Page 52 of Mountain Wood

Dean stiffens and looks down at his food. His mood darkens a little, which makes me wonder if I’ve said something wrong. Did I offend him? Is he a big scrambled eggs fan?

“I’ve never really gotten sick of something like that,” he says quietly, taking a careful bite of his sandwich. “I just eat whatever is around and am happy to have something in my belly.”

“But don’t you have favorite dishes?”

“I love roast beef.” He shrugs and takes another bite. “And lasagna.” He chews slowly and swallows. “But I don’t think I could eat them three times a day for months.”

“Oh! I’ll have to take you to this adorable little Italian place in—” I stop talking and backtrack. I can’t offer to take him places in the future.

There isn’t a future between us.

I place the quesadilla back in the box and close the lid.

“Wow.” Dean chuckles. “Did I just witness you getting sick of a food that fast?”

I’m not going to tell him what’s made me lose my appetite. It’ll make me look pathetic and dramatic. “I’m going to freshen up the bathroom.” Pushing away from the table, I feel his gaze burn on my back as I quickly gather my shopping bags and leave him to his meal.

He comes in a moment later, finding me wiping down the counter and folding towels, arranging them how I want.

“Redecorating?”

“Staging.” Slipping by him, I ignore how good he smells, and grab my ring light and tripod from my bedroom. “Scoot.”

Dean moves out of the way and watches me set up the bathroom. “This is a lot of equipment for one video.”

“The lighting isn’t the best this time of day, so we’ve got to make adjustments.”

“I’ve never put this much work into a video before.”

Biting my tongue, so I don’t say something insulting likethat’s why you’re an amateur and I’m a pro, I grip him by the waist and maneuver him in front of the mirror. “Stand here and don’t move.” It takes me about three minutes to get everything perfect. “Okay.”

Dean gawks at me through the mirror. “Okay, what?”

“Give me your phone.”

He pulls it out of his pocket and hands it over. I set it up on the tripod and prop mine on the sink. “We’ll have two angles to work with. Three would be better, but let’s see what we can get with this.”

I already have a new razor and shaving cream set out for him.

“What do you want me to do?” He glances at the arrangement. “Shave?”

“Just do what you normally do in the morning. That’s all. Think of it as your first get ready with me video.”

He cocks an eyebrow. Instead of arguing, however, he turns on the faucet.

“Wait!” I double check to make sure both videos are recording. “Okay, you’re good.” I stand out of his way and wait. He doesn’t do anything. “Dean. Shave and use the beard oil.”

His hand trembles when he reaches for the razor.

Oh my god, is he nervous? No way. This man makes the greatest sexy videos all the time, why would he be nervous now? “What’s wrong?”

“This is too staged. I don’t feel right.”

“How would you do it?”

His cheeks blaze red, and that color goes straight down his neck to disappear under his flannel. “Umm. I guess I just wing it.”

“Then wing it.”

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