Page 9 of Stick Side
She pulled open the refrigerator to see if there was anything inspiring to be found within—unsurprisingly, there wasn’t—before she pulled knives and serving spoons out of a drawer.
When she and Eric had first become friends, soon after she’d moved to Chicago last year, she’d learned never to put him in charge of snacks. The inevitable result would be burnt popcorn, stale candy, and her choice of beer or the wine he kept on hand for when his sisters visited.
Melody had quickly taken over all the food-related tasks in their relationship. Eric certainly hadn’t complained.
Melody flipped on one of her playlists before washing some sweet potatoes, patting them dry, and moving them over to a cutting board where she proceeded to slice them into thin rounds. She tapped her foot in time with the music and hummed a harmony.
She glanced up from her chopping when she heard the quiet footfalls of someone entering the kitchen.
“Hey,” Ben greeted in that deeply masculine baritone of his.
“Hi,” she returned. She was grateful she’d heard him coming. Otherwise, she might have been at risk of chopping off a finger.
Melody was struck anew by what an attractive man Ben was. He was a work of finely sculpted art without his shirt on, but he certainly did his designer clothing proud. The practical manner in which he’d rolled up the cuffs of his button-down shirt to reveal his muscled forearms was enough to make her salivate.
Her breath hitched.Really? Even his forearms are appealing?
“Can I offer you a hand?” Ben interrupted her thoughts before she could venture too deeply down the rabbit hole of admiration.
Melody could feel another blush starting. She didn’t think she’d been too obvious in checking him out—this time—but she couldn’t be certain. She’d been around her fair share of good-looking men, but there was a quality about Benjamin Logan that made her lose herself to her baser instincts.
Good grief. Pull yourself together, Melody!If she didn’t learn to stop blushing around this man, he might start to think she had some type of medical condition.
“Well, I don’t know,” she said conversationally, in response to his offer to help. “How are you in the kitchen?”
Melody practically sighed in relief. Somehow, she’d managed to complete an intelligent sentence despite the sexiness he was exuding.
Ben smiled as he moved closer. Based on the way he was surveying the space and the items she’d laid out on the counter, she would guess that he was trying to figure out what she was making.
“Sweet potato nachos with chickpeas, creamed corn, and pasture-raised turkey bacon,” she shared in response to his unasked question.
“Marry me.”
Her eyes flared. “I beg your pardon?” she sputtered.
Ben offered a teasing smile as he made his way over to the sink, pumped some soap onto his hands, and gave them a thorough scrub. “Surely, you must be used to daily marriage proposals if this is any example of what you make for simple after-game meetups.”
Was he probing to see if tonight’s movie night bore any special significance? She couldn’t be sure.
When Ben turned off the faucet and looked around for something to dry his hands with, she bent over and pulled a hand towel from its usual place on one of the drawer handles before passing it over to him.
“Thank you,” Ben said as he sopped up the moisture and then stepped around her to replace the towel.
“You’re welcome.”
They both smiled. Based on the way they were surveying one another, Melody couldn’t help but suspect they were each trying to get the other’s measure.
“So how can I help?” Ben asked, effectively breaking the silence.
“We have yet to establish that I’m going to let you help me,” she said with what she thought was rather impressive flirtatious charm.
If the warm glint in his eyes was any indication, Ben must have agreed.
“Well, I won’t win any Michelin stars, but my mom assures me that I make a highly competent sous chef.”
“Your mom does, does she?” Melody asked with a smile that seemed to keep widening the longer she spent in his company.How cute was he?
“Yup. I can peel and chop with the best of them.”
