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“Franc?” I called out.
“Save yourself!” he exclaimed, hunched down in the corner, hiding his large frame behind the lid of the pan.
A laugh bubbled up my throat, and I slapped a hand over my mouth.
“It’s not funny,” he said right as a kernel flew past my face and ricocheted off the wall behind me.
I ducked down. “Holy hell!”
“I told you it was dangerous.”
He said something else, but his words got lost to the music.
“I can’t hear you.” I pointed to my ear.
He nodded and yelled louder to Alexa to turn the music off. The music stopped and the only sound was the never-ending popping coming from the stovetop.
On my hands and knees, I crawled to the stove.
“Be careful,” Franc said. “Those kernels feel like bbs when they hit you!”
I didn’t ask how he knew what it felt like to be shot by a bb gun. We had bigger issues. I made it to the stove and turned the burner off. The popping didn’t cease, so I grabbed the handle and moved it from the hot burner.
The popping continued, popcorn overflowing from the small pan and spilling onto the stovetop. Franc crawled toward me.A floral and citrusy essence with a touch of nutmeg and spicesurrounded me, overpowering the scent of popcorn and making my mouth water.
His smoky blue eyes locked on mine, an amused smile tugging at the edge of his kissable lips. He reached up, placing the lid on top of the overflowing mound of popcorn, then settled his back against the oven.
“Thank you,” he said with so much relief in his voice, I couldn’t help but to sit beside him and nudge his shoulder with mine.
“Happens to the best of us,” I said.
“Really?”
“Okay no. How many kernels did you put in the pan?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Like a cup.”
A laugh burst from my mouth, and I didn’t even bother trying to cover my amusement. “Acup?”
“I know now that was too much.”
“Just a little.” I held my thumb and pointer finger up to emphasize.
“To be honest, I’ve never made popcorn on the stove before. It’s kind of my mom’s thing she does with Gio. I thought it would be nice to have some popcorn while we watched the movie. Now I have enough popcorn to feed an entire theater and a mess to rival.”
“I’ll help you clean up,” I said.
“No, absolutely not. You’re not even supposed to be here. Wait…” His gaze drifted back to me, his head tilted. “Why are you here?”
“I forgot my phone. I knocked, but with the music, no one heard me.”
“You used your key?” His smile spread wide across his face, that single dimple appearing. Warmth seeped into my body as if his smile heated my very soul.
“I did, and lucky I did, or you’d still be cowering in the corner.”
“I wasn’t cowering.”
“Oh, you were cowering.”
