Page 49 of Still The One

‘I’m almost ready to serve dinner,’ Eve says in her terrible accent. ‘Would you like it here or in the dining room?’ She motions toward her tiny kitchen.

A small round wooden dining table and two chairs in different styles and colors sit across from each other against the wall. It’s barely big enough for two microwave dinners.

‘Um—’

In an instant, her demeanor changes, and she reverts to her usual American self.

‘Also, a gentle reminder from Nurse Eve: you were doing really well at my coaching so I didn’t want to ride you about it, but I haven’t seen you up moving at all this afternoon.’

I chuckle softly, unable to hide my amusement. ‘I did sleep away a lot of the day, didn’t I?’

‘You did.’

‘Also, how many different personalities will I be encountering tonight, Miss Cassidy?’

Her broad smile is parenthesized by a charming dimple on the left cheek, which never fails to capture my attention. Her happiness is genuine, and she is enjoying herself immensely this evening. I bet Phil brought wine again.

‘You have control of that remote,’ she says.

‘Yikes. That’s a lot of pressure.’

‘I wish you all the luck. Anyhow… do you feel like taking the adventurous route and hiking your injured butt to the kitchen, or would you rather watch your friends on TV and have a cozy dinner in bed?’ British Eve is back with her witty and playful tone.

Yes, I’ve been watching the tour I’m supposed to be on, via the Red Bull channel. Jeff is coming in first in every single one, and each one irritates me a little more. Time to click this off.

‘I’ll take option one, please,’ I say, matching her energy because I know I’ll ruin her night if I don’t. She’s really trying here, and the least I can do is not be ‘grumpy-in-pain’ guy or ‘talk-about-the-past-and-confess-my sins’ guy.

She extends a hand my way to help me out of her bed. ‘Slowly,’ she reminds me, pulling me into the sitting position, her warm hand resting on my shoulder, providing a comforting support. This part – really every part – is getting easier but if she wants to help, I’m not going to say no. I like her.

‘Whenever you feel ready to stand up, use your knees and lean on me for balance,’ she advises.

‘I never expected you to treat me like?—’

‘A friend?’ She finishes my sentence as I get to my feet. Her hands are lying gently on each bicep and her gaze is on me.

I nod. I was going to say ‘a boyfriend’, because that’s really all I know around her, but she capped that.

‘I guess I expected you to be a little… rougher.’ I laugh, even saying the words.

She smirks. ‘If you act up, I plan on whacking you with this cane. Maybe that’s what you’re feeling?’

‘Maybe it is.’

She keeps a hand on my shoulder as she balances me. ‘You good?’

‘I’m good,’ I say, reaching out to take my cane from her, even though I don’t really need it any more. She was right, walking even short distances a few times a day has me much steadier on my feet than I was. But I also like her fawning over me, so the help is nice. I gesture for her to proceed, and she walks to the stove.

As I follow, the aroma of something delicious fills my nostrils, and I can hear the sizzling sound coming from a pan in the oven. She cooked again?

‘Have you always been this good of a cook?’ I ask, not remembering more than scrambled eggs and toast in our past.

Eve gazes at me, bewildered, as if my question has taken her aback. ‘I, uh—took some cooking classes with someone a couple of years ago and caught the bug.’ The topic of this mysterious ‘someone’ has her suddenly shy.

‘That’s good for me, then. Given that I’m usually on the road, the most convenient option is drive-throughs,’ I explain. ‘I live on fast food or free food at events.’

‘Yum,’ she says with a grimace, setting the plates on the table. She takes the bright blue chair, leaving me with the magenta one. ‘This is way better than fast food. I had to do some digging for this recipe, and you just got lucky enough to end up here on one of the two nights a month I make it.’

‘What is it?’

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