Page 37 of A Quarterback for Christmas

“Uh oh, I think I’m in trouble,” I joke, and she pops her hip out before catching my eye with a grin. Surprisingly, I was expecting some sarcastic response and some jittery hand gestures. I’ve never gotten a smile, let alone a sexy little grin, in my almost decade of knowing her.

“I know a woman thinking is your worst nightmare, but now that we’re stuck together, you’ll just have to deal with it.”

I lean against the counter, watching as she dances on her toes. “What makes you think I hate women thinking?”

“Well, if the girls you date are anything to go by, they aren’t exactly hanging out in the physics department.”

I drop my head, pressing my fingers into the counter. “And there you go again, talking about my apparent dating history.” I take a chance and move into her space, leaning my tall frame against the counter by her side. We’re hip to hip, and her elbow grazes my side when she flips the eggs over. They’re a little crispier than I’d normally like, but I don’t mention it because I don’t want to discourage her. “There are plenty of girls I’d like to date, but unfortunately, they’re too smart to get involved with a jock like me.”

She snorts, raising her chin to the sky. “Oh, stop with the fake ‘woe is me crap.’ I’ve never seen anyone reject you, QB1.”

“QB2, actually. Jacob’s the number one guy around here. But that alone just proves you haven’t been paying attention.” I stare at her a little longer than necessary, but per usual, she doesn’t pick up on the hidden meaning behind my words. She never does. For a smart girl, she can be a little dense.

Narrowing her eyes, she pouts her lips out in annoyance. “You do know that I have my own life? Stalking you isn’t my number one priority, I’ll have you know. Can you get the plates out?”

“If that’s true, then why’d you come all the way back from London just to attend college with me?” I swipe back teasingly as I get the plates from one of the cabinets and place them on the kitchen bar.

“Told you yesterday. My decision had nothing to do with you and everything to do with our failing economy. But anyway. Before we got distracted by your extremely long dating history, I was going to say that I’ve looked through your kitchen and have enough ingredients to make lasagna tonight.”

“Tonight? You’re going to attempt dinner, too?” I take a seat as she slides an egg onto my plate. Maybe I should try this before committing to any more Bella-made meals.

“Yeah, I mentioned it earlier. Since it’s Christmas and we can’t have turkey or anything more traditional, I thought I could make the only thing we have enough ingredients for. It also happens to be the only thing I’ve seen my mom make a gazillion times, so it can’t be that hard.” She mumbles out that last part and busies herself with getting the food out of the oven.Can’t be that hard.I’m going to have to watch over her.

“If I had known you cooked, I wouldn’t have been using all of Jacob’s meals.”

“I don’t.” That’s when I notice the crispiness of the egg has turned to black and looks hardly edible, but I’ll eat it anyway because Bella looks damn proud of herself. “Lasagna can’t be that hard. If it’s something you’d like, I can call my mom and get her recipe. I still haven’t found someone that makes it quite like hers.”

I chuckle. “You’re right about that. I remember those from high school, and every Friday, I hoped she’d make enough for the whole team. Sometimes I’d take an extra plate home andbring it back to my mom for after her night shift. I loved that stuff.”

She stays quiet, but I notice a small smile as she bends down to get the rest of the food out of the oven, no doubt the food will be as burnt as these eggs, but I’ll eat them. It’s a sad realization that I’d risk carcinogens just to get another smile out of Bella.

“Then it’s settled.” She drops the plate of meat and hash browns on the table. “I’ll make us lasagna. Consider it my Christmas gift since we didn’t plan on celebrating together.”

Gift?

The idea sends a shiver up my spine because that puts me in debt to her. “Thanks,” I drawl out. I was hoping she forgot about this gift thing. “Shall we watch some Hallmark movies to get into the spirit too?”

She flicks an errant hair out of her face and smiles. “I’d really like that.”

“Dinner and movies. Sounds like a good plan.” Now all I need to do is think of something for her that doesn’t involve an orgasm for a gift.

As she sits and pulls her hair into a high bun, an idea comes to mind. “What’s wrong? Have I got something in my teeth?”

I shake my head. “No. You’re fine. There are a few things I need to do after we eat, but I’ll be ready for movies after.”

“Okay.” Another small, flirty smile, and my heart squeezes a little. Oh yeah, she’s going to love this gift.

Chapter 11

Bella

“Are you ready?” Drew asks, walking out of his bedroom like he’s won the lottery.

“For?” I raise a brow as I sit in my own stench, wallowing in the shame that I’m too afraid to even attempt another shower. “The Christmas movies? Because I’ve been looking through, and I need your opinion.”

He shakes his head, grinning. “No.”

“Is that your way of saying you’re giving me free rein? Because there are a few questionable movies in here that I’d like to give a go.”

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