Page 33 of Loving My Enemy

“Not necessary. I don’t want to talk about it and definitely not with you.” She took a step back, ready to slam the door in my face, which I also deserved, but couldn’t allow to happen.

My foot shot out just as she closed the door and I roared at the pain as it slammed against me. “Shit!”

“Move your foot, please.”

Still so polite I pressed my advantage. “I’m trying to apologize.”

“Istilldon’t want or need your apology, deputy. I wouldn’t believe it anyway.”

“How in the hell are you a virgin, anyway?” I didn’t mean to sound so gruff but dammit, it’d been nagging at me since that night.

Elka laughed but it was cold and bitter. “That information is saved for close friends. Not enemies.”

“We’re not enemies, Elka.”

She laughed again. “We are, but it makes you feel like a terrible person to say so.” She laughed even harder at the frown on my face.

I was starting to get angry. “We’re not enemies.”

Her smile disappeared instantly. “Well, we aren’t friends. At best, we’re neighbors. And now, we’re done.” Her hand was on the door, ready to slam it. Again.

“Dammit, Elka. I want to tell you how sorry I am, for everything. And I thought we could start over. While we make chili.”

Elka might be a liar but she wasn’t a practiced one; every thought she had flashed across her face. She wanted to tell me to go to hell but something stopped her. “I already have my recipe for the cook-off.”

“But the cook-off will be timed and having an assistant will help. If you want a chance at winning.” The moment her smile flashed, I knew I messed up. But I didn’t know how.

“I don’t care if I win. I’m only participating because I said I would.”

“If you’re participating, you might as well try to win. Winning is awesome, especially the five hundred dollars worth of gift certificates for shops around Tulip.”

“Fine. But we’re not talking about anything but chili.”

“Great.” It was a lie but I’d deal with the consequences later. I stepped inside before she changed her mind and kicked the door closed before following her to the kitchen. “Where do we start?”

“With what’s in the bag.” Elka didn’t look pleased to have me in her space but she kept grinding her jaws to keep her comments to herself. “Well?”

“Right.” I set the bags on the counter and unpacked, watching as she eyed every ingredient like it might offend her. “What do you think?”

“I think that I can chop everything in fifteen minutes so if you want to help, you have to be faster than that.” She turned towards the stove, giving me a long glimpse of her round ass in those denim shorts with the little threads skimming the tops of her thighs. She paused for a minute, then grabbed a knife, a cutting board, and two bowls. “Chopped vegetables and trash,” she said, pointing at each one before turning away from me. Again.

I took the hint and washed my hands before I got busy chopping the vegetables. Silently. “My mom used to make me be her sous chef whenever she had a lot of cooking to do. I hated it at the time, but some of my favorite memories with her were in our kitchen.”

“That’s nice,” she said eventually. Nice. Nothing more.

“Did you do anything like that with your mom?” She never talked about her family.

“Nope.”

Okay. “Seriously, Elka, how are you a virgin?”

“I’m not.” Her tone said I’d crossed a line but I was never all that good with boundaries anyway. “And my life is none of your business.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. We didn’t use any protection and given what I know about you, I’m guessing you’re not on birth control.” She could deny me the details of her life but she couldn’t deny that.

The moment it registered on her face, she paled. “If that happens, I’ll figure out how to handle it.”

“That’s not good enough, Elka.” I knew I should have kept my fucking mouth shut, but she couldn’t shut me out of this. If there was athis.I got in her face, willing her to ignore the heat between us and accept my damn apology. Instead, she took a step back. A fearful step.

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