Cooking Up Love

Rewards and Punishment

Champagne was handed out to the winners. She had to admit that sounded heavenly, but Apple cider it was tonight. Gordon making sure to open and pour the bottle himself. The red team watching his movements in amazement.

Gordon left nothing to chance when she was pregnant. "Alright, first thing, when we're out of the kitchen it's Gordon, not chef." He said smiling. She had to giggle at the looks the red team had on their faces. "Oh, I think you've already scarred them, Dear."

That seemed to snap the table out of their silence. They quickly started small talk as the appetizers were served. "How do manage all those restaurants?" One the guys finally got the courage to ask. Gordon smiled. "I have a phenomenal team, and that includes my wife, that have been working together for about 10 years now. I push them to the extreme."

Ana nodded her head. "As his former Sous Chef I can attest that's the truth. There were days we'd be lucky to get a few hours sleep. 5 am fish markets, bread to bake, prep, and service, just to name a few." Her eyes sparkled with the memories.

Gordon grabbed her hand on the table. Bringing it to his mouth to kiss her knuckles. "10 years, he's still romantic and hasn't yelled at me in the kitchen. Pretty good streak." She said with a wink. "You were his Sous Chef?" Someone asked surprised. Ana grinned nodding.

"Best and worst 5 years ever." She teased. "Then Scott came when I got pregnant with our first daughter and now I'm mummy to three small chefs." She said with a laugh. "You haven't lived till you've had a miniature version of Gordon tell you the toast is too well done." She looked at Gordon pointedly while saying this. He covered his mouth hiding his smile.

Finally someone mentioned that she had a different appetizer than the rest. "Mrs. Ramsey, what is that your having, if I might ask." The one called Dewberry asked. She smiled at the man. "Not at all. It's a Carrot and Ginger soup. It's one of my favorite things to eat while pregnant and helps my stomach, though this one seems more quiet than my mini chefs."

The rest of dinner went very well. The aspiring chefs asking great questions and Gordon enjoying being himself. With a final toast they decided to call it a night. Gordon ran up to his office to grab her purse for her while she headed to say goodnight to Scott. She smiled delighted when she saw him holding a plate of chocolate wonderful in the form of one of her husband's dessert soufflés.

"You're an angel, Scott." She said quietly and went to the empty kitchen to eat her dessert. She watched Scott release the blue team and them trudge up the stairs to get the smell of squid off. This made her laugh as she took another forkful of chocolate.

"That's one of the things I've always loved most about you." Came the soft voice of her husband behind her. "And what's that?" She asked licking her fork as she looked at him. "The enjoyment you get when I give out punishments." He said with a gleam in his eye. Putting the fork down behind her she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I get enjoyment out of just about everything you do." She said with the same gleam. The following kiss was full of passion and the taste of chocolate. The trip home rushed and the rest of the night taken slow.

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The next day was amazing. Gordon had left Scott and Maryanne in charge of prep so he had until the evening free to do as they please. They had breakfast as a family, went swimming, and even a football lesson from Gordon for the kids. The twins weren't quit ready to kick the ball, but he and Meghan had fun chasing each other.

Ana sat watching the family they had worked so hard for and enjoyed the moment. Something she had learned early she was thankful. To always enjoy the moment you're in before it passes you. It seemed Meghan had finally tired him out when he flopped down in a chair next to her.

"The children wear you out, love?" She asked with a smirk. He laughed catching his breath. "I don't know how you do this every day, and help me at the restaurants." She grinned and blushed at the compliment. "You're incredible." He said kissing her forehead.

At lunch, Gordon tried teaching his progeny the art of making fine dining grilled cheese. He seemed to loose them a few minutes in. "They get that from you." He said pointing to her jokingly. She laughed. "They get that from having children attention spans."

Once everyone had a plate they sat down for an almost quiet lunch. The sounds of eating and a few quick disputes almost calming. She loved how together everything felt when Gordon was home.

Soon enough it was dinner time for the children and time for Gordon to leave for work. The slider burgers were a hit with the kids and they went to bed with full bellies soon after. Ana got dressed for bed and was on her laptop replying to some emails from their restaurants, suppliers, and such when she heard the alarm disarm and the door open.

She put her computer aside when she heard the familiar stomping footsteps of her husband after a bad service. When he got to their doorway she saw that he hadn't even changed and still wore his whites.

Oh how she loved when he brought his frustrations home to be ....worked out.