Page 20 of Deadly Don's Baby Contract

"I've noticed." I lean against the door frame.

"Why don't you go get settled, and I will cook dinner." She grins at me. "Come on, you have never tasted my food. I promise you won't be disappointed."

I pull a face, and she walks over and punches me. "Give me a chance."

I rub my arm. "Fine. Fine."

I go back upstairs and unpack my bags, stowing them away when I'm done. I walk downstairs and out the front door, doing a perimeter check just in case.

I smell garlic and tomato roasting when I walk inside, and I hear Aria humming to herself. I approach the kitchen silently and stand in the doorway, watching her, her back to me.

She turns slightly and jumps. "You gave me a fright."

"Sorry," I say with a smile. "I'm silent but deadly."

"Like a fart," she laughs. Her laugh is magical. Everything about her is magical. Now we're here at the lake, just the two of us. Marco told me not to get too close, but he didn't know what I had already done to her.

I need to make a plan to keep her. To secure her to me.

I sit down at the kitchen table and drum my fingers on it. "It's been a long drive, so I'm really hungry."

"It's almost ready. The pasta is just cooking."

"You know how to make Italian food?" I snort. "Never."

"Dominique did teach me some things, even if I can't speak Italian."

"Maybe I'll teach you some Italian while we're up here," I say. "I'm a good teacher."

She smiles. "I'm sure you're good at a lot of things."

I chuckle and look away, licking my lips.

"What else did Dominique teach you?" I ask.

"About family. How important it is to be loyal to the people who love you." She sighs and takes the pot to the sink to drain the water. "He taught me how to swim and how to shoot a bow and arrow."

"So you're good for the apocalypse. Nice." I get up to set the table, take the dishes down, and get the cutlery.

She brings the food to the table and sits down. "There you go."

"Looks and smells okay," I say hesitantly. "You sure I won't get food poisoning? Or is that your evil plan?"

"Not at all."

"Fine, and since you know how to swim, why don't we take a dip in the lake after this?"

"Aren't you supposed to wait half an hour after eating before you swim?" she asks.

"That's an old wives tale. I don't wait more than five. Besides, we won't go in too deep. Just to cool off." I start to dish up some food for her before I dish up even more for myself.

"I thought you were afraid I was trying to poison you," she teases.

I wink at her. "Maybe I'm willing to take a chance for you."

She blushes and suddenly becomes very interested in her food.

As we eat, I tell her about some of the things I got up to around the lake as a child, the times I got into trouble and how I got out of it. By the time we're finished, I feel like I've done nothing but talk, but surprisingly, there's no more delicious food on my plate.

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