Page 7 of Mateo & Nicole

He pushed away from the wall, prowling toward her. “I beg to differ. Aria’s a great cook, but she prefers making food just for her and Daniel. It’s sorta their thing. My sisters can cook, but you can only eat so many bits of eggshells before you start second-guessing your life’s choices.”

Laughter spilled from her lips, and his smile brightened.

Mateo leaned against the counter, his eyes never leaving her face. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had a really good home-cooked meal?”

“How long?” she said.

“Too long.” The way he was looking at her—the way he was speaking to her—it was messing with her head in a way that was not appropriate at all.

Okay, this was just how Mateo was. He wasn’t being inappropriate with her, but the reaction she was feeling definitely was.

He was her boss! She couldn’t allow herself to become a weak, simpering fool who fell for a man simply because he was gorgeous and charming as all get-out. She wouldn’t jeopardize her job by making things complicated.

4

Mateo

Mateo drank her in. Nikki wore a lightweight sweater and a pair of jeans that hugged every curve of her body. Her hair was pulled back into a haphazard bun atop her head. He knew enough about that style to know it took a lot of work to make it look effortless.

She didn’t wear much makeup. Rather, she leaned into her natural beauty—something that he had a tendency to be drawn to, especially after dating Caroline.

And that laugh!

He could listen to that laugh every day for the rest of his life.

Based on the way she’d pulled back from him so both the kitchen island and the space around it stayed between them, he could tell she was keeping her distance. There were a multitude of reasons that would make sense. The fact that they weren’t exactly close and her friendship with his ex were just a couple of them.

Mateo cocked his head, eyeing her from where he stood. It was funny, really. He’d thought seeing someone from his past would send him into a downward spiral, but that didn’t happen. Either so much time had passed that he’d scarred over and couldn’t feel the pain anymore, or it was Nikki.

She flushed and a smile spread across her face. “What?”

Right. He’d been staring. He probably shouldn’t be doing that. “How do you like your room? I know it’s not much, but?—”

“It’s perfect,” she blurted. “It’s exactly what I needed.” Her blush deepened as she moved closer to him. “But I did need to ask you for something.”

“Anything,” he uttered the word before he realized how it might sound.

Nikki paused only briefly before she nodded. “Great. I want to get a menu planned. I’m sure you have some basic ingredients in the kitchen ready for meals, and I’d like to take stock. Then I can place some orders for specific meals I’d like to put on the menu. I’ll need a notebook?—”

“Notebook? Old-school, huh?” He chuckled.

She didn’t respond with the same lighthearted sound. Instead, her brows pulled together. “Do you… recommend something else?”

He shrugged. “I figured you’d use a computer or something.”

“Oh…” Her voice trailed off, and she pursed her lips together for a moment. “I don’t have a computer. Do you have a system in place already?”

Mateo shook his head. “But if you’d like one, I’m sure we could get something worked out. Do you need a computer?”

She blinked at him like his suggestion was absurd. “I would never ask you to?—”

“It’s part of the job, right? I can’t exactly ask you to cook a meal without an oven.”

“But a computer is different,” she said. “I could just use a regular old notebook?—”

“I’ll get you one from the house. But I’ll also order you a laptop that you can use to keep track of what we have. It’ll be easier to keep things digital.”

The way her face lit up with excitement did something to him that he hadn’t experienced in a long time. Maybe it was the fact that they had a familiarity with one another. Or perhaps it was the fact that he’d harbored a secret attraction to her all those years ago. Either way, he wasn’t going to question it too much.

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