AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m embarrassed to admit I haven’t ever looked.”
“Now you know. Do you have a Ziploc bag? A big one to store these in?”
He moved to the pantry and came out with one. She opened the chicken and he took the top off the olive oil they’d purchased.
“Do you need a bowl or something?”
“Yep. That was going to be my next request.”
He got one down and she dropped the chicken breasts in, sprinkled a little olive oil over them and massaged it into each piece.
“Now you add the spices?” he asked.
“Pretty easy, huh?”
“It seems it so far, but we haven’t started to cook. Undercooked chicken can kill you.”
“It can make you sick, but we aren’t going to have undercooked chicken. I get the feeling you eat enough beef and can cook that. This is something new.”
“And healthy,” he said, bumping his shoulder into hers. It was the first time he’d done something that playful. That he’d touched her in any way and her heart was pounding while she hoped for more.
“It is.” Once the chicken was coated with the spices she put it in the bag and tried to push out as much air as she could. “If you put this in the fridge we can start on the stuffed peppers.”
“I’ve had quinoa before but have never cooked it.”
“It’s easy,” she said. “First you need to rinse it off good. Do you have another bowl and a strainer?”
He found the things she asked for and she did that while he watched, then filled a pan with water and put it on the stove with quinoa to start to cook.
“I’ll cut the peppers,” he said. “Just in half?”
“Yep. Clean them out and wash them. The rest of the filling is easy. Once the quinoa is cooked, the water will be all gone. Then you can mix in the black beans, corn, and can of stewed tomatoes.”
“Keeping the corn frozen?” he asked, wrinkling his nose.
“No. We’ll cook it. Frozen is better than canned, but if canned vegetables are all you want to eat, it’s better than nothing.”
“That makes sense, but frozen is fine. As long as I can pop it in the microwave.”
“Fresh is best, but again, frozen a good second.”
“I see where you’re going,” he said. “Just eating them alone is good, but there are steps.”
“Diet and nutrition are about compromise,” she said. “I’m not one to tell people they have to follow strict rules. Those rules tend to get broken, people get frustrated and they stop. It’s better to be flexible. A little is better than nothing.”
She’d learned that the hard way in her job. “Like a little kiss is better than no kiss at all?” he asked. “Sounds good to me.”
She turned and looked at the grin on his face. “Did you want to give me a kiss, Rick?”
She wasn’t sure where her boldness was coming from to ask that but didn’t care either. Maybe Whitney was right. She was nervous because it meant something. And cooking was calming her, but she hoped she wasn’t coming off as lecturing too much.
“You’re an attractive woman in my house cooking for me. I think wanting a kiss is natural.”
She turned and looked at him after she’d washed her hands. He was right in her space and she wasn’t backing up. “Natural is part of life.”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said and lowered his head to hers. It was just a light kiss as he said and it left her wanting a lot more. But he backed up and went back to cleaning the peppers.
“That was a tease,” she said.
