Page 54 of Hot Zone

“You said thirty minutes, right? So that gives me time to take a quick shower before dinner, then.”

A little bit later, Samuel joined me in the kitchen. He set the table while I pulled the food out of the oven and placed it on a trivet in the middle of the kitchen table.

I grabbed a couple of wine glasses and the bottle of Chianti I’d picked up. It wasn’t the most expensive wine, but I loved the way it tasted with a red sauce like my Bolognese.

I handed him a wine glass before going to my seat. “Do you ever eat in the dining room?”

“Only on the holidays. Why? Would you rather eat in there?”

“No, not at all. I just wondered. I like it in here. It feels more homey.”

“Homey, huh?” He looked around the kitchen. “It was just a kitchen until you moved in. Now I agree it does feel homey.”

“I didn’t move in. I’m just staying until I find a place.”

“We’ll see. Now let’s try this food. It looks delicious.”

We both filled our plates, and I watched as Samuel scooped up a bite on his fork. He smelled it and then put it in his mouth. “Oh, man,” he moaned. “Mars, this is awesome.”

I let out a breath. “Good. I’m glad you like it.”

“I don’t just like it, Kitten. I might not ever want to go out to eat at an Italian place again.”

I took a bite myself, and even I had to admit it had turned out really good. We spent the next few minutes eating, and finally, Samuel put down his fork and looked at me.

“So what do you have planned for this weekend?”

“Other than our date?” I asked, hoping he hadn’t forgotten.

“Yes, other than our date.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, nothing really. Next weekend, I have a yule log workshop, but nothing this weekend.”

“Did you put that on the calendar?”

“I did.” One thing I’d learned about Samuel was if he said something, he did it. Like when he mentioned we should put a calendar on the fridge, the next day he came home from work with one.

“Good boy. That’ll make things a lot easier for us to make plans. But if you don’t have anything planned this weekend, maybe we should go shopping and grab you some cool-weather gear.”

I’d never been one to pout, but I seriously didn’t want to give him back his hoodie. “I like wearing your sweatshirt.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “You can keep it. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need some things of your own.”

“Thank you, and you’re right. I need some gloves for sure.”

“We’ll take care of that Saturday then.” He slid back his chair. “Give me a few minutes to load the dishwasher, and then we can watch a little television before bed.”

“How about if we work together? That’ll go faster.”

“Are you in a hurry, Kitten?”

“Well, yeah. Couch cuddles are my favorite thing.”

Samuel

It had been years since I shared a bed with someone on a consistent basis, and if anyone had asked, I would’ve said I liked it that way. But when I woke up Friday morning with Mars curled against me, I knew I’d want to wake up this way every day for the rest of my life.

I watched him sleep as long as I could without feeling creepy and then decided it was time to get up and fix our breakfast. But before I could go, his eyes fluttered open, and he gave me the most adorable sleepy smile.

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