Page 30 of Enchanting the CEO

"You didn't have to cook. My dinner was to thank you for your help, remember? We're roommates. We could share tasks. I don’t mind cooking."

"We're back to roommates territory, huh? You were very insistent on the term neighbor before," he said with a chuckle. "Anyway, I've got it covered. I'd only put half the ingredients in that pan."

There was another one on the stove.

"What are you cooking?" I asked.

"It's a surprise," he said.

I peeked in the pan, but he moved in front of me. I narrowed my eyes. "Really? I can't help, then?"

"I'm preparing dinner."

In our tango to get to the pan, we'd ended up far closer than I intended. Now my heart rate was completely haywire.

I stepped back and said, "Okay. So what do you want me to do?"

His eyes flashed. "Wait in the living room."

"I’ll open windows in the living room to get rid of the smoke.”

"Perfect."

I took one last look at him before leaving the kitchen. Yum. Even with an apron covering the front of his body, he was incredibly appealing. I'd never thought a shirt with cuff links went with an apron, but he’d proved me wrong.

I opened one window, then realized I had to open them all to get the smoke out.

Once I'd done that, I inspected my outfit. I was still wearing jeans and my company-mandated polo shirt in the same shade of yellow as our umbrellas. I suddenly felt completely underdressed, even though that was nonsense considering we were at home.

Would it be terribly ridiculous if I went back upstairs to change?

Oh, I didn't care if it was. I wanted to look my best.

I scooted up the stairs a little faster than usual and could barely draw my breath when I reached the top. The staircase was a good workout. It was going to give me a kickass butt. Even more points for this place.

I decided on a cute, simple dress, light blue with wide straps. I had a thing for straps. I didn't know why, but I had several dresses like that. This one was tight around my waist and ass, but it didn't show any cleavage. I walked back down the stairs slowly because if I made my steps too wide, I risked tearing it.

To my surprise, Gabe had already set the table and brought out two platters with food.

"Gabe?" I called out, but he didn’t answer.

On one platter was clearly steak. Next to it was a heap of veggies. They weren't burned, but they looked both overcooked and undercooked. That was just my first impression, of course. Some things tasted better than they looked.

"You're fast. I went to change too," Gabe said. "I reeked."

I turned around and nearly swallowed my tongue. He'd put on a T-shirt with short sleeves, and it was the first time I realized his ink extended up his arms. God, it was so damn sexy.

"Yeah, I figured it was better to get out of those clothes," I said, happy to come up with a perfectly good reason for changing that wasn’t because I wanted to doll up.

This is not a date. Damn, don't forget that.

"Shall we?"

"Yes, please."

“I’ll do the honors.” He put a steak on my plate and one on his as I served the veggies.

The first bad sign was that I gave my arm a workout trying to cut the steak.

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