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Diana stood with her back to me in the kitchen, taking something out of the oven.
“You cooked for me?”
“I can’t take credit for it. I found the lasagna in the freezer. But I figured this would be faster than ordering out.” Diana rocked on her heels as she spoke.
For the first time in a good long while, I had no idea what to do or say. And for someone who was so used to having all the answers, it was unnerving as hell. Diana hadcookedfor me. How could something so simple twist me up?Because you like it.I shoved the thought aside and glanced up at her. She gave me a sheepish smile.
My gaze drifted back to the lasagna in front of me. My stomach grumbled and my mouth watered. It smelled fucking incredible. She’d made a large salad to go with it and laid out place settings at my small dinette table with napkins neatly folded under the silverware. A small candle burned in the center of the table.
I hadn’t even realized I owned a candle.
I approached the table cautiously, the way you might approach a bomb. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
She shrugged and gave me another one of her timid smiles. “It’s no trouble. Go, sit down. I’ll pour you a glass of wine.” Again, I shifted on my feet, unsure of what to do. Other than Nonna, and occasionally my sister, no one had ever taken care of me like this. I had no idea what to do with the kind gesture, and a simple thank-you somehow didn’t seem like enough.
As I looked around the room, it hit me that this was the closest I’d been to living with someone in years. Her shoes were next to mine, lined up by the front door. The lap blanket she’d used earlier while watching television was thrown haphazardly over the end of the couch in the living room.
The fruit my housekeeper had purchased was now arranged in a clear glass bowl on the center of the kitchen island. When was the last time I’d had fruit on display?Uh, try never. The thought made me smile.
Slowly, she was doing things to make my apartment seem like home. More than I’d ever done. Hell, I’d never even had anyone over. And I’d been here for a year. How fucked up was that?
“Seriously, Diana, this is great. But you didn’t have to do this.”
She brought over a plate with salad already served out. “I figure you can serve the lasagna yourself. I can never plate it well.”
I laughed. “I got it. You go ahead and pour the wine.”
Her smile slid a little when our fingertips grazed. I saw a flash of heat. Or was that panic? I was unsure. Either way, I served us both. She brought over the wine, putting the larger glass in front of me.
When she sat, her smile was tighter, but she said, “Go on, eat.” She started in on her salad with gusto, and I followed suit. When she took a large gulp of wine, I watched the way her tongue peeked out to lick her bottom lip before sipping, and I had to bite back a curse.
What are you doing here?I wasn’t used to feeling unsure.
The whole thing was just a mess. I’d never had problems with women.Probably because those encounters were just sex. But I liked Diana. I sort of felt responsible for her, though I had no right to those feelings. She wasn’t mine.
I’d found her last Friday night. And she didn’t seem any closer to getting her affairs in order. I knew she’d called for her cards, but that always took a while. So for the time being, Iwasresponsible for her, and I didn’t want to take advantage of that.
Those truths still didn’t stop me from wanting to taste her lips again. I wanted to know if I had imagined that flash of heat, the connection. And of course, my dick, persistent as it was, wanted to know if the promise of heat could deliver.
I took a bite of lasagna, the garlic and tomato hitting my tongue with the perfect blend. I moaned. “I forgot how good Anna’s lasagna is. Do not tell Nonna, but I think this is almost as good as hers.”
She took another large gulp of wine even as she laughed. “I won’t tell. I still owe you one for the whole saving-my-life deal. Thank you for that, by the way. I’m not sure if that point made it across since I was too busy being a brat that day. Although I suppose we’re even now after I took out that guy in the alley for you.”
I shook my head. “We’re not even because I’m not keeping score. And you don’t have to say thank you. It’s no big deal.”
She gave me a pointed look. “You mean you rappel down the side of a cliff to rescue damsels in distress every day? And here I thought I was special.”
I laughed. “Yes, that’s in my superhero description. You were the third one that week. Granted, you were also probably the mouthiest.”
She laughed. “I am not mouthy. How was I supposed to know you do things like that all the time? I mean, what is rappelling anyway?”
My lips twitched. “It’s a legitimate sport.” Better she think I was some crazy adrenaline junkie than guess the truth.
She lifted her glass of wine and I followed suit, but once again I got distracted watching her mouth. Fuck, if I didn’t address that kiss, I was going to drive myself insane. I put my glass back down and watched her for a moment.
We ate in companionable silence for a while, and finally I figured the hell with it. “So, can we talk about that kiss?”
A deep pink flush tinted her cheeks, and I had to resist the urge to reach over and caress a thumb over what looked like the softest skin I’d ever seen.
