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The day dragged on forever, but I had outdone myself. I hoped Kade would think so too. I ransacked his freezer, refrigerator, pantry, and his cookbooks until I found the perfect combination. Grilled rib-eye steaks, twice baked potatoes, and roasted vegetables. I also threw together a quick chocolate mousse with caramel drizzle. Everything smelled delicious, and I eyed the clock. By some higher power, Kade arrived home right after I set the table. I had his favorite wine chilling in a bucket on the table with ice. I lit two candles and set them down by each of our plates.
“What’s all this, Cate?”
“I, uh, well, I wanted to surprise you.”
“You can cook like this, and you haven’t done it once before tonight? You’ve been holding out on me.” He picked me up and off my feet and twirled me around.
“I don’t know how to cook,” I insisted as I nuzzled against his cheek and he set me down. “I sort of just took a gamble. The food might not even taste good.” I winked. “I really missed you today. Sit down, please? Eat. Drink.” Stop rambling on. The faster I talked the more obvious my odd behaviors might appear to be.
“Well, after your rousing review, I’m not sure I want to,” he teased as he sank into the chair at the head of the table. I joined him in the chair nearest his, and we served ourselves. “You brought up my favorite Pinot Grigio up from the basement. Are you buttering me up for something?”
“No, of course not,” I lied and poured myself a large glass of wine. A larger glass than I’d ever poured before, but I needed it. I was so stupid to lie to a telepath. Shit. Did I think the last part out loud? Kade couldn’t have known that I did this spectacular display of gratitude for anything other than what it was. I took several small sips in a row.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be okay? Did you taste the potatoes? They were cooking forever. I mean who knew twice baked potatoes were baked twice?”
“You seem a bit on edge, Caity-bug.” Kade swallowed hard and then rested his fork and knife on the edge of the plate. “Did something happen while I was out?”
“No.” I downed half of my wine while I contemplated how to answer him. I changed the subject, as long as he didn’t go rifling through my thoughts we were fine. “Did your important work thing get settled?”
“Yes, I shouldn’t have gone in to be honest, but my opinion is valued when it comes to certain accounts, so I sat through a bunch of meetings. I’m sorry I had to go in on my day off, but it couldn’t be avoided.” He resumed eating and I let out a mental sigh of relief. “Is there anything you wanted to talk to me about?”
“No, not really. I just hate being cooped up without much purpose. Please don’t get me wrong, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, and I am so thankful for the ability to stay here in your home, but I am not used to staying inside. I like being productive, and I haven’t felt like it lately.”
“Did you enjoy cooking tonight?”
“Yes, actually, but it’s just one thing.” I speared two roasted brussels sprouts and popped them into my mouth. They took forever to chew and swallow down. I stood up and grabbed a bottled water from the fridge while I named colors in my head in order to project calmness. Orange-red. Blue-red. Red-violet. Violet-purple. Fuchsia. Candy-apple red like my ass will be once Kade finds out what I’ve done.
“What if you write down the dishes you want to try? Then I can adjust my grocery shopping list so you can experiment. I’m boring as hell when it comes to my normal meal routine. If you enjoyed doing something outside of your typical stuff, then let’s do something different.” Kade smiled. “Do you like that idea?”
“Yup.” I twisted open the water and drained about a quarter of it. I speared several more veggies, a carrot and potato and focused on keeping my mouth full. I didn’t want to answer any questions or I’d offer too much information and then I’d be in trouble. As long as I ate, my mind wouldn’t be wandering all over the place.
“Are you upset with me because I got called into work?”
I shook my head.
“Something is going on. Do you care to tell me what it is?”
“No, nufing,” I mumbled around the food, and then finished the rest the wine in my glass. “There isn’t anything to tell.” I got up slowly and cleared off my plate.
Kade followed me around the kitchen as I attempted to clean up.
“Let me do this.” He took the dirty dishes. “You cooked, so I’ll clean. Go sit. Have another glass of wine.”
I raised an eyebrow, but relented and sat back down at the table. I poured a quarter glass of the delicious Pinot and sipped it much slower than before. Somehow, I had to fess up or the tension would destroy what little time we had left to spend together tonight. “Kade?”
“Yes?” He towel dried the serving platter which held the meat and then he set it in the dish rack.
“I bought an outfit.”
“Oh yeah?” His mouth quirked up at each corner. “What sort of outfit?”
“No, not like lingerie, but it’s tight. It’s got like straps and buckles. It’s made out of purple leather.” The outfit sounded kinkier and dirtier the more I explained. “It’s like battle armor sort of. I stole your credit card and used it online.”
“I see.” He rinsed his hands off and wiped them on the back of his pants. He met the distance between us, and captured my chin in his hand. “Did you know Daddy has to authorize the charges on his credit card whenever the purchase is over three hundred dollars, little girl?”
“No, I didn’t know that. I can’t believe you knew already. Ugh!” Tears filled my eyes and blurred my vision. “It was so stupid, and I don’t know what I was thinking. The package came today, but I can return the items.”
