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She breathed a sigh of genuine relief when he said that he could handle things. “I could at least keep you company then?”
“Sure.” But he didn’t sound very welcoming. She sensed that he was embarrassed, which was silly. He was a bachelor. Why would he know how to cook big meals?
She watched him take the frozen pizzas out of the freezer and keep most of his body between her and the boxes, as if she wasn’t going to notice what he had in his hands. Desperate to lighten the mood, she said, “Oh, whoops. I forgot to tell you that I’m a vegan.”
He froze and slowly turned his head to look at her, keeping his back to her so she couldn’t see the pizza boxes. “Are you serious?”
She nodded and tried to look playful. “Gluten-free, too. But don’t worry. I’m sure you have some cauliflower crust pizza with cashew cheese on it?”
He stared at her, clearly suspicious that she was kidding.
She smiled. “I’m just joshing. I’ll eat anything.”
“Cashew cheese? Is that a thing?”
She wasn’t entirely sure. “I think so?”
“Sounds disgusting. And I like cashews.” He turned back to the boxes and started ripping them open. “And cheese,” he added, though it seemed mostly to himself.
She watched him work. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody precut frozen pizzas before.”
Without turning around, Gunner said, “The only way I can get them to fit in the Crockpot.”
She froze. That had been a joke right? She was pretty sure she knew what a Crockpot was. He smiled at her over his shoulder. “Kidding.”
“Oh! I guess I asked for that one.”
“Yes, you did. But it wasn’t too far from the truth. I am trying to get many frozen pizzas into one oven.”
She tried not to stare at him, but mostly failed. How could a man be this good looking from behind? His broad shoulders made her want to curl up into his chest, a desire that alarmed her somewhat.Slow down, she told herself.
Rocky stepped into the kitchen, and his presence was like a splash of ice water on an otherwise cozy experience.
Gunner looked up at him and glared. Well, that was new. Maybe Gunner had felt the ice water too. It was pretty obvious that Rocky received Gunner’s glare, but after a beat he turned to Nova and smiled brightly, so brightly that it was almost disingenuous. “So, Nova! What an interesting name! Was your mother some kind of tree hugger?”
This was not the first time that Nova had been questioned about her name, and as usual she was pretty sure the asker had been drinking. “It’s short for supernova.” She kept her eyes locked on Rocky, her face deadpan, but she was pretty sure she heard Gunner chuckle by the sink.
“No way.”
Nova rolled her eyes. “My mother was seventeen. She thought she was being creative.” She looked away. As far as shewas concerned, the conversation was over, hopefully forever. She liked her name. She didn’t need to defend it to this bozo.
Gunner banged the oven door shut and wiped his hands. “There. In about twenty minutes, we’ll have some food.”
Rocky snorted, and they both looked at him, expecting him to say something derisive, but he seemed to have second thoughts.
“Would you like to go watch some TV?” Gunner asked. It was clear he was asking Nova, but Rocky said, “Sure!”
“Actually,” Nova said, “I wanted to speak to you about something private. Could we step outside for a minute?”
She felt a little guilty at how worried Gunner looked, but it worked, and as soon as they were out of earshot, she assured him, “I didn’t really need to talk to you. I just sensed that you wanted to get away from him.”
Gunner’s shoulders relaxed, and he said, “Didn’t you?”
“He seems to be a little much, but I’ll be able to put up with him.”
“You won’t have to,” Gunner said. “I’m going to fire him tomorrow.”
“Really?” She certainly hadn’t been expecting that. Was it because of her? He hadn’t done anything that bad. “Gunner, people make fun of my name all the time. You don’t have to fire the guy.”
