Page 28 of Cozy Girl Fall
“If you always cook like this, I might just have to keep you around.” He grinned before taking another bite and she couldn’t help but feel a little smug as he hummed his enjoyment while eating. “So I told you I minored in culinary art.”
“Yeah.” She eyed him warily, wondering where this was going.
“What I didn’t tell you is that I’m anawfulcook. Nicolo is the only reason I passed the course.” He laughed at the shocked look on her face. “You want me to create a mock-up of a versatile, multi-functionalspace with art nouveau styling? I’m your guy. Crème brûlée? Casserole? Not so much.”
Her laugh surprised her and she put her silverware down to sip her drink so she didn’t choke. “You can’t make casserole? It’s like, the easiest dish in the world. You basically just chuck everything in one deep dish and put it in the oven.”
“You make it sound so simple,” he mused. “I suppose it would seem easy to you; my girl has talent by the bucketload.”
My girl.He’d said it flippantly, as though it was the most natural thing in the world for him to call her that. So why did the words make her heart beat faster? Squashing the feeling down, she raised an eyebrow at his goofy behavior. “Were you sneaking wine in the kitchen when I wasn’t looking?”
“No.” He smiled and it faded slightly when he added, “I’ve just missed having you around. You being here … it’s nice. It’s more than I thought I’d ever get to have with you again.” She looked away, guilt stirring, and he seemed to sense it because his hand covered hers on the table. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad, Penny. I’m just saying … I’m happy you’re here.”
The room looked a tad blurry as she blinked. “Me too.”
Their conversation continued as they ate, feeling more comfortable after Ethan’s words, and Penny stretched contentedly when her plate was clear. “Ihope you don’t expect me to clean up. You don’t need a minor in culinary arts to be good at washing up.”
Ethan laughed and the sound caught her off guard, melting through any lingering defenses. It had been a long time since she’d heard him laugh like that, carefree and deep, just genuine joy. “Well, maybe you can show me how to cook like you sometime.”
“Maybe,” she mused, a smile tipping up her mouth. “We could start with casserole and work our way up from there. I was only kidding though. Do you want a hand washing the dishes?”
“Nah, that’s what I have a dishwasher for.”
She blinked. “You’re not planning on putting that skillet in there are you? That needs to be hand-washed.”
He waved off her concern as he stood. “It’s survived in there once, it’ll survive again.”
She stood with him, reaching to catch his arm before he could head back to the kitchen. “No, it’s OK, I’d rather just clean it for you.” Her words faltered as she realized how close they were standing and she let go of him, her fingers grazing his arm.
Not a date. Not a date. Not a date.
She could smell his aftershave, count the freckles on his face, feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest against hers as the scant distance between them fell away. She wasn’t sure who moved first, and in that moment she didn’t care.
Their lips met, once, twice. A tingling, curlingsensation rose up from her lower belly to her chest and her doubts fell away as his tongue coaxed her mouth open. A plate fell to the floor and she barely noticed, the crash sounding like it was a million miles away. Her hands were in his hair, tugging at the soft strands, and his lifted her up with his palms under her ass as she linked her legs around his waist.
Ethan tasted sweet, like the honey from dinner, and when his tongue stroked hers she moaned breathlessly, loving the way his hands tightened on her body at the sound.
His fingertips dug into her ass, kneading and grasping frantically as his mouth devoured hers, the taste of him wrapped up in all of her senses until she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began, only that she neededmore.
As if he could read her mind, Ethan lowered her onto the table, pushing the remaining dinnerware out of the way and not even flinching when it hit the floor as his hands traced up the sides of her body. Her legs around his waist pulled him closer just as his hand found the edge of her bra beneath her shirt and bypassed it completely, squeezing over the cup until her nipples ached for his mouth.
They were pressed together, his hardness jutting into her as they tasted each other’s mouths and then the seam from her pants pressed intojustthe right spot.
“Ethan,” she gasped, and he moaned in return, hips rocking into her and pressing her clit against that seamagain and again until she cried out, trembling, and his shout was hoarse as his own release followed, triggered by hers.
Her head was swimming and she blinked a few times to get the dizziness to abate as she tried to reclaim her breath. God, he’d made her come harder with their clothes still on than any other guy had managed with her clothesoff.
As her heart slowed to its natural rhythm, Ethan lifted himself up and away and she caught a glimpse of the blush in his cheeks and the wet spot in his jeans where he’d come.
The room was in disarray, silverware and plates on the floor, and the remains of her soda was spreading across the table, the ends of her hair getting caught in the puddle as she sat up.
What had they just done? Dry humped like goddamn teenagers on his dining room table? But she couldn’t deny that it had feltgood.
Ethan cleared his throat, like he was just as taken aback by their display as she was. “You, uh, don’t have to sleep with the boss to get the job by the way.” It was a lame attempt at humor but she tried to smile anyway as she accepted his hand off of the table. Tried, and failed. Because now that her mind was thinking clearly again, she knew this had been a mistake. It was one thing for her to break her own heart when she left Magnolia Springs again in a few months’ time, but to mess around with Ethan’s? Unacceptable.
“Tasha’s going to kill me,” she muttered and Ethan’s eyes narrowed in on her like he’d heard the words.
“What does my sister have to do with—”
