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“Or we could find another form of payment,” I say, and when she reaches the landing her gaze flies to mine. No doubt she’s thinking I’m talking sexual favors here. I’m not. I want her to want me regardless of what I do for her. Wait, no, I don’t want her to want me. What am I thinking?
Dammit.
“Such as?”
“You could cook for me.” I rub my stomach as I remember Cason’s amazing seafood pasta. “If you cook anything like your brother, then that’s
all the payment I need.”
“I’m a good cook,” she says, and folds her arms across her body, a small quiver going through her. I make a mental note to adjust the air-conditioning. “I actually enjoy being in the kitchen.”
“I hate it.”
She glances down and a small smile touches her lips, like she’s remembering happier times. “Cason and I did a lot of cooking together.” She chuckles lightly. “I used to wear swimming goggles when I cut up onions. That always cracked him up.”
I laugh. “Really?”
“Yeah.” She rolls her eyes. “I was a weirdo. You don’t have to say it.”
“Nah, not a weirdo. That’s genius-level intellect, my friend.”
She chuckles and it curls around me, warms my soul. I like seeing her smile. I’d love to see her do it more often, but the world has not given this sweet girl much to smile about over the years.
She puts her hand on me and gives me a little shove. “You don’t have to be a smart-ass.”
“I’m serious, and you’re the smart-ass, not me.” I join her on the landing and throw an arm around her shoulders, nudging her chin with my fist. “No, I’m the one who’s older and wiser, so you’re going to have to trust me on that.”
Her body tightens beneath my arm, and that’s when I realize just how close I’ve pulled her, just how nicely her body fits with mine.
“I... I don’t really trust too many people, Roman,” she admits, a heaviness overtaking her as her eyes narrow, and I could kick myself. I didn’t mean to dredge up demons from her past.
I give her a comforting squeeze before I pull my arm back. “I know. I don’t either,” I say, not wanting her to feel alone in this. “Not anymore, anyway.”
She shakes her head, a bit of the tightness in her muscles gone. “I guess that’s one thing we have in common.”
“What a pair we make. You’ll cook for me, then?”
She waves one hand around the long hallway. “You’re here in Malta, away from your work, your friends and your beloved New York, helping me get a job. Cooking is the least I could do, don’t you think?”
“It’s a nice break from reality for a while and for the record, none of this is a hardship, Peyton.” Nope, not a hardship at all. But that’s not to say it’s not hard, and when I say hard, I’m talking about my dick, of course.
She laughs. “Funny, Carly said something like that to me yesterday. She also told me I should be exercising my marital rights, pretend marriage or not.” As soon as the words leave her mouth, her eyes widen. “I didn’t mean... I wasn’t suggesting we should do that.” She gives a fast shake of her head. “That was before I even knew it was you, anyway.”
“You mean you considered it before you knew it was me.”
“No,” she blurts out, a little too quickly. With the tip of her finger she pokes my chest and I wish to God she’d stop touching me. “Now that I do know, that’s not happening. Ever.”
“Yeah, we’re not going to do that,” I agree. I’m only going to think about doing it, repeatedly, while using my hand.
She exhales, and that’s when I realize how weary she looks. She pushes her hair from her face. “I don’t even know why I said it.”
“You’re tired,” I say, giving her an out.
“You’re right. So why do you hate cooking?” she asks, redirecting the conversation. “You’re Italian. Aren’t all Italians supposed to be great cooks? Or is that a cliché?”
I laugh. “I grew up with five older sisters, Peyton. I couldn’t get near the kitchen. Not that I wanted to. I was busy with sports anyway.”
She nods, and a small, little-girl-lost smile touches her mouth. “That must have been so nice, Roman. I love my brother, dearly, but I always kind of wanted a sister, too. There was this one place...” Her voice falls off and a deep sadness invades her eyes. My gut twists, and it’s all I can do not to pull her into my arms. She shakes herself out of her reverie and says, “Anyway, all those sisters. It must have been awesome.”
