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It's not the first time that Josh has called my mother. Sometimes, it seems that he talks to her more than I do. He tells her he's worried about me, and that's why he calls. He’ll tell her that I’ve lost weight and look tired and must not be getting enough rest during finals. Then she’ll call me and invite us both on vacation, me because I’m 'tired' and Josh because he's my 'support'.
Well, Josh Underwood is not my support, not even close. He's my worst enemy. He does all of it only because he wants to hurt me. He wants my mom to call me three times a day to check on me and tell Josh to 'look after me' so I will always be under his control. I know him so well, and I'm sick of him.
I get up from the bed and open the door. He's surprised to see me, though he doesn't say a word. I walk downstairs silently, and he follows.
I'm surprised to see that it's not pizza on the table. It's a salad with arugula and scallops, and pasta with shrimp and sliced zucchini.
No way he could've cooked that. It would've taken him the whole day to prepare something like that.
But then I look outside the window and realize that he couldn't have ordered it either. The restaurants are all closed because of the storm.
"I replaced the red pepper with black in the pasta sauce because you're allergic, so don't worry," he says as I take a seat.
"Where did you get the groceries?" I ask in disbelief, still unable to understand how he could have made all of this. I always thought Josh was the kind of guy who eats frozen pizza for dinner. At least, that's who he was when we were on vacation with our parents.
"I ordered them two days ago, and they delivered it this morning." He is completely at ease, as if cooking is an everyday thing for him.
And then I see him going to the wine fridge and pulling out a bottle of alcohol-free white wine. He pours a glass for me without even asking, as well as one for himself.
The whole atmosphere reminds me of a date. And it wouldn't be so weird if at least Damian was with us.
I'll eat as fast as I can and go back to my room.
But the second I put the first bite of pasta in my mouth, I involuntarily close my eyes and moan quietly in pleasure.
The sauce is made with cream with garlic and black pepper, and with something else that I can't recognize. It's slightly sweet and salty, just the way I like it.
When I remind myself that I'm not alone, I rapidly open my eyes and see a satisfied smile on Josh's face as he stares at me.
Shit. The last thing I wanted was to make him happy.
"I'm just starving," I mumble and look away.
Why did I say that? As if I'm justifying myself. And now he knows for sure that I really enjoyed that first bite.
There’s a long pause. No matter how much I want to run, I eat, enjoying every bite, chewing leisurely and sipping the wine. I feel like I'm in a Michelin-starred restaurant.
"I didn't know you could cook." The words escape my mouth before I can stop them.
Do I really want to start a conversation with him? I wanted to run!
I guess it's better to start a conversation. If he’s speaking, he won't hear any more accidental moans I might let out.
"I can, actually, and I really like it." He pauses and looks up at me. "I want to open my own restaurant, but that's a secret I've never told anyone before."
Our eyes lock as he says it. His gaze is so intense, and he doesn't even blink as he confesses.
I raise an eyebrow in surprise. "Seriously? I thought you wanted to work in the company like Damian."
I never doubted Josh wanted to be like his brother. They have always been competitive. It always seemed to me that Josh wanted to take his place as the company's CEO someday.
"I thought so too, but then I changed my mind," he says abruptly, looking away.
For a couple of minutes, we stay in awkward silence again, eating our meals. I never liked arugula, to be honest, but with this lemon-honey dressing, I eat it like it's my favorite salad.
"Actually, it's because of you." He finally speaks again after a long pause, and I raise my eyes to make sure I heard him clearly. "I changed my mind because of you."
Chapter Seven
