreshing. The red curry with rambutan was the most unique and novel Thai dish she’d ever tried. The rambutan has a firm texture similar to dried mangoes but a little softer and meatier. The ground shrimp inside had a meatball-like texture and added plenty of salt to the sweetness of the fruit. The spicy red curry with the creaminess of coconut milk rounded out the dish beautifully. Add in some jasmine rice, and she could have probably eaten a basinful in one seating.
She was so full her stomach was stretched tight, and she felt slightly light-headed. All her blood was rushing to her overstuffed stomach to assist with the digestion, leaving little for her brain.
“That was the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen,” said Landon.
Her butt nearly shot off her chair. She’d forgotten about Landon in her