Page 10 of Weathering the Storm of the Century

When I finally made it to the kitchen, it was to see Cutter pulling pots and pans out of the cupboards, and my ovaries were on instant alert. Nothing was sexier than a man that knew his way around domestic chores.

“I thought all billionaires had cooks and housekeepers,” I teased as I sat down on one of the barstools.

Cutter turned to look at me. “I have a cleaning service that comes to dust, do the floors, and stuff like that every two weeks. Apart from that, I do the rest.”

“What’s the point of having billions if you still have to cook, clean, and do laundry?”

The gorgeous man-your boss-turned fully around, giving me his undivided attention, something that I didn’t need right now. Or ever, really. “I grew up rich, Merritt,” he reminded me. “With a house full of housekeeping employees, I learned many domestic trades.”

“Get him!” my ovaries screamed.

I stared at him, surprised by how he’d worded that piece of personal information. He hadn’t referred to the people that had worked in his household as the staff, help, or servants. He also hadn’t dismissed their work as simple jobs. He’d called them trades, and what billionaire on earth did that? Suddenly, I was seeing a different side to Cutter Moore, and that wasn’t a good or safe thing for me.

“We had chores,” I said for a lack of something better to say. “That’s how I learned to fend for myself.”

Cutter smirked before turning back towards the stove. “Cotter and I moved in with our older brother, Phineas, at fourteen, and his wife, Sheridan, hadn’t had much patience for our ‘wealthy ways’, as she liked to call them. She treated us like your average teenage kids, and we’re definitely better for it.”

Feeling uncomfortable about getting so personal with Cutter, I asked, “So, what domestic skill are you going to impress me with for dinner?”

He chuckled, and I had to clench my thighs. “Well, since hamburgers are your most favorite food in the world, that’s what I’m going with.”

My heart actually skipped a beat, a little stunned that he would know that. “How do you know that hamburgers are my favorite?”

Without turning to look at me, he said, “The same way that I know that your favorite color is dark green, you prefer tea to water, you hate eating after six, you’re not a morning person, you like those ridiculous bath bombs, you’re allergic to coconut, which is okay since you think it’s disgusting anyway, you’d love to have a dog one day, you-”

“Okay, okay,” I said, stopping him. “You pay attention to detail, I get it.”

“Like Cotter pointed out once, I didn’t become one of the youngest billionaires on the planet because I’m stupid,” he retorted.

“Touché,” I chuckled softly. “Is there anything that I can do to help?

“Nah,” he replied easily. “You’ll just get in my way.”

“Hey, you don’t have to convince me to let you cook dinner,” I replied, finding myself smiling.

After Cutter started making the patties, he asked, “So, have you heard from Steven?”

“I sent him a text to let him know that I’d been able to get everything out today,” I answered. “I also told him where I’d left all my extra keys.”

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

“I should be more upset than I am, and I’m not proud of that,” I sighed, though I was still feeling uncomfortable about getting so personal with him. Still, it was like I couldn’t help it. “It’s starting to make me feel like…I don’t know, like we should have ended things ages ago, and like these past few months had been nothing but a waste of time.”

“Why do you feel bad about that?”

“Because I really cared about Steven,” I answered. “I still do. He’s a good guy, and…he’s a good guy, and I had no idea how things ended up so…stale, I guess.”

“It’s hard to keep the fires burning when both people work so much,” he remarked, making me wonder if he had a girlfriend that I didn’t know about.

“Well, whose fault is it that I work so much,” I joked.

“You got me there,” he replied teasingly.

“So…uhm…” I had to clear my throat, knowing that it was me crossing the line this time. “Do you have…have a girlfriend?”

He scoffed.

Well, okay.

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