Page 107 of Reel Love

He drops me slowly, and I slide down until my feet are on the floor, our kiss continuing until I pull away reluctantly and say, “Come in.”

Stevens smiles and wraps his arm around my waist, leading me alongside him and shutting the door behind us.

“How was LA?” he asks.

I started to text Stevens this morning, but Mother was around my condo and I didn’t want her getting all nosy, so I was only able to type,Hi, can’t wait to see you after I’m back. He responded by sending me a photo of a shadow under the surface of the water. No caption. I snort-laughed and my mother raised an eyebrow in my direction. I quickly swiped the message app and said, “Brigitte,” to my mother, by way of explanation.

“So, what’s on the menu?” I ask Stevens as we stroll toward the kitchen. “I can’t keep eating breakfast burritos and tacos all the time. I do have to keep an eye on things. I’m just saying.”

“How about I keep an eye on things?” He wags his eyebrows playfully.

“Right back at you,” I say. “Now what are we eating, and can I help?”

“No need. I marinated some fish. I'm going to bake the fish in that overpriced oven of yours and I have mashedpotatoes I’ll warm, and some asparagus I’m going to sauté with garlic and bacon.”

“My mouth is watering. Where did you learn to cook?”

“Mom. Dad too. But he’s more of the grill master. She’s the one who cooked all our meals except on Sundays.”

“What happened on Sundays?”

“It was guys’ night to provide the meal. Mom and Mitzi would do whatever and we’d fix supper.”

“You do realize that’s beyond sweet, don’t you?”

“I actually do. I may have had some issues with my family growing up, but in hindsight, they’re pretty awesome.”

Stevens washes his hands and gets to work. I take a spot on a stool at the island and watch him move through my kitchen as if he lives here.

“So? LA?” he asks again.

“We were hounded by paparazzi at the premier. Other than that, it was relatively uneventful. The fans are so sweet. The paps are a whole other story.”

“I get it. I relate, actually.”

“To being hounded by paparazzi?”

“Oh, yeah. I mean. I’m famous too.” He looks over at me as if I should know this about him.

“You … are famous?”

“In marine biology circles, I had fame of sorts.” He smiles that impish grin I love. “I wrote an article on the wonders of the sea hare …” he pauses, obviously for effect. I’m grinning so fully my cheeks nearly hurt.

“... and it spread through the scientific community—well at least the marine bio branch. I couldn’t even walk into work without women staring and men’s jaws dropping open as I passed. I was like the Hemsworth of biological oceanography. The Henry Cavill of sea sluggary.”

“Sea sluggary?” I snort.

Stevens levels me with a glare. His mouth is upturned in asmirk and there’s this twinkle of mischief in his eye that makes me want to lock him in here so he’ll never leave.

“People asked me to lunch.” He pauses again. “Lunch, Alana.” He shakes his head as if lunch were the equivalent of one hundred cameras clicking incessantly in a chorus of privacy invasion.

“It was … well, overwhelming … being in the spotlight like that. I don’t have to tell you.” He winks and his grin widens slowly. I sigh—audibly. He’s so incredibly attractive.

Then he shrugs as he finishes off his story. “It was rough. But I handled it. As one does.”

I’m cracking up and he’s standing there, chest puffed up proudly because he knows he’s got me and he’s the one who can make me laugh like this.

“I never realized we had so much in common,” I say through my laughter.

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