Page 23 of Wild Desire

Would she regret not having done more with her career? Or was she content to watch her brother fulfill his dreams?

I took care of business and then met her in the kitchen. She already had chicken on the counter along with peppers and onions.

Her eyes brightened when she saw me. "Do you like chicken fajitas?"

"Love them."

She grinned, and I was struck again by how little I saw her smile. She was always so serious, probably worried about all herresponsibilities and how she'd meet them. But with me, she was starting to relax.

"Are you able to cut peppers? I was thinking you could lean against the counter."

She hovered nearby while I got into position and picked up the knife. "Thanks for letting me help."

"You're not an invalid. You can help cook a quick and easy dinner."

She wasn't going to be my nurse. She was going to push me, which was exactly what I needed. "You're pretty good at this caregiver stuff."

She laughed as she moved back to the cutting board where she was cutting the raw meat into strips. "I've had lots of practice. Whenever my siblings are sick, I go home and help. If you don't push them a little, they'll stay home from school all the time."

"You'll be a good mom one day." I wasn't sure where that came from. Maybe it was the affection I heard in her voice. I could picture her gently chiding her brother and sister to clean up after themselves or do their homework.

"Oh, I don't know if I want a family."

"Why's that?" I glanced over at her.

Noelle sighed. "I enjoy taking care of my siblings, but I wonder when is it my turn?" She shook her head. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

I lowered my knife to the cutting board. "You're not selfish for wanting something more."

"I'm happy. Content. Really. I don't want anything else. Other than my family to be taken care of."

"They are because they have you in their corner."

"You're sweet," Noelle said, almost dismissively.

"I've never been called sweet before. Surly. Grumpy. Determined. Hard-headed."

Noelle laughed, and I paused my cutting to enjoy the merriment on her face. How often did she let go? What did she do in her spare time?

"You're a nice guy too."

I let out a breath. "That's not what my last girlfriend said. I think she said something like I was too involved in snowboarding to care about her."

She winced. "I'm sure that's not true."

I grunted.

She raised a brow. "Did you ignore her?"

"I was invested in the season, but I could have given her more attention. It's just, I can never tell if someone is there for me or everything else that comes with it. The hotel rooms, the expensive dinners, the sponsors who try to wine and dine me to sign with them."

Her face softened. "That must be hard.

"What about you? Are you seeing anyone?" I sure hoped not.

She shook her head firmly. "No time for that."

"No time ever? Or just lately?" I asked, curious to know more about her.

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