Page 16 of Four-ever Single

“Do you want to FaceTime me?” she offered as I added everything in and did exactly what she said.

“I think I got it, but thank you. If you hear on the news that a fire station comes down with food poisoning two nights in a row, you’ll know it was me.”

“You gave everyone food poisoning last night?!” she gasped.

“No,” I said with a laugh. “That one wasn’t my fault. But we got called in today because the crew from last night all got it. I’m hoping I can make it through dinner tonight without making anyone sick.”

“Best of luck. Call back if you need anything.”

“Will do, thanks, Calli.”

I hung up the phone and stared at the stove, praying for divine intervention to make tonight’s meal an actual success.

“THIS IS GOOD, JONES,” Capshaw said, pushing a forkful of noodles into his mouth.

“Thank you,” I replied quietly, lowering my head as heat flamed across my cheeks and spread over my ears. It was still an odd feeling for me to accept any sort of praise, given I grew up most of my life without it. It was easier—and more comforting—to hear what I had done wrong and to be reassured about what a fuck up I was.

“Where did you learn how to make beef stroganoff?” Nate asked, a genuine interest reflected on his face.

“My friend Dylan’s girlfriend is an amazing cook and runs this fun restaurant in Whiskey Mountain. I’ve chatted with her a handful of times about cooking, and she usually comes to the rescue. When I told her what I had done with the seasonings, it was her idea to turn it into beef stroganoff. I’m honestly surprised it came together and was edible.” I laughed nervously.

“Not to be a dick, but me too,” Capshaw agreed with a grin. “It was starting to look a little worrisome when I saw you smell the sour cream a dozen times to see if it was still good.”

“I don’t ever eat that stuff. How was I supposed to know?” I shrugged and took another bite before reaching for the garlic bread I had accidentally burned. At least one part of the meal was edible, and no one really cared about the bread as they devoured the stroganoff. It was Calli’s idea to add the bread as a side, which was needed given how quickly the stroganoff was going.

“Well, either way, it all worked out. Thanks for dinner.” Nate stood up and cleared his plate before loading it into the dishwasher.

Soon, the room started to clear out, leaving Capshaw and me as the last two.

“So, what’s going on with you and Bella?” he asked, cutting straight to the chase as I added the dishwasher pod and pressed start.

“Umm,” I hesitated, folding my arms over my chest as I leaned against the counter. “I don’t know. We’ve hooked up a few times but haven’t labeled it. She doesn’t want to tell anyone about us right now, but I don’t know what that means for the future. Whether we’ll be hook-up buddies or something more, who knows.”

“What do you want?”

I raised an eyebrow and pinned him with a look. He knew what I wanted with Bella. It wasn’t like I could hide anything from Capshaw, even if I wanted to. I had only been obsessing over her for who knew how long now.

“So why don’t you tell her?”

“Tell her what?”

“That you have feelings for her and want more than a no-strings-attached fling.”

“And what? Scare her off? No way.”

“So you’d rather act like you’re good with just hooking up when you really want more than that? That’s not fair to you, Jones.”

“Yeah, but it’s not fair to push her into a relationship either. If she doesn’t want that level of commitment right now, that’s fine. I’ll take whatever she gives me.”

“And what if you’re not the only guy she’s doing that with?” he challenged, making my veins heat as the blood rushed through them at the thought.

I swallowed hard, forcing down the bile before I answered.

“I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. She didn’t mention anything about seeing anyone else, so I’m not going to jump down rabbit holes and assume she’s going to start.”

He lowered his head and shook it.

“That’s your call. I’d just hate to see you get hurt.”

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