Page 59 of Steal My Breath Away

“I didn’t realize we weren’t talking when you were complaining about the customers after your shift,” he said casually. “Or when you told me you had a meeting with a prof but not what it was about. Or when you were telling me about what you were going to eat when we got home, how much laundry you had to do, and how many tests and assignments are due next week.”

Had I said all those things? There was so much more going on in my head, I thought I’d barely spoken to him, and I was even more irritated that I hadn’t been able to keep my mouth closed enough to make him suffer my silence for manhandling me at the station when it wasn’t even necessary.

“Did you salt the water?” Ace asked Aditi as he peered into the pot.

“Is that a thing?”

“Yes.” He pulled out the salt shaker. “Have you started the sauce?”

“Do you mean have I opened the jars?”

Ace looked over at the jars of spaghetti sauce lined up on the counter and grimaced. “How about I make something that has taste and isn’t full of sugar?”

Aditi held up her hands and took a step back. “Be my guest. I have no complaints if you want to cook.”

“I’m happy to help. You can both sit down and relax and talk to each other, because Haley isn’t talking to me.”

“That’s because you were bossy and overprotective.”

Ace snorted a laugh. “That is the literal description of a bodyguard.”

“I liked fake boyfriend Ace better,” I muttered under my breath.

“Boyfriend Ace isn’t being paid a lot of money to keep you safe. Boyfriend Ace didn’t spend four years in the military, six months of security training, and two years in the field to get the experience to make the call about whether someone is a threat or not. Boyfriend Ace was forced to take drastic action because he knew you wouldn’t follow the rules and he needed to get youto a safe place.” Ace gathered up some tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, and spices and then shot me a smug look. “Feel free to thank me anytime.”

“Oh my God. Did something happen?” Aditi looked from me to Ace and back to me.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” I said. “Some guy got into the station and was wandering around. He said he had an interview, but Dante was out of town. Ace thought it was suspicious and tried to lock me in a closet.”

Aditi laughed. “I hate to say this, but I feel for Ace in that situation. I would never try to lock you in a closet.”

“And that’s why I’m talking to you,” I said. “You understand me.”

“I just have a strong sense of self-preservation.” Aditi took out some plates and cutlery and set the table. “So, did it turn out okay? Was the guy legit?”

“We still don’t know.” Ace chopped the onions with a light, quick touch, Master Chef style. “Dante has been going through the applications but without a name or even a photo, he said it’s hard to tell who it might have been. If it turns out the guy wasn’t legit, someone is going to owe me a big apology. Huge.” He held his arms wide. “I’m talking meals, laundry, shining my shoes, making my bed every morning, maybe a little begging for forgiveness…”

“Never going to happen,” I said. “If an apology is warranted, I might nod my head, but that’s all you’ll get out of me.”

“What do I get if I make you an amazing meal?” he asked, gently teasing. “No one makes spaghetti sauce the way I do.”

“You might get a few words of appreciation.” I knew what he was asking, but I still didn’t feel like myself, and for the last two nights I’d wanted to sleep alone. It made no sense. I was positive the guy who had come into the station had made a genuine mistake about the interview date and Ace had overreacted to the threat, but I couldn’t put it behind me like I usually did. I kept having flashbacks to Ace pounding on the station window,scooping me up and dumping me in the closet. I kept hearing him agree that we’d made a mistake. I kept seeing his face when he said he thought I could do better. I kept waking up at night with my heart pounding and my body drenched in sweat.

“Where did you learn to cook?” Aditi asked him.

“From Haley’s dad. He was a chef. They had gourmet meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Her family very kindly let me hang out after school when my grandmother was at work, and I spent a lot of time there because I was friends with her brother Matt. Haley and I would be her dad’s sous-chefs in the kitchen. He taught me everything I know about cooking, and this sauce was his specialty.”

Dad.I didn’t talk about him. I tried not to think about him, but Ace had brought him back into my life, and the last thing I needed right now was a taste of his special marinara. My stomach tightened and my appetite disappeared in an instant. It was all I could do to stay at the table.

“I didn’t know your dad was a chef,” Aditi said. “And why didn’t I know you had a brother?”

“They’ve both passed,” I said, my voice tight. “I don’t talk about them.”

“I’m so sorry.” Aditi squeezed my hand. “Is that why you don’t like to cook?”

“She was too busy singing, dancing, and getting into trouble to spend time in the kitchen when her father wasn’t around,” Ace interjected, coming in for the save. “Biking on dangerous trails, climbing tall trees, playing with her brother’s toys, dressing up in her mom’s clothes, stealing cookies from the pantry, dropping water balloons on Matt and me when we came home from school…”

“I like to think of it as a curiosity about the world.” I shot him a grateful look as the moment of darkness passed, but that unsettled feeling I’d had all weekend just got worse.

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