Page 117 of Against The Rules

No, but now that you mention it…

I burst out laughing, my hips cracking as I stand up and make my way to the door.

“Hi,” I say, shielding my eyes against the sun.

“Hey, I’m Zoltan, Tyler Matthews hired me…” He frowns. “He didn’t tell you I was coming?”

“Nope, which is nothing new, actually. Come in and tell me what you’re doing here.”

Zoltan turns around and hefts a huge cooler into his arms, leaving me wondering how the hell I missed it in the first place.

“He hired me to make some meals for you tonight. I’m a private chef. You should have enough for leftovers.”

Irritation wars with affection. “Oh.”

“Is that okay? If you’re not cool with me cooking here, I can… tell Tyler I can’t do it.” He winces though, and I get the feeling that’s not really an option.

I sigh, giving up. A hot meal sounds nice. Better than peanut butter crackers before practice, anyway.

“No, it’s fine.”

Zoltan brightens up immediately, then heads back to the door.

I stare after him, confused, until he lugs in a box full of shiny pans a moment later.

“I prefer to cook with my own materials.”

“Right.”

“Do you like seafood?” he asks. “Tyler said you’re an athlete too, a dancer, right? I thought some lean protein and greens, some quinoa for complex carbs would be good. You know, light, but still filling.”

“I do like seafood,” I say, my curiosity firmly piqued. “What kind?”

“Tonight, scallops. They’ll be best the first day, so I’ll prep some shrimp to eat with the leftover grains and salad. Tomorrow you’ll have pan-seared chicken breast over whole-grain pasta with arugula and mushrooms.”

My mouth’s watering. “That sounds really good.”

Zoltan brightens. “I’m glad you think so. Tyler said you have practice tonight?”

“Yeah, from six to nine.”

“Good. I’ll have your dinner ready at five, which should give you time to digest before you go dance.”

“Right, okay.” It takes me a minute to process this. “That would be awesome. How much, is he, uh, how much is he paying you?”

“I’m not allowed to discuss the rate we agreed on.” Zoltan smiles apologetically. “I signed an NDA for everything concerning you.”

“Oh,” I say, and relief floods me. “That’s perfect.” If Zoltan spills the beans about me and Tyler, he’ll sue him. Great.

Normal relationship things. I laugh hysterically for a second before clapping a hand over my mouth.

Zoltan gives me a curious look while setting out fresh, delicious-looking ingredients.

“I’m just going to… get back to work…” I say, beating a slow retreat from the kitchen that no longer seems like mine. Not that I used it often anyway.

I don’t know whether to thank you or yell at you

You could do both

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