Page 65 of Pucking Forbidden

“And I didn’t lose a finger!” she exclaims with a laugh.

I laugh, shaking my head. “Way to set the bar high there, sweetheart.”

We end up eating at the kitchen island. I slide a wide ceramic bowl in front of her. The steam rises up between us. I went with classic, pan-seared chicken thighs over a rich, velvety garlic-and-rosemary cream sauce, tossed with al dente fettuccine. I even managed to get a nice, crispy golden crust on the chicken, garnished with a sprinkle of fresh parmesan. It’s already starting to melt into the pasta.

Hadley leans forward, inhaling the rich, savory scent. “Oh my God, Julian. This looks like it came out of a five-star restaurant.”

“Taste it before you give me the Michelin star,” I smirk, leaning my forearms on the cool countertop as I watch her, a sudden spike of nervous anticipation tightening my chest.

She twists a generous mound of noodles onto her fork, making sure to get a piece of the chicken and a thick coating of the sauce, and slides it into her mouth.

Her eyes close. A low, soft moan of pure delight escapes the back of her throat. It’s a sound so uninhibited and inherently sensual that it hits me like a physical blow. My throat goes dry, my gaze locking onto the smooth column of her neck as she swallows.

“Wow,” she breathes, opening her eyes wide with genuine awe. “This is officially the best thing I've ever eaten. You're a wizard.”

A fierce wave of satisfaction ripples through me. “Told you," I smirk as I reach for my own fork. “Just stick with me, Hadley. I'll make sure you never have to eat takeout again.”

We eat in comfortable silence for a few moments before she speaks again.

“My mom would hate this,” she chuckles.

I glance over. “The food?”

“No, the staying in part,” she clarifies. “She’d be dragging me out somewhere right now. Wanting to go have a good time with lots of people and noise.”

I study her face, leaning my chin in my hand. “Do you like that scene?”

Hadley laughs, her shoulders dropping as she shakes her head. “Honestly? No. I’ve always been more of a homebody. I like my space, and I like the quiet. Mom is a force of nature, and I love her for it, but she can be…a lot. Sometimes I just want to breathe.”

“Sounds like it can be hard to keep up with,” I murmur, feeling a strange, comforting warmth settle in my chest at the easy way she opens up to me.

“Sometimes,” Hadley nods, but there’s no irritation in it. “She’s just…she’s always been kind of…everywhere.”

I tilt my head. “Everywhere how?”

“She travels a lot.” She shrugs, shifting her weight against the couch. “She’s not really the stay-in-one-place type. Never has been.”

“You see her much?”

“Sometimes. We talk on the phone a lot, but she doesn’t really live in one place for long, so it can get tricky to see her. She’s a total free spirit. She just…can’t stay still.”

She lowers her gaze to the island’s surface for a second before she continues, dropping her guard a little further. “I know I wasn’t something my parents planned for. They never really even dated. A short while after I was born, she realized she wasn’t built for the routine of a normal family life. She wasn’t a planner, and my dad…well, he’s all structure and schedules. So, she actually agreed to let him take full custody of me. She knew she couldn’t give me the stability I needed.”

I nod, but don’t interrupt her.

“I love her,” she hurries to assure me. “I really do. We’re close in our own way, and she’s a wonderful person. She just operates on a different frequency.”

“Still,” I murmur, leaning forward so she has to look at me. “It must have been hard. Growing up without her around as much, trying to navigate everything when she’s always a moving target. That’s a heavy thing for a kid to carry, Hadley.”

She nods and lets out a long sigh. “Yeah…it is…she’s fun, though.” A small smile pulls at her mouth. “Like, when she is around, there’s never a dull moment. She’ll pull last-minute plans, random trips, or drag me out to things I wouldn’t have picked on my own.”

“Sounds like chaos.”

“It is,” she agrees. “But it’s good chaos most of the time. She just…doesn’t stay.”

I don’t say anything right away and just let that sit for a bit.

“And your grandma?” I ask after at length.