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“Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree.” Mangy beast. He must feel us looking at him, lifting his head to see what we’re doing. Ava smiles a little at him. He wags his tail, oblivious to the havoc he’s wreaked.
“Can I help you with dinner?” she looks at my hands as they are covered with meatball mixture.
I give her a look that basically asks if she’s crazy. “No. But I’d love it if you stayed here and talked to me.” I’m giving her an out. If she wants to be alone, she can go and lie down, but I really want her to stay.
“Okay.” There’s no hesitation on her part, and my heart warms. “So, I suppose this is the part of the day where we sit down and tell our life stories.”
I look over at her and see she’s dropped her head and is picking at the bandage on her arm. She looks uncomfortable.
“Is that what you want to do?” I ask her. She pauses and there’s my answer. Most people love to talk about themselves. Why is it that she wants to remain so secretive? I wonder if it has to do with the panic attacks, or something else. I guess she’ll tell me when she’s ready. “How about we break the norm and don’t. I’ve kind of liked getting to know you as just you, without all the things that define you day to day.”
“So you’re saying let’s skip the twenty questions. No discussing backgrounds, careers, et cetera.” Her energy level perks up at the idea of this.
“Yep.” I smile at her and begin to shape the meatballs, tossing them into a large pot.
“I think I like this idea.” She smiles at me and takes another sip of her water.
“I think I like you.”
She freezes and her eyes dart to mine.
I am an idiot.Way to go, Ash.Whatever happened to thinking before you speak?
“But you don’t know me,” she says softly.
“Sure, I do.” I smile and she relaxes a little.
“All right, tell me, what do you know? What do you see?” She shifts on the stool and crosses her legs.
“I see a girl who’s thinks exercise is important, as I caught you running—literally—and your body is a testament to that.” My eyes fall over the length of her and then back to her face.
She blushes and narrows her eyes at me.
“You love animals as you have your own dog, and I’ve seen you pet Whiskey more than once already. This also tells me you have a compassionate and forgiving heart. You are fiercely devoted to your friends and them to you, which makes you loyal. You bake, which tells me two things: one, you like to stay in more than go out, and two, you have a sweet tooth and aren’t afraid to eat dessert should it come your way.”
“Hmm . . . observant, aren’t you? Anything else?”
“Well, let’s not forget that you love the mountains and have great taste in music.” I wink at her.
“Yeah, I do have great taste in music,” she says grinning at me. “Okay, maybe you do know me . . . but just a little bit. So if you had to guess, what do you think I do for a living?”
“Well, what if I guess right? Are we breaking the rules?”
She shifts on the seat, thinks about her answer, and then smirks at me. “Nope, I just won’t tell you if you’re right or not.”
“But you’re a terrible liar,” I say with a straight face.
Her jaw drops open. “Why do you say that?”
“Because your face gives you away every time.” I walk to the sink and wash my hands.
“I’ve been told that before, but go ahead, you’ll never figure it out.” She shakes her head at me.
I look her over from head to toe, stalling, and her eyes widen slightly. It’s then I see that the fingers on her left hand have started tapping on the counter. She’s worried that I’ll guess the answer. Strange. I’m starting to wonder if she’s hiding something.
“Hmm. After tasting the food that the three of you whipped up yesterday, I’m going with caterer. The three of you co-own a catering company with someone named Mona.”
She giggles and I love that sound. A smile stretches across her beautiful face.
