Page 13 of Wicked Little Thief

“Just so you know, there are companies who will deliver fresh, pre-portioned food right to your door.”

“That’s convenient.” He glanced around the kitchen. “Is our dinner in the fridge?”

“Oh no, I put it in your warming drawer.”

He tilted his head. “I have a warming drawer?”

She pointed to the bottom drawer of his deluxe, top-of-the-line oven. “Yeah, right there.”

“Is that what that’s for?” he laughed as he pulled red wineglasses from a cupboard. “I had no idea.”

Utah turned the oven off, then found an oven mitt in a drawer next to the stove and pulled out the tray holding the La Trattoria containers.

“Judging by how clean your oven is, I’m betting you don’t use it a lot.”

The sound of a cork being pulled from a bottle filled the room.

“I don’t,” he said as he poured the wine into their glasses, “but my housekeeper does. She has mentioned more than once how much she appreciates the self-cleaning feature.”

She set the takeout on the table and took the glass of wine he offered her.

“To new friends,” he said as he raised his glass in a toast.

“To new friends,” she reiterated before clinking her goblet against his.

After taking a sip, she set her glass down next to her plate and asked, “Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?”

****

Liam

“Yeah…” he replied with furrowed brows.

What a random question.

He then walked to the built-in desk in the corner of his kitchen and opened the top drawer to produce a small pad of square notes, along with a pen.

“Like this?”

“Yeah. I just need one.”

Peeling a sheet off, he set the rest back in the drawer.

He knew his brow was still quizzical when he handed her the requested items.

“I’ll explain later,” she said to his unasked question before writing something on the small piece of paper. She set the pen down and forcefully creased the middle of the sheet when she folded it in half. Then she glanced at the clock on the wall, picked up the pen and wrote something else, before folding it in half again. With a theatric flare, she put the note in the right-front pocket of her shorts.

“I promise it will make sense later,” she said with a grin as she sat down at the small table.

He shook his head with a chuckle as he took the chair across from her.

“If you say so.”

Chapter Five

Liam

They’d long cleared the plates and had been having a spirited conversation at the dinette table when it dawned on him, they’d be more comfortable in the family room.

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