Page 54 of Better Luck Next Time

He picked up his glass of wine and took a slow sip, then lowered the glass, never taking his eyes off her. “I’m loving every minute of cooking with you, Adalia.”

Her breath caught in her throat. Yes, he wanted her, but he wasn’t making any moves. Did he thinkshewasn’t interested?

“You’re a quick study and good with your hands,” she said. “You’re a natural.”

She’d intended the innuendo, and he’d obviously noticed, because he picked up his wine and took a gulp. But when he set it down, he turned his attention back to cutting broccoli as if it had never happened.

Had Finn sworn off women?

The eggplant parmesan took some time to assemble before it went into the oven, but she’d planned it that way—wanting an involved dish so she could spend more time with him. They cleaned up the dirty dishes while the main meal baked, then set the table, chatting about everything and anything. Well, except for art, which both of them avoided mentioning by silent agreement. She loved his wit, and he gave as good as he got with her teasing. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. Definitely not with any of her past boyfriends.

They’d spent so much time shopping and getting everything ready before they even started cooking that it was getting dark outside. Adalia had found a couple of candlesticks and taper candles in a cabinet while putting things away. She figured they were probably left over from a past girlfriend, but she didn’t ask. Truthfully, she didn’t want it confirmed. She just put them on the table and lit them before she could change her mind.

Was she trying to seduce Finn with food and candlelight?

Maybe…

The timer went off, and she had him pull out the casserole dish and cookie sheet while she mixed the vinaigrette. They set out the food and sat down on opposite sides of the table.

“This looks so good, Addy.”

“You helped make it too, but let’s see how it tastes before we make any judgments,” she said, slicing into the eggplant parmesan and lifting a piece onto Finn’s plate.

He waited until she’d served herself before he took a bite, moaning with pleasure.

The sound blasted straight to her core, making her breathing shallow. Would he make that sound if he took her up to his bedroom?

“You like?” she forced out, in case he realized she wasn’t acting normal.

“It’s delicious. I think you should cook for me every night.”

“You mean cookwithyou,” she said. “You were a very active participant in this meal.”

But she wanted him to be an active participant in another activity. She was going to need to splash cold water on her face if they kept up this dance of innuendo and attraction.

They discussed books and movies, and Adalia shook her head when he admitted he hadn’t seen her favorite, the Keira Knightley version ofPride and Prejudice.

“How is that possible?” she demanded. “It’s a classic.”

“I think by definition, a classic is something at least a few decades old,” he said, working on his second helping.

“Well, then it’s the best version ever made.”

“I’ll take your word for it since I haven’t seenanyversion.”

“Then we must rectify that,” she said. “I have a copy at home in my room.”

He laughed. “You own the DVD?”

“I used to watch part of it every night before I went to sleep while I was in art school.” She shrugged. “And for a few years after too.”

A strange look covered Finn’s face. Then his gaze quickly dropped to his plate. “You don’t have to go home to get it. We can just buy it online and watch it.”

“You’ll watch it?” she asked in surprise.

“Yeah. If it’s your favorite movie, then…yeah.”

“What’syourfavorite movie?” she asked. “If you’re watching mine, then the least I can do is watch yours.”

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