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Josh shook his head again and took her elbow, leading her to the gourmet kitchen.
It was long and narrow, but it wasn’t a traditional galley kitchen. There was a strip of an island down the middle and high-end appliances nestled against exposed brick walls. The cabinets were stainless steel and provided a modern contrast to the rough brick. At the far end were more floor-to-ceiling windows and a French door led out to the terrace she saw from Josh’s office. Everything was organized and open and perfect.
She’d died and gone to foodie heaven. “I would love to cook in here,” she whispered.
Josh opened the large Sub-Zero wine storage unit and set two bottles on the granite countertop. “You cook?”
“I love to cook. You?”
“Nah, I don’t cook much. Mostly take-out.”
“How can you have a kitchen like this and not cook? That’s just wrong.”
“I guess, but I don’t know how to cook. I never had to.”
That made sense. He grew up in a house with servants. There wouldn’t be any reason for him to know his way around the kitchen. She on the other hand looked at food like an adventure. Playing with flavors and textures was like painting on a canvas. It was fun and she’d love to have a place like this to experiment.
Josh had grabbed the electric corkscrew and opened a bottle of red wine. He took two oversized wine glasses from a cabinet and before Caroline knew it Josh was passing her a perfectly aerated glass of Willamette Valley pinot noir.
“You are old enough to drink, right Rossi?” He held the glass back for a second.
“Yes, I’m old enough.” Taking the glass, Caroline took a long sip. “I’m twenty-seven—well, almost twenty-eight.”
“A baby.” Josh pulled out plates and utensils, and then the two of them carried everything to the den, where the pizza was already on the table in front of the couch.
“Baby? Yeah, I love that.” Caroline grumbled, sitting when he motioned to the leather sofa.
“Compared to me you are.” Josh was thirty-four. He was born on November 14. Caroline knew the details. Hell, she thought she knew everything about him, but this evening was turning out to be an eye-opener.
“You’re not old, Josh.”
He stopped for a moment and glanced at her. “I feel it. Dealing with all my family crap and all the work crap, I feel a hundred.”
Maybe it was the familiarity, or the fact that he was joking around with her. But Caroline saw that his life wasn’t big and bold like Jason and Meg’s. In fact, it seemed he was facing down the Campbell family demons all on his own. He was a big, back-slapping alpha who was gorgeous to look at. But he was also down-to-earth and grounded. She loved the dichotomy—loved that he wasn’t what he seemed any more than she was what she seemed.
She’d always had this vision of Josh, first as the athletic Ivy Leaguer and lately as the efficient, cold CEO. In both roles she imagined he was tough, unforgiving. And the thing was, he might be that way at work. But it appeared that Josh at home was a different guy altogether. He didn’t say much at family dinners, choosing instead to hang out with his and Jason’s niece, Molly, or make small talk with Caroline’s mother.. Josh had been close to his parents until recently, when he finally took a stand against their horrid behavior. And since Josh still ran their company, the relationship was stressed. It had to be exhausting for him.
He opened the pizza box and Caroline enjoyed the sight of his hands placing slices of the pie on the plates. Even his hands were gorgeous. “It’s perfect because it’s not too hot,” he said. “I hate it when the cheese slides off.”
Caroline leaned over her plate and took a bite. Immediately, the flavor rushed over her tongue. “Oh, my God.” Words didn’t come easily with a mouthful of pizza, but she couldn’t stay quiet. “This is...”
“It’s good, right?”
“Mmm hmm.”
Taking a healthy swallow of wine, Josh took another bite and flipped on the TV. He pressed a few buttons and streaming menu came up on the screen. “Movie?”
Shocked, Caroline swallowed her pizza and contemplated what he had said. He wanted to watch a movie with her? Like spend real time together? “Uh, sure?”
“Any preference?”
“I don’t like horror and I hate zombies.”
“No zombies? Damn.” He grinned at her. “Superheroes?”
“I’m a geek; Ilovesuperheroes.”
Josh selected, then settled back into the couch and finished off the first slice of pie. He inhaled it. No polish and sophistication there; he was just a guy.
