Page 23 of Robert

“Come in.”

She came in bearing a tray. He noticed that she had taken off her boots and had on slipped on fuzzy slippers. Placing the tray on the table, she stood back and stared at him.

“Look, I know this is not where you want to be and especially involved in this debacle, and I want to apologize for involving you.” The apology was quiet and sincere, and he would be a perfect asshole if he did not acknowledge it.

“Sit.” He waved a hand towards the opposite end of the sofa. “There is no need to apologize. You did not hold a gun to my head. What have we here?” Forcing a smile, he lifted the covers and sniffed at the roast beef sandwich. “Smells delicious.”

She stared at him for a few seconds as if wondering if he was being sincere, before handing him a plate. “There’s tons of food inside the warmer and the kitchen is quaint.” She bit off a piece of her sandwich, her eyes dancing. “Perfect for the little woman.”

“Little woman?” Settling back against the cushions, he quirked a brow at her.

“You know, the one who is delighted to be the stay-at-home wife, baking pies and puttering around the house.” Her impish smile was infectious and had him laughing.

“I take it you’re not that type.”

She shook her head as she continued to devour her sandwich. It just occurred to her that she had not eaten much at the reception either.

“I entertained the idea that I should learn the fine arts of cooking.”

“And?”

“It was a disaster. I love to watch the British baking show. Anything to do with art fascinates me. So, I would see them dishing up these succulent meals, these sinfully decadent pastries and told myself that it couldn’t be that hard.

I have this tendency to outpace myself. I hate to lose and have this competitive spirit that is sometimes impossible to live with.”

“I recall that you were determined to win every game while you were in high school.”

She nodded, her eyes dancing. “It was a source of discontent among my friends. Anyway, like I said before, I loved watching the show and, on a whim, decided to try out a recipe for plum pudding.”

“How did it go?” He asked in amusement. He was so caught up; he did not realize he had finished his sandwich and was reaching for another.

She laughed softly, eyes glowing. “I gathered all the ingredients together, went out to grab a few more that was missing and came back, determined to take the baking world by storm.”

“And you did.”

“No.” She shook her head ruefully. “I took the baking world by storm in a way that almost burned my house to the ground. After putting the pudding into the oven, I decided to take a nap – which ended up to be a very long one.

I was jarred awake by the acrid scent of smoke and when I jumped up, it was to see clouds of it pouring from the kitchen and into the living room.”

She shook her head at the memory. “For a second, I had no idea what was happening and then it hit me that I had something in the oven.” She laughed ruefully. “I had a lot of cleaning up to do and it was then I decided that some things were not for me. I am content to order takeouts when I am home.”

“You never learned how to cook?”

“No. And I am not interested in doing so at this point.” She gave him an appraising look. “But I can guess that you can whip up a meal.”

“Or two.” He told her lightly, reaching for the cup of tea. “For a long time, it was just me and my mother. She worked three jobs and was often too bushed to come home and cook. I decided to learn so that I could take that burden off her.

I would have a warm meal waiting for her when she got home. The only thing was that she was too tired to even partake of it.”

The gaiety vanished from her face as she visualized the boy slaving over a stove, only to have his efforts ignored.

“What happened to your dad?” She asked softly.

Putting down the cup, he turned his head away and stared out the window. He was quiet for so long; Sonya was about to apologize for intruding when he spoke without turning his head. “He turned tail and ran when I was too young to remember. He did not want the responsibility of a wife and child and took the easy way out.”

She swallowed the sympathetic lump in her throat and wisely intuited that the man seated a few feet away from her would not appreciate her pity, even though it was not pity she felt.

I am so sorry. Where is he now?”

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