Page 56 of Unforeseen Love

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I tense. Orla will not fucking quit. I pull it out and quickly hit the side button, sending it to voicemail.

“Did you need to get that?” Sienna asks.

I shake my head. “Nope.” And I grab her hand.

As we head back to the flat, the sun sets behind us, highlighting Sienna in reds and oranges. An inner peace settles over me, something I haven’t felt in a long time, and I realise I have her to thank. Once I gave in to my desire and finally had her beneath me, wrapped around me, everything around me became more vivid, more alive.

Sienna gives off this closed-off persona, but I know it’s more self-preservation, not the stuck up, highly strung version of her I created.

There’s a lot more to this woman than I ever gave her credit for, and I know that’s on me. I’m determined to break through those barriers she’s erected until I know everything there is to know about who she is, what makes her tick, her biggest dreams, desires, and deepest fantasies. And if she’ll let me, I want to be there to watch them come to fruition.

ChapterThirty-Five

Sienna

The walk was just what I needed. To be honest, I was nervous about finishing work today, apprehensive and excited after what happened yesterday. And then he turned up in my office with a pot noodle and a can of coke. As much as I tried to act indifferent, the dynamics have shifted between us now. We crossed a line from friends––wait… were we friends? Anyway, all I know is it’s a line I’d very much like to cross again.

I’ve realised since he’s lived here, I’ve cooked for myself, or he’s cooked for us, but I’ve never once cooked for him. Granted, I’m not the best cook, and actually, my skills are limited at best, which is ridiculous––I’m a grown arse woman. Baking I can do, maybe because I see desserts and cakes as more of a reward than a chore. Honestly, I think it began after losing my nan. Dinner was always a family affair. Granted, it was just the three of us, but there was comfort in us all eating together, and then that was taken away from me. My nan’s cousin tried, of course, but she was pretty much set in her ways, and as great as she was with me, we weren’t close.

“What are you up to?” Theo’s voice sounds from behind me.

I peer over my shoulder. “I’m making us dinner.”

He comes up and wraps his arms around my waist, and I tense unintentionally. I’m just not used to him being tactile with me. I guess that will take some getting used to.

I let out a breath and try to relax, which isn’t easy when he smells like the only meal I currently want to eat.

“Us… I like the sound of that.”

I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks, so instead, I try to ignore him using the word ‘us’ and concentrate on the mince in the frying pan. My lasagne isn’t the worst, and we have some fresh leaf salad, along with that baguette to go with it. There’s just something about buttered baguette that makes my tastebuds water.

“What you making, anyway?” He looks over my shoulder at the saucepan with boiling water.

“Lasagne.”

I reach over for the pasta sheets, and he steps back, giving me a little more room. I place one in the boiling water and then add another a few seconds later until there is enough for the layers.

“Why are you boiling the pasta?”

Glancing at him, I bend down and pull out the square Pyrex dish.

“For the layers,” I answer with a shrug. “It’s how my mum used to make it, and it just kind of stuck.”

I worry my lip, kind of expecting some sort of sarcastic retort, but yet again, he surprises me.

“I’ve never made it,” he admits, scratching his head.

This revelation surprises me, considering how accomplished he is in the kitchen.

I cock an eyebrow. “A connoisseur like yourself? You should be ashamed.”

He throws his head back and laughs.

“Morticia got jokes,” he says.

I point the spatula at him and try to give my best resting bitch face. “Easy, Gomez.”

Before I can move, he has me pinned against the counter, his hands gripping my hips. “Well, that’s most definitely an upgrade from Fester.” His lips skim over the shell of my ear, and it’s impossible to hold back my shiver. “And just so you know, me calling you Morticia was a compliment. Granted, it might have come across underhanded, and for that, I apologise.”

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