Page 31 of Painting Together a Family
“Me? God, no. I came from the definition of starving artist.” He’d weighed less than one hundred pounds when he’d met his first husband. “I mean, I ate a lot of cereal. Crackers. Whatever was on sale.”
Bry blinked at him. “Wow.” Then he tilted his head. “Would you like to learn?”
“Sure. I mean, I’m not opposed. I like learning things.”
“I’m not a chef or anything, but I can cook. And I know I can teach you how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, if nothing else.” Then Bryan chuckled. “Unless you’re allergic to peanuts, and then it’s probably not a good idea.”
“I’m not allergic to peanuts. And I can put peanut butter on crackers.”
“Well then, peanut butter sandwiches are only a half a step up from that. But seriously, I’ll figure out the brussels sprouts. What else would you like to know how to cook?”
“I haven’t the foggiest. Pizza, I guess? Or chicken parm. The girls love those.”
“Sounds great. I bet we have a blast, even if you wind up hating cooking.” Bry pulled his phone out. “You wanna do this during the day while the kids are in school, or on the weekend, what works for you?”
“What’s best for your schedule? I’m weirdly flexible.”
“Weirdly?” Bry grinned at him. “That’s an odd way to put it. And when the kids are in school would probably be best. We can concentrate on the cooking that way.”
“Sure. Sounds good. You tell me what you need, food-wise, and I’ll have it delivered.”
Bry chuckled. “You don’t want to go shopping together for the stuff? Planning a recipe, doing the shopping, and prepping are all part of cooking.”
“Sure. I mean, you tell me what you want, and I’m in.” That was nice, right? And he wasn’t the least bit adverse to spending more time with the delicious Bry.
“You want to meet on Thursday at the grocery store at ten? Does that work for you?” Bry asked.
“Sure. Totally. Can the boys come over for supper that night? I want us all to enjoy together.”
“That sounds great. We’ll do our cooking while they’re in school, and then I’ll bring them over after school. Thank you.” Bry picked up his mojito and held it out to cheers with him.
“Thank you.” He liked having an excuse to hang out with this handsome, interesting man.
“I’m looking forward to it.” Bry speared his last scallop and closed his eyes as he put it in his mouth. Then he groaned. “Damn, that is so good. I’m going to have to look up how to make this, too.”
“Yeah? That feels crazy complicated.” Possibly even dangerous.
“I know, right? I’m going to look it up, though. Worse that happens is I see the recipe and go, nope.”
“There you go.” He liked that. He loved when someone was brave, interested.
“No matter where I am.” Bry gave him a wink.
He laughed, tickled pink. “You know it.”
Their waiter arrived with their mains, and Bryan groaned, clearly pleased by what he saw.
“Given how good the scallops were, I bet this is delicious, too.” Bryan licked his lips. “I can smell the vinaigrette. How cool is that?”
He grinned as their waiter put his fish and chips in front of him. “Thank you for hanging out. I’m… you’re fascinating.”
“Me? Fascinating?” Bryan shook his head. “You’re the interesting one. I’m just an accountant.”
“I’m allowed to find you fascinating, man.” He winked to prove there was no heat to his words.
Bry laughed, cheeks holding a delightful blush. “You are, you are. I just don’t feel like I am, I guess. You are, though. A bona fide artist. That’s super fascinating.”
“It’s a talent, sure, but so is having a way with numbers.”
