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“And don’t call me that.”
“Yes, Chloe.”
I shot him a dark look before quickly recovering my senses and schooling my expression back into one of nonchalance. Once again, I showed him how to iron the shirt, repeating the steps I had just a moment ago.
“I think I’ve got it.” He put his mug down and rolled up the sleeves of his jumper, then took my place behind the board.
I watched as he laid out the shirt and got to work, almost nailing it the first time. “You are surprisingly good at this.”
“Why do you sound so shocked?” he asked, putting the iron down and picking up the shirt to survey his handiwork. “Hey! Look at that. As smooth as butter.”
“You look almost as shocked as I sound,” I said.
“I’m not shocked. After all, I’m good at everything.”
“I sincerely hope you’re not including frying eggs under your definition of ‘everything.’”
He brought his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. “That was a well-intentioned attempt at breakfast this morning.”
“Well, you know what they say. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” I met his gaze. “And if I’d left you alone in the kitchen any longer, we might well have ended up there.”
“I think I should be offended by that.”
“Perhaps.” I unplugged the iron and set it on the counter to cool. “You have two shirts. That should be enough until Auntie Pat returns tomorrow.”
He filled the kettle and put it on to boil. “I thought you’d stand there watching me until I’d ironed every single one.”
“As tempting as the thought is, I’m not getting paid to teach you basic life skills.” I felt under the ironing board for the lever to collapse it. “In fact, right now, I’m not getting paid at all.”
“You’re efficient at setting boundaries.”
If that were true, he wouldn’t have been able to monopolize so much of my time outside of working hours.
“Mm,” I said, picking up the ironing board. “If only.”
“Would you like a cup of tea?”
I paused. Had this man ever offered to make me a cup of tea before? “If you’re making it, then yes, please.”
“We should also think about buying food. Weekends are our only chance to buy groceries, and I don’t want to rely on Auntie Pat to do it for us every week.”
I put the ironing board back in the cupboard and checked my phone on the side. “Do you even grocery shop?”
“You make it sound as though I pay people to do absolutely everything for me.”
“You once had me ask Daniel to collect a prescription from the pharmacy for you. It’s not that big a leap to make.”
He rubbed the side of his neck as he pulled two mugs down from the upper cabinet. “I’m starting to understand why you want to resign.”
I fought back a smile. “I don’t mind going grocery shopping, especially since it’s the company card. Just tell me where the nearest store is.”
“I’ll come with you.” He poured boiling water into the cups. “It’s probably something we should do together.”
I couldn’t help the way my face wrinkled up in displeasure.
“Do you find the idea of shopping with me that distasteful, Chloe?” He rested his hands on the edge of the counter, looking over at me with a smile.
“No, no.” I touched my hand to my lips, breaking eye contact. “I suppose we should work on a meal plan, then.”
