Page 85 of Zane

Her slightly disheveled look appealed to him. He’d been taught young that he shouldn’t focus on a person’s outward appearance. But since Kelsey was technically his wife, he didn’t think it was wrong to allow himself to appreciate her physical appeal.

It was weird to think that he’d been intimate with her but had no memory of it. If he thought about how much knowledge she had of him versus what he had of her, it left him feeling a little strange. He didn’t dwell on that fact too much, but sometimes it was impossible to ignore.

“Here you go,” Zane said as he placed the plate with toast on it in front of her.

“Thanks.” The smile she gave him was warm, and, if he wasn’t mistaken, held a bit of affection. “You don’t need to do this for me, but I do appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.” Feeding people had always been something he enjoyed, and it seemed even more important that he do that for Kelsey. Even if it was just toast and coffee. “Are you working again tonight?”

“Yep. Even though I’m only part-time, I asked if they could give me my shifts in a row. It’s difficult to keep going from working nights to being off. I know I could just keep the same schedule even when I’m off, but what am I going to do at night when everyone else is asleep? Thankfully, they were willing to make that adjustment for me.”

“Are you hoping they’ll give you full-time?”

She considered it for a moment, then said, “I don’t know if I’m hoping or not, but I won’t turn down extra shifts.”

“If you could work another job, what would it be?”

Again, she was quiet for a moment as she took a bite of her toast before answering. “I’ve had different jobs, mainly in restaurants. Most recently, I worked as a hostess.”

“And you enjoyed it?”

She nodded. “I did. And it was fun working in the same place you did.”

“Was that the case in Tampa, as well?”

“No. They didn’t need a hostess at your restaurant, so I got a job at a different one.”

“And you still enjoyed it?”

“For the most part. Honestly, I hadn’t worked there long before your accident. But the people there were nice, and the owners were so sympathetic when I let them know what had happened.”

“Was there no hostess position around here?”

“Not that I found,” she said. “And I wasn’t keen on driving an hour or more to and from work each day for a job in Coeur d’Alene. I don’t mind what I’m doing now. Keeps me physically active, and it doesn’t require too much concentration.”

Zane stirred the food in the pot on the stove. He wanted to ask her if she had any career aspirations beyond being a hostess, but he didn’t want to offend her when they were just starting to figure things out.

“What are you making?” Kelsey asked as she lifted her mug and took a sip. “It smells good.”

“Bolognese sauce and pasta.”

“Are you making the pasta?”

“No. I don’t have my pasta machine, and I don’t think they have one here.”

“You had one in Tampa. Did you want your things?” Kelsey asked, lowering her mug to the counter. “We could go to the storage unit and get what you want.”

“My knives and everything?”

“Yep. Everything is there.”

Though Zane wasn’t sure he was ready to go into cooking full on, the thought of having his tools of the trade close at hand was appealing. “I think I’d like that.”

“Tonight is my last shift for the next four days, so we could go whenever you want.”

He knew that on the days she was shifting from working nights to her days off, she usually only slept until around noon. “Maybe we could go tomorrow afternoon.”

“That works for me.”

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