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"Woman," I growl, "you're taking it too far. You can have my guest room, you can have… I don’t know, my fucking dignity for all I care, but baked cinnamon goodness is where I draw the line."

Her eyes widen, her breath hitches and she bites the inside of her cheek.

Rose gets up from her spot on the couch and trudges closer, as if trying to calm the situation with her presence. Absentmindedly Brooke finds the not-so-little creature's head as soon as it appears next to her and pets it.

"I mean, the assumptions were shitty, but with enough sweet-talking I can get past them... Caleb's pastries though?" I shake my head. "Try me. They searched this whole area for bodies not too long ago. They won’t be back anytime soon."

"That was around here?" Her eyes widen and even in the dim, passive light of my kitchen countertop, I could watch the color drain from her face.

Before I can answer, the microwave pings to let me know the first plate is ready. Quickly, and only slightly burning my fingers, I swap the plates and turn the microwave back on.

"There you go.” I slide the hot plate her way. “Dig in." She grabs a fork and scoops up some of the mac and cheese. I might drool as I watch the long cheese strings form between her fork and the plate.

"God, this smells divine," she declares.

I turn around and run my hand through my hair. Fuck, I’m hungry.

"We can share if you want. You seem hungry." She pushes the second fork over the kitchen island for me.

"Are you—" I'm halfway through the question when I change my mind, because my stomach rumbles again. "Okay. Famished, actually. Don't mind if I do."

I scoop up some mac and cheese, and as soon as the taste hits my tongue, I close my eyes to thoroughly enjoy the flavor. God damn it. Nic outdid herself with this one.

"This is delicious," Brooke declares as she eats her way through it. "Not quite as good as my mom’s, but close. Who made this again?"

"My friends. A.K.A. the owners of the other three houses along the lake." I nod toward my huge window front. The curve of the lake puts Nic’s and Lauren’s houses right into view. "We were celebrating a Friendsgiving when Erik got the call."

"Huh." She nods and pierces a piece of turkey with her fork. The microwave pings again, and I carry the second plate over to the kitchen island, pretending it doesn’t burn my fingers. For a while, we eat in silence, until she breaks it with a soft, uncomfortable whisper.

"Listen, Kieran. I'm sorry."

My head shoots back her way. I half expect her to avert her gaze, but to my surprise, she meets my eyes straight on.

"Evan called me and gave me the scolding of a lifetime. It's been a few years since he last had the chance to, so I'm pretty sure he owes you a favor now."

"Damn right he does," I exclaim with a chuckle, turn to the fridge and take out two bottles of water.

She watches me place one of them in front of her. “Thank you.”

I sit back down and stare at her, my brain only slowly catching up. It took Evan chewing her out to apologize?

"Try the turkey. It’s good." So well worth the day of brining and half a day in the oven. Seriously, a lot of sweat and tears went into this thing, and I'm damn proud of how it turned out. After all, I was part of the team that worked on it, even if I only brushed butter on it twice.

"I shouldn't have made those assumptions about you,” she continues, twisting the bottle open to take a sip. “You've only been nice to me so far, and you don't deserve to be judged so harshly. It was wrong of me."

"Thank you," I whisper, and now it's my turn to avert my gaze. Emotions settle in the back of my throat. Apparently, I needed to hear her say it. Badly.

"How about we start over?" She sets down her fork and extends her hand. "Hi, I'm Brooke."

"Kieran." I shake her hand.

Dick whines and puts his paws on my hips, eyeing the turkey on my plate. I push him off with a grin and get back to eating, a small spark of hope lighting up in my chest.

Something about her enthralls me. Now I just have to hope it wasn't the fact that she had zero interest in me.

Because the way her eyes rake over my tattoos and my body...

Maybe she's not as uninterested as she pretends to be.