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“Thank you. If you want to take off your jacket, there’s a closet near the door next to the hat rack, Jaxon.”
“All right.” He removed his jacket and then walked over to the closet to put it in before returning to the living room. He saw that she was staring at him. “Is anything wrong?” he asked.
“No. Nothing is wrong. In fact, dinner is ready,” she answered. “I left work early to come home to prepare it.”
“You didn’t have to go to all that trouble.” He said the words, although he was glad she had since this gave him the opportunity to not only see her again but to spend time with her.
She waved off his words. “No trouble since I love to cook. Unfortunately, there isn’t anyone here to cook for.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say that she could cook for him anytime but he decided to keep that to himself. “Is there a place where I can wash my hands?”
“Yes, just follow me.”
She led the way and he couldn’t help how his heart missed a couple of beats while admiring the sexiness of her walk. “Here’s the powder room. The kitchen and dining room are through that door.”
“Okay.”
Moments later when he walked through the door that led to the kitchen and dining area, he paused. She was leaning down to take a tray of bread out the oven. He couldn’t help appreciating the shape of her backside while she did so.
He cleared his throat to let her know he was there. She glanced over at him while placing the tray on a cooling rack on the counter. “Please have a seat at the dining room table. What would you like to drink?”
“What do you have?”
“A little bit of everything. Thanks to Spencer, I never run out of wine and I make sure I have beer, wine coolers and coffee on hand for whenever those Westmorelands or Outlaws decide to visit.” Spencer Westmoreland and his wife, Chardonnay, owned Russell Vineyards which was located in Napa Valley.
Jaxon tilted his head to look at her. “They do that a lot? Come visiting?”
She grinned as she placed several rolls of bread on a tray. “They do it enough, just to check up on me. Not as much now as they did when I first moved back here. I guess they’re now convinced that I can take care of myself.”
He was glad to hear that. When he had arrived on her property and had seen how massive it was and how far away the location was from town, he became concerned with her living here alone. The good thing was all the security cameras installed around her land. “Wine will be fine,” he said.
It was only when she finally sat down at the table that he did so as well. After she’d said grace, she glanced over at him. “I hope you like everything.” She then took the lids off the platters.
He couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his lips. All the things she’d uncovered were foods he loved to eat. There was no way this was a coincidence. He was not a person who believed you had to wait for Thanksgiving to feast on turkey and dressing. Then there was a medley of garlic roasted mixed vegetables, potato salad and hot yeast rolls.
“Dig in and make sure you leave room for dessert. I baked a chocolate cake.”
His eyes lifted. “You did?” Chocolate cake was his favorite.
“Yes.”
He looked at the platters again before gazing back at her. “You did all this for me?”
He watched her shrug a pair of feminine shoulders. “Like I said, I enjoy cooking and finding out about the foods you liked was easy.” She chuckled and said, “Chase told me whenever you’re in Atlanta and patronize his restaurant you always get the turkey and dressing off the menu. Jason told me that you do the same thing whenever you’re in Denver and go to McKays restaurant.”
“True. I’d eat turkey and dressing every day of the week if I could.”
“Well, just so you know, I learned how to make the turkey and dressing from Chase, so it ought to be good.”
“I’m sure it will be.” After taking his first bite, he saw that it was. “Nadia, this is delicious.”
He watched her lips ease into a smile. “Thanks.”
Now they were getting somewhere. He could still feel sexual chemistry flowing between them, and he had a feeling she was trying hard to suppress it. He didn’t want it quelled one iota. In fact, knowing she wasn’t immune to him as he’d thought, gave him hope. However, he wanted her to feel relaxed around him, at ease and to lower that guard he felt she’d put up for whatever reason.
They began eating. When he glanced up to look at her, he saw her looking at him. Like they’d done earlier in front of the fireplace, their gazes held for an intense few seconds before she looked back down at her food. Whatever he’d been about to say had been wiped from his mind, so he resumed eating while thinking just how strikingly beautiful she was. So much so that she’d nearly taken his breath away just now.
But then that’s the same reaction he’d gotten the first time he’d seen her at Maverick and Phire’s wedding reception. Even from a distance, the first thing he’d noticed were her eyes. They were chocolate brown and almond shaped. Then there had been her hair, a thick mass of dark brown sister locks that flowed around her shoulders and complemented her honey-brown skin tone.
