Page 47 of Fragile Touch (Fragile 1)
“It’s the least I could do.”
“You’ve gotten more formal, Andrew.”
“No way.” He winked and took the flowers from her. “Where should these go?”
“On the table. Put them at one end so we can still see each other while we eat.” She closed the door and led the men into the kitchen. “The stew’s almost done, so make yourselves at home and I’ll bring everything over.”
Cayden started to say something, but Lillian’s attention was taken by the simmering stew and her long-lost friend. “I’ll help,” said Andrew.
“You can help by sitting down.”
“I’ll fix drinks.”
“I shouldn’t argue with you, should I?”
“You know better than to do that, missy.”
Lillian stuck her tongue out. “The glasses are in that cabinet. I have a bottle of wine if you two want any, but who knows how old it is.”
“Don’t drink much anymore?”
Her gaze darted to Cayden. “Not much at all.”
Cayden snorted, but it got no reaction from Andrew. “Is it because of your stomach? Mom told me you were doing better.”
“Yeah. I’ve got it pretty much under control, though. Avoiding trigger foods and too much stress.”
Andrew laughed dramatically. “You? Lillian? Stressed? Never!”
“Would you shut up?” She flicked a green pea at him and he dodged it. “Hey, you’re not on any weird dietary restrictions or anything, are you?”
“Actually, I’m veg now.”
Lillian’s eyes widened to dinner-plate size. “Oh, shit.”
“What is it?”
“This is beef and vegetable stew.”
Neither of them moved, and neither of them noticed Cayden staring awkwardly from a few steps away. “Listen, I’ve got some things here that you can eat because I don’t eat meat every day. Do you like—”
“Lillian! Chill out. I’m just kidding.”
She froze again. “What!” Lunging forward, she slapped his shoulder and pushed him away. “That was not funny! Cayden, please look after this one. He’s a troublemaker.”
“I can imagine,” Cayden grunted.
Andrew fixed the drinks and poured the wine while Cayden folded three napkins over and over again. In a few minutes everything was ready and they sat at the table over stew, salad, and bread. Lillian and Andrew dominated most of the next hour’s conversation.
After the chatting hit the nightly lull, Cayden stacked the plates and carried them to the sink.
“I’ll wash,” Andrew protested.
“I have a dishwasher, you nut.” Lillian followed Cayden and turned on the water. “Let’s rinse them and put them in.”
“I can do it,” he said, giving her a little smile.
In that moment she realized he hadn’t spoken much during the evening. “Are you sure?”
