Page 26 of Wreck Me
His favorite.
Something squeezed at his heart, a feeling he didn’t recognize. Must have been that spicy sauce in that one Thai dish.
“You made cherry pie?”
She nodded as she sat with a plate in hand. “Oh,”—she snapped her fingers—“would you like some coffee? I can get you some.” She rose and started to walk to the kitchen.
He reached out and snagged her wrist before she walked past him. “Hey, Megan. Stop. I don’t need coffee and I don’t need you to be a hostess. It’s my damn house and you’re my guest.”
When she looked down at him, he couldn’t make out what she was thinking. His words had come out a bit sharper than intended but it pissed him off that she felt like she had to serve him. He tugged on her wrist and tempered his tone. “Just sit down, okay? Eat some pie with me?”
“Sure.”
When she sat back down and began to dig into her slice, Aidan took a bite and almost moaned. Holy shit, that was good. The cherries had the right amount of tartness and the crust was incredible. It was cooked perfectly, flaky and light.
“Did you make this crust?”
Megan nodded. “I can’t cook, but I did learn to bake. My aunt—the one who raised Nate and me—was a whiz in the kitchen. We used to make cookies together and as I got older she taught me other things. So this recipe is hers.”
“This is better than my mother’s. But don’t tell her I said that,” he said around a bite he couldn’t help but shovel in his piehole.
With a laugh, she covered her mouth and held up three fingers. “I won’t say a word. Scout’s honor.” She shrugged a shoulder. “You already had the can of filling. I was surprised to see you had the other staples I needed.”
He finished chewing the bite in his mouth before addressing her raised eyebrow. “Why does that surprise you?”
“Well, most single guys I know don’t keep a ton in their kitchens. My brother has a stocked kitchen but only because he has people making sure he has the right food to stay in shape. I don’t know. I was just pleasantly surprised.”
First, he wondered what her brother did that he had people to keep his kitchen stocked. But on the heels of that, the clenching in his stomach when she mentioned other guys was not a welcome feeling.
They ate in silence for a few moments, and Aidan couldn’t help his gaze wandering her direction. Every time that little pink tongue popped to lick her lips, his pants grew tighter in the crotch. It was pure torture sitting next to her with his palms itching to reach out and touch her.
Or to spread her out across the table and haveherfor dessert.
He coughed to cover a groan and shoveled more pie in his mouth.
When they finished, Aidan leaned back in his chair, a hand over his stomach. “That was amazing. Thank you for making that. It’s been a while since I’ve had it.”
Megan leaned forward on the table, dropping her chin into her hand. “I didn’t know what else I could do to thank you for putting up with me. I can tell you’re the type of guy who prefers to be alone with peace and quiet. And I’ve sort of crashed that party.”
“I do like my solitude. It’s peaceful after a day at work that can sometimes be trying. But I’m not going to let you be homeless, Megan. You needed a place, I had a place.” He shrugged. “I was happy to help.”
Well, happy may not have been the best word at first. But even though it had only been a little over forty-eight hours, he’d already gotten used to having her in his cabin. He didn’t know if he was more pissed off about getting used to her being there or not.
She rubbed her hands on the tops of her thighs and he did his best to keep his eyes from following their track up and down that long length of thigh. He swallowed hard and tapped his finger against the plate. “Let me help you clean all this up.”
She stood and picked up her plate. “I got this. You said something about paperwork.”
Oh yeah, he had said that.
“It can wait.”
They worked in a comfortable silence as though they’d done the domestic chore of cleaning the kitchen together for years.
Megan dried her hands on a towel and turned to him, shifting her feet. “Well, I guess that’s it.”
He didn’t want her to leave. The thought of their time being over for the night left him cold and—dare he say?—lonely. A sense of urgency washed over him when she turned toward the bedroom.
“Hey, want to take a walk down to the lake with me? We could take a couple of beers, enjoy the cool, night air.”And I’m not quite ready to let you go.
