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“Well, as you can see, I’m fine. You can go home now.” It was apparent by the fact that he wasn’t wearing his duty belt anymore that he was done for the day.
His gaze went from mine to Lee’s, and he stared at him. “Why are you cooking her dinner?”
Lee turned to face my brother. “Because I thought it would be nice to have a home-cooked meal after her accident. Is that a problem, Novak?”
I saw my brother grind his teeth, and I knew he was about to say something nasty, but I jumped into the conversation as I got to my feet slowly. “There is no problem, Lee, and while I appreciate you coming to check on me, Roman, you can see that I’m fine. I’ll walk you out.”
My brother stared over my head, not at all happy that I was dismissing him, but unless he wanted to cause a scene, he would leave.
When we got to the door, I pulled it open, and Roman paused and glared down at me. “He’s a dog, Roxy. Be careful you don’t get fleas.”
“Goodbye, Roman.”
He growled something and walked out. I closed and locked it, putting the chain on so he couldn’t come back in by himself. There was an underlying story there, but I’d wait to get it another time. Tonight, I wanted to enjoy a home-cooked meal and the company of a handsome man.
Chapter Eight
Henley
Did he really just tell her I was a dog? That was like the pot calling the kettle black, in my opinion. I’d heard quite a few stories about Roman myself. Why did he think I was the dog? From what I had heard, he’d screwed half the women in town, some even married. I might have dated quite a few women, but I sure hadn’t crossed the lines into unavailable women.
Roxanne came back to the room, peering at me cautiously, and I pretended that I hadn’t heard what he’d said. Although I was pretty sure she knew I had. Roman hadn’t lowered his voice, and his voice was rather projective. I smiled at her and held her chair out, going around to the other side after I did to adjust the chair beside her so she could put her leg back up.
“You really are trying to spoil me, aren’t you?”
“Spoil you? You mean, treat you as you deserve to be treated?”
She picked up her napkin and paused. “How do I deserve to be treated?”
I took a seat and muttered, “Better than your brother treats you, that’s for sure.”
Roxy sighed as her shoulders rounded forward. “He’s not always an ass. I’m sorry about him showing up here,” she hesitated then continued, “and for what he said.”
I gave her a smile. “It’s okay, but I’m not quite sure what he has against me. I’ve only met him in person a couple of times, and it was always work-related.”
“I don’t know what his problem is either,” she replied. “But enough about Roman. I’m starving and can’t wait to taste this.”
I passed her the bowls of food, and she piled the food high on her plate. Secretly, I was delighted that she was enthusiastic about eating. So many women would only take a small portion when eating in front of a man they didn’t know, but her plate was almost overflowing.
She dug into the food, moaning as she swallowed her first bite. “Oh, my god, this is so good. You can cook for me anytime, Lee.”
Her words went right to my heart. My mother had taught us all to cook as we grew up. She said it was essential to be able to fend for yourself in the early years and also be able to help out your spouse when the time came. I would have to remember to thank my mom when I saw her again.
“Seriously, this is delicious, Lee. I really am in awe of your cooking skills.”
“I’m glad to hear that. At one point, I’d actually considered a profession in the culinary industry, but then decided I wanted something different.”
“Cooking and being a paramedic are two very different things. Why did you decide to become a paramedic?”
“I guess because I enjoy adrenaline fixes.” I chuckled as I filled my fork.
“Roman says the same thing. He likes the adrenaline, too, but I think he also likes the power. Don’t tell him that I told you that, but I think it makes him feel good about himself.”
“I can see that,” I replied and decided it was probably better to change the subject off of her brother. “So why did you decide to go into wedding planning?”
“I love watching couples get married. I like to help them plan. I have always been a planner and enjoy the little details, actually all the details. I guess I’m a little OCD when it comes to organizing—everything but my own life that is.” She chuckled. “It is something that I have wanted to do since I was in high school.”
“You mentioned that you had someone who was always trying to outdo you in school.”
