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“I’d say a beer, but Dr. Myers would probably kill me.”
“And I’d help him,” Rose said with a sweet smile. “Water or iced tea?”
Steven sighed. “Water, please.”
By the time she’d filled the glasses, dinner was ready. She drained the rice and put it into one bowl with the stir-fry in the other. After setting the food on the table, she unlocked Steven’s chair and brought him over.
“This smells amazing,” he said before lifting his glass. “To us.”
She tapped his glass and took a sip. Then she served Steven and herself. Soon the only sound in the room was forks scraping against plates. She relished the break from cherry-picking her words and pretending everything was fine.
When they finished eating, Steven leaned forward and took her hand. “Thank you for tonight. It was fun being just us for an evening.”
Rose’s lips turned up in a genuine smile. “It really was. Hopefully, now that you’re out of the hospital, it can happen more often.”
“From your lips to God’s ears.”
“The night’s not over yet. I made dessert.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, she stood and cleared their plates. After dropping them off in the sink to clean later, she removed a pan of brownies from the fridge and plated up two.
She returned to the table and set Steven’s plate in front of him. “Enjoy.”
“Oh man, you make the best brownies.” He took a bite and closed his eyes. “I can’t wait to eat your food all the time.”
“Hey, mister.” She playfully shook a finger at him. “I’m no personal chef. You’ll be helping me.”
“Of that, I have no doubt.” Once he finished his brownie, he brushed the crumbs from his fingers. “I meant it’ll be nice to be together every evening. Well, I mean, the evenings you don’t have a shift.”
And the ones you aren’t working late. But she kept that comment to herself. They’d managed to make it through dinner without devolving into an argument, and she was determined to keep it that way.
A knock sounded at the door, and his face fell. “That’ll be my dad.”
With a heavy heart, Rose stood to answer it. How had the evening passed so quickly? But sure enough, Max stood on the other side.
“Evening, Rose.”
“Hi, Max.” She stepped to the side to let him in. “He’s in the dining room.” As she turned to lead him there, Max stopped her.
“How’s he doing?”
“Much better. He seems to be happy to be home.”
Max searched her face. “And how are you doing?”
“I’m okay,” she lied.
But her soon-to-be father-in-law wasn’t fooled. “I know you worry about him. We all do. He’s a hardheaded man.”
Rose raised an eyebrow. “Wonder where he got that from.”
His face broke into a wide grin, and he laughed. “Fair enough.”
“Hey, you two,” Steven called. “Stop whispering about me like I’m not here.”
“Who said we’re talking about you?” Max demanded as he walked into the dining room. “Maybe I was trying to convince your fiancée she’s with the wrong McAllister.”
“Very funny.” Steven crossed his arms. “You’re early.”
