Page 35 of The Executive Assistant

“Are you hungry? We could cook dinner together.”

Cameron snapped out of his daze and nodded to me. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

We decided to make pasta. Most of the time, I orderedfood, because it saved time, which meant more time to work on my business. But today, I didn’t feel the need to maximize every minute.

We took our time, laughing as we moved around the kitchen. It wasn’t long before a delicious, savory smell filled the kitchen, making my stomach rumble.

“I’m starving,” I said.

Cameron wrapped his arms around my waist as he stood behind me. He was tall enough to rest his chin on the top of my head, but he still had to lean down to do so. “You didn’t eat much today.”

“There’s been a lot of work to do.”

“There’s always a lot of work to do,” Cameron pointed out.

I turned around in his arms, my hands moving to rest on his biceps. “I don’t want to talk about work. I want to talk about what we’re going to watch while we eat.”

Cameron lifted an eyebrow at me as he glanced in the direction of the dining room. It was still in the main area with the living room, but it would’ve been inconvenient to try and watch television from where the dining table was situated. “We’re not going to eat at the table? Or the island?”

“Not unless you want to. It’s usually just me eating here, and I hate eating in silence, so I like watching TV while eating,” I explained. I hoped that didn’t sound too pathetic.

Cameron smiled. “I know what you mean.”

“So, what do you like to watch?” I asked him, coming upon something that I didn’t know about him. We didn’t exactly take the time to chat about pop culture and media at work.

Cameron released me so that he could check on the boiling pasta. “Anything anxiety-inducing.”

A surprised laugh broke from me as I grabbed a strainer from one of my lower kitchen cabinets. “Anxiety inducing? You like watching things that stress you out?”

Cameron smirked and followed me to the sink with the pot in his hands. “It doesn’t stress me out, but it might stress other people out.”

“Like drama? Or horror?” I asked, holding the strainer steady as he poured the water out of the pot. Cooked noodles tumbled into the strainer, which I gently shook to get the rest of the water out.

“I like both,” Cameron said as we returned to the stove, completing the last step of combining the noodles with our simmering Alfredo sauce. “But let’s go in the middle. Thrillers.”

I nudged him with a pleased smile. “I love thrillers. There’s actually this new TV show I was wanting to check out. Want to try that?”

“Sounds perfect,” Cameron replied, his face brightening. “You know, I kind of pegged you as a crime drama type.”

I shrugged. “When I’m in the mood for it. Thrillers aremy favorite, though. Something about the suspense.”

Cameron held my gaze for a few seconds. There was a shift in his expression, but I couldn’t properly read it before he looked away to toss the noodles in our sauce. “I think we did a pretty damn good job.”

“Only one way to find out,” I said as I plucked a fork from my silverware drawer. I swirled a small bundle of noodles around it and offered the bite to Cameron.

Cameron gently took hold of my wrist, steadying my hand as he tasted our concoction. “That’s great.”

I smiled, letting him take the fork from my hand to return the favor. My eyes met his as my lips wrapped around the fork, desire briefly flashing in his eyes. “Wow. That’s probably the best Alfredo I’ve made.”

“Probably had something to do with me,” Cameron replied.

Laughter bubbled from me as I shook my head at him. I didn’t fully realize how quiet my home had been until he showed up.

This was all so… domestic. It was a strange feeling, but it wasn’t unwelcome. Growing up, there were nice moments when I saw my parents hanging out in the kitchen together, whether they were making coffee in the morning or cooking dinner at night. I remembered watching them from the dining table while eating breakfast or doing homework, enjoying the peace of the moment.

“You okay?” Cameron asked as he tilted his head.

I snapped out of my distant memories, not realizing that I had been quiet for so long. “Yeah, sorry. Let’s eat.”

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