Page 35 of Sheltered By Love

I laugh. “How? If I tell her you’re in my kitchen she’ll want to come to say hello.”

A thoughtful look crosses his brow. “Tell her you’re sick.”

I consider rolling my eyes at him then think better of it. “She just saw me.”

Without warning, Nicki bowls through the door. “Only me, you didn’t answer—”

Her eyes shift from me to Zane, then quickly back to me. “Um, what’s going on?”

Oh no!

Roger’s cage and pen are in plain sight. All she has to do is turn around and she’ll see it.

When Zane just scowls at her and I can’t for the life of me think of a reply, Nicki’s eyes go wide.

“Why are you having dinner together?”

I swallow hard as Zane attempts to cover. “We aren’t. The stove’s on the fritz again. I’m here to fix it.”

Her eyes narrow as she looks at the pot bubbling away. “Looks like it’s working fine to me,” she says.

Zane stands with his arms crossed, looking irritated as she assesses us both.

From the expression on her face I know if I don’t convince her there’s nothing untoward going on, there’ll be all sorts of rumors flying around about me and Zane.

“The element only burns hot, it boils everything,” I say.

As far as fibs go it’s not a great one. But the water is bubbling so furiously she can’t see the pasta already in the pot.

Zane turns slowly and starts twisting the knobs on the other three elements. “And these go fine?”

I nod and step closer, my hands getting clammy as Nicki stares at us. “They seem to. It’s not a big deal, but after the blackout the other night, I thought it was worth mentioning.”

“Got it. Well, I can’t do anything tonight. I’ll need to get Jax’s guy to take a look. But I can probably ask him to next week.”

Even though it’s a fake problem my reply comes out annoyed. “That’s not ideal,” I say.

I think I see a faint hint of mirth dancing on his face. “You have three other elements that work just fine.”

Nicki snorts. “Yes, but she should have four, Zane. That’s what the rental agreement states. That’s what she should get.”

He can’t exactly argue. “Fine. I’ll call him tomorrow.”

With a glance at me, he does an awkward sidestep, probably in an attempt to keep Nicki’s eyes on him and not on Roger’s pen.

The second he’s out the back door she turns on me, her voice high-pitched with excitement. “What’s going on?”

I shift my weight and smile as I try to think of a way to get her out of the kitchen. “I need to check on Roger. I had to shove him out here in a hurry,” I say.

She follows me outside, a ball of barely contained anticipation. “Zane’s been spending a lot of time over here, I hear.”

I frown, heart jumping in my chest as I call Roger and pick him up as he hops to me. “Who did you hear that from?”

She shrugs, but her smile is growing wider by the second. “Oh, word gets around. A lot of things need fixing, do they?”

At the inference, I do a Zane impression and scowl at her. “What are you getting at?”

I’d like to ask her to leave, and I need to check on the pasta, but I can’t risk going inside again, or she’ll have another reason to think something is going on.

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