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The way Trenton had taken her after she’d gone down on him was anything but saintlike. Celia shifted in her seat. “He invited me to have lunch with his family today.”
Malcolm studied her again. “That must have been overwhelming.”
She shrugged, hating to admit that she’d felt that way. “I regret not going a little now. I remember his parents being nice.”
“They are, though his sisters can be a handful sometimes.”
An idea stirred in her mind, similar to what she’d tried to do twice now. “I’d like to do something for him. He’s done a lot for me.” The phrase didn’t sound so innocent, not after the night before, not to mention that very morning. “I was thinking dinner, but after what happened at the supermarket…”
“So that’s why you called.” Malcolm nodded, shifting to face forward again. “And here I was worried about you when you’re making so much progress.”
Cold slithered within her stomach. “I’m never going to be fixed, Malcolm. You know that.” There was no getting rid of the crazy gene inside her. Except for her mother’s solution, but she wanted none of that. Her lips firmed. No, that would never be an option.
“You don’t need to be fixed, Celia.” Malcolm frowned at her. “You can’t believe that I think that.”
“No,” she admitted. He would never say anything like that to her.
“Good.” He faced forward again, his hands loosening a little. “Now put on your seat belt. I know just where we’ll go.”
Shopping with Malcolm was fun. She kept the meal toward the healthy side, though Malcolm talked her into buying rolls to go with the food. “Trent didn’t used to be a health nut. That came after Emily got sick.”
“He told me a little about that,” she admitted, remembering how he’d explained the smoothies. “She sounded really great.”
“Emily? She was a pain, but she loved him. And he still loves her.” Malcolm paused, glancing at Celia. “You know that, right? I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Trenton told me.” Celia felt a little guilty as Malcolm continued to study her. She’d never kept secrets from him before, but couldn’t find the words to explain what was going on between Trenton and her.
“I was a little worried, with how you reacted to each other the other day.” Malcolm began to put their items on the belt for checkout. He wouldn’t let her pay for them either, though Celia was no longer surprised by his generosity.
It wasn’t until after they put the bags in the truck and they had both climbed in that she told him, “You don’t have to worry about me all the time, Malcolm.”
“I’ll always think about you, Celia.” He didn’t smile as he said it, looking into her eyes. She was the first to look away. “Besides, I know how easy it is to like Trent. And you are a girl. Even if he doesn’t see it.”
She bit her lip, knowing that Trenton definitely saw her as a girl.
“I’m glad it’s not what I thought.” Malcolm started the truck. “Now, let’s get you back to the condo.”
“Yes, home,” Celia murmured, too low for Malcolm to hear her.
After he helped her carry all the groceries up to the condo, Malcolm offered to stay and help, but she told him no. “I want to do this myself.”
He nodded, smiling. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
It wasn’t until she started cooking that she realized how unfamiliar she still was in the kitchen. Trenton always made her breakfast, with his smoothies. The salad she had brought him at the courthouse he’d really bought, and had been premade. The other salad he’d mostly made himself, when he’d woken up after…
Her cheeks heated as memories of what they’d done resurfaced. She hesitated while rinsing off the vegetables, second-guessing herself. Trenton had made it very clear that they weren’t in a relationship. Maybe he’d see her gesture as trying to change that. She bit her lip as she set the food on the cutting board, turned off the water, and wondered what to do.
Malcolm hadn’t seemed to think anything was wrong with her making a meal for Trenton, but he didn’t know they’d slept together. Did friends with benefits not do stuff like that?
The door to the condo opened, and she tensed, her hands hovering over the vegetables as if to hide them.
“Celia?” Trenton called, and the sound of the door shutting followed.
“In here,” she admitted, her head hanging down. “I’m sorry, I thought I’d make you dinner, but if that—”
Trenton hugged her from behind, his arms warm around her as his head lowered on top of hers. The tightness that had been growing in her chest eased, and she leaned back into him.
Malcolm had hugged her, too, but Trenton’s felt so different. It brought a happiness that made her want to smile.
