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."

dropped the veggies into the pan, they started to sizzle...

at the flames

it for long. "Nice going, Chef Ramsey," I snickered. "Next time, try not to burn the place

grinning sheepishly. "Yeah, yeah. I just

"Just a little less

he stuck closer to the instructions this time. But every so often, I'd catch him sneaking glances at me, and I couldn't help but

decent-looking pasta dish,

on your debut as a chef?" I asked, swirling a

chuckled, shaking his head. "Alright, fine. Maybe I'm not ready for my

did alright. I mean, I didn't die from food poisoning, so that's

warm, easy laugh that made my chest feel lighter than it had in a long time. "Good

a relaxed conversation, one that felt natural, like two old friends rather

my chest, a quiet thrill that maybe, just maybe, we were moving

we walked out of the class, still laughing over his "master chef" attempt, Richard cleared

what about karaoke?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck. "You mentioned it once, and I

even remembered.

"Maybe I need a drink or two first, but... yeah. Why

actually go through with it, but sure enough, an hour later, we were at a karaoke bar, a place that

was gathered, cheering each other

nudging him toward the

way. You first. I

a little pop tune, laughing as I got the crowd to sing along. When I came back to the table,

said,

as if he was about to face

trying to look

the stage, flipping through the song list. Then, with a grin that told me

and his voice was... well, let's just say he wouldn't be getting a

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