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Thump, thump, thump…followed by the sound of another power tool.
“Son of a bitch!” she shouted, and this time, she was going to make sure that he understood that enough was enough. Hell, she’d call the landlord right in front of him if that’s what it took!
In what was becoming a very familiar pattern, she stomped up the stairs and banged on his door. Only this time, he opened it right away. “Hey, Ashlynn. Come on in.”
She wanted to be a little taken aback by how he knew it was going to be her, but she supposed considering how many times she’d done this, it wasn’t really a surprise.
“You said this was all going to be done,” she reminded him as she walked into his apartment. “I stayed with Chloe for two nights just to give you an extra night, and you’re still…” She paused when she noticed the table was set for two. There was soft music playing, candles lit all around the room, and something smelled delicious.
Oh, crap…
She’d interrupted a date.
“Okay, umm…it looks like you’re busy and clearly done with whatever it was you were doing, so…”
“Would you like a glass of wine?” he asked smoothly as he poured a glass and held it out to her.
She looked around as if waiting for someone to come out and tell her she needed to leave. “Um…I didn’t mean to interrupt…you’re obviously expecting someone.”
He nodded, but still held out the glass to her. “I was, and you’re here.”
“Wait…” Ashlynn glanced around again. The shiplap wall was done. There were shelves installed along with a big screen TV. There were no tools out, so… “I don’t understand.”
“Take this,” he urged softly, placing the glass in her hand, and then pouring one for himself. “You know how you can hear everything I do up here?”
She nodded.
“Well, funny story, I can hear you cursing and yelling at me,” he explained with a grin. “I finished everything yesterday like I said I would. And I thought tonight I would make it up to you by making you dinner. I hope you like Italian.” Then he paused. “I already know you like pizza, but I made penne alla vodka.” Another pause. “Does that sound like something you’d eat?”
Another nod.
Gently, he led her over to the table and pulled out a chair for her. “Wait here while I go make up our plates. I’ll be right back.”
Watching him walk away, Ashlynn realized she couldn’t have uttered a word if she wanted to. She expected to come up here and argue with him, not sit down to a romantic dinner. And seriously, this all looked very romantic.
Reid was back two minutes later and put their plates down before taking a seat. “So? How do you think the wall turned out?”
Glancing over at it again before looking at him, she said, “It looks great—like it was professionally done.”
“I really am sorry it took so long, but home improvement shows lead you to believe that everything can be done quickly. And believe me, lesson learned. Maybe a professional carpenter can get it done, but the average guy isn’t nearly as capable.” He sprinkled some grated parmesan cheese on his pasta before passing the bowl to her. “You should taste it first, but I always seem to add cheese, no matter what.”
With a small laugh, she accepted the bowl. “Same.”
They ate their first few bites in companionable silence before Ashlynn had to say something.
“Why did you do this?”
“The wall? Because it was boring in here.”
Rolling her eyes, she huffed with annoyance. “Not the wall. This. The dinner. How did you know…?”
“Like I said, I felt bad about making so much noise and I knew if I called you or knocked on your door and invited you to dinner, you’d tell me no. I figured this way, I’d kind of lure you up here so you could yell at me, and then I’d woo you with my fantastic cooking skills.”
She laughed. “I’m sorry, did you just say woo me?”
He nodded. “I did. And admit it, you are thoroughly wooed.” He playfully nudged her with his elbow. “Go ahead. You can say it. You’re not only wooed, but you’re dazzled, right?”
“I’m something alright,” she murmured before taking another bite of her dinner. “But this is seriously good.”
