Page 37 of Finding Chloe

I sat a little straighter under Matt’s praise while also noticing the underlying sense of annoyance behind his words. I had afeeling it was that he took what Hunter said as an affront to him, implying he couldn’t keep me safe.

“What did you end up doing today, Hunter?” I asked. He was the only one who hadn’t answered yet.

“I trained with Blake and helped Gavin redo the tack room. We needed more room for some of the training equipment for the foals.”

“Oh, right. I heard about that. The first foal is over a year now, and they were going to start with some groundwork.” Matt scratched his chin. “I’d like to see that when it happens.”

“Me too.” Hunter nodded.

“Me three,” I added.

“So what are the plans for tonight, Greene?”

“Cooking dinner. I thought we could all pitch in and get our hands dirty.” I looked around at each of them. “Shall we start?” I slowly untangled myself from the couch and made my way to the kitchen. I heard the guys get up, but I hadn’t expected them to be so close when I turned around.

“Umm, first, let me grab all the ingredients.” I started for the fridge.

“What are we making?” Kyle asked.

“A chicken primavera.”

“You know how to make that?” With my head in the fridge, I couldn’t tell if Hunter was surprised or questioning me.

“Not exactly, but I thought we’d give it a try.” I took out the vegetables and handed them off to the guys.

“Okay, tell us what to do.” Matt leaned against the island and held his hand out for the next container.

I assessed the ingredients. “Someone will need to cook the chicken, someone needs to chop the veggies. Pasta needs to be cooked, and the sauce needs to be made. So there is a task for everyone.” I went into the cupboard and retrieved a box of bowtie pasta.

Hunter unwrapped the chicken from the packaging. “I’ll handle the chicken. Where are the seasonings?”

I pointed to the cupboard behind him and handed him a knife. He set to work, cleaning the chicken breasts and sprinkling them with seasoning. Matt grabbed the veggies and removed a knife from the block. “The recipe said to have the veggies julienne and sautéed until a little tender. Once everything is done, it all goes together and cooks for a few more minutes.”

“Cutting board?” Matt glimpsed around the kitchen.

“I think they’re next to the stove.” Matt opened the cabinet and grabbed a large wooden cutting board.

“I honestly have no clue what to do in the kitchen.” Kyle shrugged, the corner of his mouth lifting in a half smile.

“You take the pasta. The pots are hanging beside the fridge. Grab a medium one, fill it about halfway with water, and set it on the stove. Turn the burner on high, and when the water boils, we can add the pasta. Good?” I kissed him on the cheek.

“Got it.” His face pinkened, but he nodded and headed for the pots.

I followed behind him to grab a saucepan and shivered when our bodies touched. Instinctively, I leaned into him and wanted to swoon when he lightly kissed the top of my head.

It was important we all participated, regardless of our skill level in the kitchen, and I didn’t want him to feel like he wasn’t a part of this. I made a mental note to ask him to help me with the sauce, so he didn’t have to sit around watching the water boil.

“Dude, you’re cutting the vegetables all wrong. Do you even know what julienne means?”

I turned to see Hunter peering over Matt’s shoulder.

“Do you?” Matt set the knife down as I inspected the cut vegetables.

“No, I’m just fucking with you.” Hunter smirked. “I have no idea what a julienned vegetable looks like.”

Matt gave him the middle finger, and I noticed he had a smile on his face when he turned around.

Kyle shook his head, but he was smiling too.

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