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I nod, knowing that all too well. "That's me normally too. I don't see much point in going to the trouble just for myself."
She narrows her eyes at me, as if trying to read me. "Where did you learn to cook?"
I smile, remembering my cooking lessons as a teen. "My mum is incredible in the kitchen. She thought it was important for me to be able to cook at least seven meals, one for every night of the week, so before my sister and I left home, she made sure we both could."
Andy's smile matches mine. I can see she's imagining me and my mum and sister in the kitchen. "Your mom sounds wonderful."
"She is. Your mum didn't teach you to cook?" I ask, a little surprised. I only met her mom once, but she seemed like the type who would be very invested in teaching her girls to cook.
She laughs. "Oh, she tried! But she gave up on me; worked out pretty quickly that my sisters held the talents in that area. She was wasting her time with me."
I grin, imaging her in the kitchen as a kid. She would have been covered in the ingredients, distracted by anything else, while her sisters listened intently.
"Fair enough. What are your other sisters like? There are four of you, right?"
"Yeah, I'm the third. My oldest sister, Amelia, is the creative one, not so lucky in love, though. She's going through a divorce. Her asshole husband came home one day and told her he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant and he was leaving her for the girl. Left her with two little kids on her own."
I can feel my blood boil for her poor sister. I have been in that situation, and it's awful, but at least I didn't have kids to worry about. And for him to just leave his kids, what kind of a dad does that? When I'm a father, nothing will keep me from my family. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Nope, wish I was. She is the sweetest, totally the last person who deserved for that to happen. She didn't see it coming at all either. And the worst part is he has been with this other chick pretty much their whole marriage. How fucked up is that. If I ever see him again, he will know what pain is." The anger she has toward this guy is intense. I can only imagine what she was like that morning when she thought I had cheated on my wife. I'm lucky she didn't attack me in the bed while I was asleep.
I shake my head in disbelief. "You're scary when you're angry. But I get it, I know that feeling."
She gives me a sympathetic smile and takes my hand across the table, interlacing our hands together. The small gesture is so comforting coming from her. "Yeah, you do. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Makes me seem less crazy for the way I reacted when we first met and I thought you were doing the same, though, doesn't it? If there's one thing I really hate, it's a cheater. If you're not happy, just be up front and honest about it. Don't drag some other poor person through all of that."
"I totally agree with you. I'm not sure why people find it so hard to be honest about the way they feel."
She gives me a sideways look. "You're always honest about your feelings?"
"I try to be."
"Good to know. Anyway, Amelia is a beautiful soul. Runs her own fashion brand back in Palm Springs. She's getting really successful and I'm so proud of her. My second sister is Jasmine, who you met yesterday. She's the smart one and works as a psychologist, with kids mostly. My little sister Cassie is just finishing up her education to become a primary teacher. She's also super smart. At the moment she is teaching dance classes at the local dance studio while she gets through her education degree. She still lives at home with Mom and Dad and is giving them a run for their money at the moment. I guess she is the most like me in that way. They should have stopped at two." She laughs.
I love the way she talks about her sisters. You can see how much she adores them and how important they are to her. It's so nice to see. I get a flashback of her father and the look in his eyes when he shook my hand yesterday. He definitely thought something was going on between us. He's not stupid, and he's not happy about it. Can't say I blame him. "Your dad hates me," I say as a statement, wondering what she thinks about it.
She nibbles on her lip. "It's not hate. He is just very protective of his girls."
"He would hate me if he knew what we were doing behind everyone's backs, though, wouldn't he?" I'm pretty sure he would fucking kill me if he knew for sure what we were doing.
She smirks at me. "That's just another good reason to keep this just between us. I haven't ever been one to follow the rules. I was hardly my parents' favorite kid, so nothing is new, but if I can avoid pissing him off, it's probably for the best. My mom definitely liked you, though. She was giving me little looks all day."
"She did? Your mom was lovely. You and Jasmine take after her so much in the way you look." I finish the last of my meal and push my plate aside. "You would have been so much trouble as a kid."
"What do you mean would have been? Iamtrouble. That's why you like me so much." She grins over to me.
She's got me. There's something about her I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude I find so enticing. Maybe cause that's how I used to be when I was younger and she brings it back out in me, makes me feel young again.
She finishes her dinner, placing her knife and fork together neatly on the plate. "Thank you so much for dinner. You're hot, good in bed, and can cook. You're a catch, Mr. Swift, you really shouldn't be wasting your time with me."
"I want to waste my time with you. You're fun and just what I need right now."
"You're just what I need right now as well." She yawns. "But I think I need to get home to bed. I'm seriously wrecked after the last couple of nights with no sleep."
"Yeah, you said you didn't sleep last night. Are you okay?"
Her expression changes and I can see just how much this is all really affecting her. "I'm kind of creeped out in my own house. It's not a nice feeling. I want to put it all behind me, and I keep trying to convince myself that it won't happen again and that I'm safe, but I'm not going to lie. The fear is creeping in. What if this guy comes back when I'm there? I doubt the security cameras and alarm will stop him if he really wants to mess with me." She looks down to her lap and plays with her hands.
This is really bothering her, and I wish I could do something about it. I would like to invite her to stay here again, but it really is too risky.
