Winning Back His Ex's Wife's Broken Heart by Hayley

Chapter 61

Sarah's

POV

After the fair, things between Richard and me felt... different. We were still trying to figure out whatever this was, but I wasn't carrying that old weight anymore.

It was like, for the first time, I was actually seeing the side of him I'd always hoped to see. There was no tension, no carefulness, just us being us. And it felt good.

A few days later, he showed up at my door with a grin, holding up a small flier for a cooking class.

"Cooking class?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Since when do you cook?"

He shrugged, feigning casualness, though I could tell he was nervous. "I figured, if I'm going to make it up to you, I should at least learn to make something better than instant ramen."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, Chef Richard. Let's see what you've got."

The cooking class was in this cozy, little kitchen downtown, where a cheerful instructor greeted us with aprons and a kitchen full of ingredients.

The place smelled amazing-garlic, herbs, and fresh bread. I looked over at Richard, who was carefully tying his apron, eyes darting around like he was trying to figure out what exactly he'd signed up for. "Ready?" I teased, nudging him as I grabbed a knife.

He gave me a confident smirk. "I've got this. Just watch."

We started on a simple pasta dish, chopping vegetables and stirring sauces, the instructor giving gentle reminders about not burning the garlic or overcooking the pasta.

But Richard, of course, was determined to go big or go home.

"Here, let me add a little more oil," he said, pouring what seemed like half the bottle into the pan.

"Uh, I think that's enough," I warned, trying not to laugh as he raised an eyebrow, still so sure he was right.

"Trust me," he replied, swirling the oil around like a pro. "I've got this."

veggies into the pan, they started to sizzle... then pop, then-fwoosh-a small flame shot

staring at the flames

hold back a laugh, but I couldn't hide it for long. "Nice going, Chef Ramsey," I snickered. "Next time, try not

yeah. I just

"Just a little less oil next time," she said, and Richard's cheeks turned a light shade of

But every so often, I'd catch

somehow managed to plate a decent-looking pasta dish, and as we sat down to eat, I couldn't stop teasing

chef?" I asked,

his head. "Alright, fine. Maybe I'm

alright. I mean, I didn't

lighter than it had in a long time. "Good to know I didn't poison

ate, we fell into a relaxed conversation, one that felt natural, like two old friends

little flutter in my chest, a quiet thrill that maybe, just maybe, we were moving past everything that had

over his "master chef" attempt,

back of his neck. "You mentioned it once,

surprised he even remembered. "Karaoke? Really? You'd

a drink or two

didn't think he'd actually go through with it, but sure enough, an hour later, we were at a karaoke bar, a place that looked like it hadn't changed

a small crowd was gathered, cheering

teased, nudging him toward the stage. "Show me what

head, laughing. "Oh, no way. You

rolled my eyes but went up, grabbing the mic and flipping through the song list. Settling on something easy, I sang a little pop tune, laughing as I got the crowd to sing along. When I came back to the table, he

said, my eyes

glancing around the room as if he was about to face a firing squad. "Fine," he muttered,

to look serious. "I'll be respectful.

with a grin that told me he was trying to look cool,

swaying awkwardly, and his voice was... well, let's just say he wouldn't

all, and the crowd was loving it. Halfway through, he even tried a little dance move, and the whole place