“Well, thank you. I haven’t had a nice homemade meal in a while.”
“Then you’ve come to the right place.”
“I feel like I need to do something. Let me set the table?”
“You don’t have to—”
“Hush,” she instructed, but with a playful smile on her face. “I’m helping whether you like it or not.”
Matty returned with a grin. “Yes, ma’am.”
Reese began moving around the kitchen as she lived there, opening cabinets and drawers. She was direct and demanding, and it should not have turned Matty on as much as it did.
“I guess I’ll check the bread.”
They moved around the little kitchen in a slightly awkward dance. The kitchen was in an L shape with a little island in the middle. Her hip ghosted Reese’s as she opened the drawer for a potholder. “Oh, sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
She sounded so calm and confident. Meanwhile, Matty’s insides felt like jelly.
Reese gathered plates, silverware, and glasses while Matty pulled out the bread. It smelled heavenly and was cooked to perfection with a bubbly top and crispy edges.
She was setting the pan on the top of the stove when Reese reached for the refrigerator. “What do you have to drink? I assume wine is off the table,” she joked. “Oh wow, what is this?”
It was then that Matty’s heart plummeted to the floor. She had forgotten about the cheesecake.
Reese pulled it out, her eyes wide like she’d discovered a treasure.
“Uh, that’s um...” Matty trailed off lamely.
“What is this glaze? It has pecans. Is this for us?”
Matty melted at the hopefulness in the last sentence. There was no way she’d deny it now. “Well, after our ice cream debate, I thought you’d like a butter pecan cheesecake.”
Reese looked between the dessert and Matty, and for a split second, Matty saw vulnerability flash across her face. “You remembered.”
“Of course. I hope it tastes good. I haven’t made that flavor before.”
“I’m sure it does. It looks like something out of a Martha Stewart magazine.”
Matty shrugged, turning her back to Reese to grab a knife and wish away the blush Reese’s compliment created. “I guess we’ll see. Let me cut up this bread, and we’ll get to eating.”
Matty wasn’t the bragging sort, but even she had to admit she blew the dinner right out of the water. The meat sauce turned out just right, as did the garlic bread. Reese couldn’t stop complimenting the meal. Matty got the feeling it had been a long time since someone did something nice for Reese, like make dinner for her. That made Matty sad. Reese seemed like such a cool person, but she didn’t seem to have many people close to her. Was that her own doing?
So many thoughts swirled in her head. She had to get focused on what they were really there for.
Matty rinsed water over their plates to get the sauce off. She would wash them later. The little apartment didn’t have a dishwasher.
“What do you think about making some coffee to go with the cheesecake? We can have that while we get started.”
Matty nodded. “That sounds good to me.”
“I’ll make it.”
“You don’t have—”
“Nonsense.”
