Personal Chef

Chapter 70

My lease ran out at the end of the month and I didn't renew it. Considering I hadn't spent a night at my place since we'd gotten back together, it was ridiculous to keep paying for it. Shawn and I had a short fight about me paying rent. We finally came to an agreement that I'd pay him the same amount I paid at my old place. I couldn't afford half his mortgage, but I felt I had to pay something. I donated my few items of furniture to charity and moved my personal belongings (back) into Shawn's condo. It felt good to be home. There was no talk of the commitment that came with a decision like this, but that was because it wasn't necessary. If anything, we were more invested than we'd been before the break-up.

The other big change in my life was re-working the management schedule at the bistro. The weather had gotten too chilly for the patio to stay open, so staff changes needed to be made for the cold months ahead. Before, I worked six days a week, often up to ten hours a day. I wanted more time off to spend with my boyfriend.

The new plan was such that Paige was scheduled to work mornings and nights five days a week. Roslyn worked afternoon into night five days a week. Ros and Paige doubled up on the busy nights and they covered for each other on the nights the other wasn't there. I worked morning into the afternoon five days a week, covering the days Paige and Roslyn weren't there. On Mondays we were all there to handle the extra baking and the food deliveries that came that day. In addition to having Sunday off, I now had my Wednesdays free and I was home pretty much every night, which was heavenly.

Roslyn and I traded shifts so that I could take extra time off for my birthday getaway. Shawn and I were leaving Tuesday afternoon and returning Friday morning. He'd taken care of renting the cabin, though I'd given him some parameters. I told him it had to be small and rustic. This was not going to be a fancy "hotel in the woods" vacation.

As we loaded up his Jeep, mainly with food and cooking equipment, he finally told me where we were headed.

"It's on Lake Couchiching," he said as we hit the highway heading north.

"And it's not some huge lakefront resort?"

He chuckled. "No, honey, it's definitely not."

After several hours on the road, we ended up at a cabin where Shawn checked in. The owner told us to follow his truck to our unit. It was several miles down a dirt road, and I smiled when we pulled up. It was small, made entirely of logs, and it overlooked the large lake.

"There's a phone line but no internet," the guy told us. "If it snows, I'll try to get the plow up here. There's a pile of wood around the far side. If you need more, there are plenty of logs to split. The ax is in the closet."

I wondered if city-boy Shawn Mendes even knew how to split wood. One thing was for sure, he'd look damn sexy doing it.

"Don't leave a fire burning if you go for a hike, and don't fall in the lake. It's cold," we were told before the man got back into his truck and drove off.

We unloaded our things into our cabin and then took a tour. This took less than a minute since it was tiny. There was an open space that held the living room, dining room, and kitchen. The living room fit a small loveseat and chair and the dining room table sat two. The kitchen was ridiculous, but I'd expected this and had planned accordingly. There was a small bedroom with a double bed that took up most of the space and a bathroom. It had a decent shower stall, which Shawn commented on, of course. The interior walls were pine, and the decor was all accented in red, including the appliances. It was rustic, but quite stylish.

"I love it!" I squealed. "Let's build a fire! I'll start cooking the chili. While it simmers we can curl up and drink wine."

"It's not too small?" he asked.