Page 30 of Centering Kaos

“I’m not gonna bug your cousin with my list when I’m perfectly capable of shopping for my own groceries.”

His eyebrows rose. “Why not? That’s what I pay her for.”

“No, you pay her to shop for and clean up after you. It’s not fair to bombard her with two additional people to take care of. Besides, I like shopping for myself. I’ve never had a car before. I used to have to order groceries online and Matt would pick them up on his way home from work.” Mentioning my ex was a total buzz kill, and I could tell Kaos recognized the change in my emotions by the way his eyes narrowed. But I wanted him to understand why my freedom was so important to me. I couldn’t be locked up in a house again. “It’s nice to be able to do for myself again.”

“Got it.” He snapped the whiteboard back onto the fridge before turning off the burner. “See this foam?” he asked.

Curious, I stepped around the bar and joined him. Heat radiated from his body, and I tried to stay out of his aura, but it kept drawing me in. Besides, I needed to be close to make out the little bubbles that had formed on the top layer of the copper pot. “Uh-hunh.”

“This is how you know when it’s done.” He brought down two small coffee cups and picked up the pot, angling it over the first cup. “Since the foam pours first, you split it between the cups before divvying up the coffee.”

After following his own instructions, he handed me a cup. He held his out in a mock toast and sipped. I followed suit. Bitter, sweet, strong, it was like condensed coffee.

“Mm. It’s good. Thank you.”

“No problem. Be sure to sip. There’s grounds in the bottom, so don’t go crazy and throw it back like a shot or you’ll end up with a mouthful.” His gaze dropped to my mouth and heat flared in his dark eyes. My stomach tightened as the air between us practically crackled with tension.

“Dylan,” I blurted out, setting my cup down as my mom responsibilities kicked into overdrive. “I need to get him up and dressed so he can eat.”

Before Kaos could respond, I dashed toward the stairs.

Dylan was still sound asleep and did not appreciate my interference, but I managed to get him up and dressed by tempting him with Kaos’s cereal selection. By the time we reached the kitchen, Kaos had donned a T-shirt and was seated at the bar with his hands wrapped around his coffee cup. He greeted Dylan as we marched by, and I opened the pantry to prove to my son that I hadn’t been exaggerating.

“Wow,” Dylan said, taking in the shelves. He selectedTrix, and I poured him a bowl while he climbed up on the stool beside Kaos.

“Want some?” I asked our host, holding up the box.

He nodded. “Please.”

I plopped two full bowls down on the bar and Kaos thanked me. Then he elbowed Dylan in the side.

“Yeah, thanks, Mom,” Dylan hurried to say.

Kaos smiled and launched into after school plans with my son while I sipped my coffee and tried to wonder if I should worry about the two of them getting so close. As far as men went, there were definitely worse ones out there for my kid to get attached to. Still, I had no idea how long we’d be staying with him, and Dylan’s attitude, grades, and personality in general had already suffered enough when we’d left his father.

And Matt hadn’t even paid much attention to him.

After a brief debate about the benefits of Kaos chauffeuring me to drop Dylan off at school—versus the risks of me doing it myself to protect my independence—I caved. My son’s safety had to come above all else, and if Matt showed up, Kaos was a lot better equipped to handle him than I was. Dylan chatted the entire drive there, but the ride back to the house was quiet. The atmosphere wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, more like… charged. At one point, Kaos changed the radio station and his hand reached over and hovered above my leg. I expected him to touch me, but he didn’t. Instead, he yanked his hand back and ran it through his hair looking flustered.

“I… I have to take the Jetta back to the club and get my bike,” he said, his attention focused on the road ahead. “I’ll drop you off at the house. You’ll have the Escalade if you need to go anywhere, but I’ll be back in plenty of time to take you to pick up Dylan. We can hit the grocery store afterwards, if you’d like.”

I could find my way to the grocery store alone, but the way he was careful to let me know I wouldn’t be trapped alone at his house did something to my chest. He cared enough to make sure I kept my freedom. Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I nodded. “Thank you.”

When we got back to the house, Kaos showed me how to work the alarm system before hanging up the keys to the Escalade and taking off. I stared at the door for a few minutes—silently willing him to come back for reasons I wasn’t ready to admit—before heading into the kitchen to finish my grocery list. All the while, I couldn’t stop thinking about the man’s bare chest, muscular back, and low-hanging sweatpants. My head was a mess, and I decided to distract myself by exploring.

The French doors off the dining room led to the most enchanting, peaceful backyard I’d ever seen. It was like some hidden forest paradise of greenery and stone. I stepped out onto the stone patio and took in the built-in stainless steel grill, with a countertop and a mini fridge. Two sets of patio furniture—each clustered around a fire pit—and a matching teak dining set for ten were situated around the grill. Beyond the stone patio, the grass landscape was broken up with sections of colorful trees, shrubs, bushes, ivy, and flowers. A shallow pond stocked with colorful koi wound around the vegetation. I followed it to the side of the house where it ended before reaching a connected stone waterfall.

A wooden bench sat on the other side of the waterfall. I settled onto the bench, leaned back, and closed my eyes. The day was cool, but the sun had breached the scattered clouds and beat down on me, sapping my strength. The clean smells, soft sounds, and safety of the secluded backyard lulled me into relaxing.

I must have drifted off to sleep, because a feminine voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “Dari— Oh. You are… not my cousin,” she said.

I opened my eyes to find a gorgeous, dark-haired woman staring at me. Hurrying to my feet, I winced as a kink tugged at my neck and shuffled forward. “No. I’m Tina. I’m… um… staying with Kaos… with Darius for a little while.”

“You’restayinghere?” Her eyebrows shot up. “Like… sleeping here?”

Unsure of how to take the disbelief that was written all over her face, I nodded. “Yes. Is… Is something wrong with that?”

“No. It’s just surprising.” She folded her arms across her chest and studied me. “He never has women here, so you two must be pretty serious.”

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