Page 25 of Affinity

“Fried chicken sounds good.” I licked my lips just thinking about it.

Abbi’s eyes tracked my tongue as it swiped along the seam of my lips. “I . . . I can do that and make some mashed potatoes, green beans with garlic, and some biscuits.”

I groaned at the sound of our would-be dinner. Growing up with my father, he never cooked. It was either a frozen meal, or we ate out.

“Great,” she chirped and jumped up. “I’ll get right on it.”

As she started to walk away, the creamy skin of her legs was exposed by her shorts riding up. I noticed four small bruises on her leg and wanted to ask her about them, but she darted inside before I had a chance to open my mouth. It made me wonder how I hadn’t noticed them earlier. Had she hidden them somehow, or had she gotten them earlier at the store?

Chapter Eleven

Abbi

“Are you going to continue to avoid me?” Reeves asked, breaking me out of my cooking fog. I didn’t want to admit it, but I had been avoiding him since his eyes zeroed in on the bruises on my leg last night. Every time it seemed like he was going to mention it, I interrupted him or walked out of the room. It was childish, but I didn’t want to talk about how the bruises got there or the sex we both couldn’t remember.

“Is there a point to what you’re going to ask?”

He jerked back as if I’d slapped him. “Yeah, there is. I want to know if it was me who put those bruises on you or some other asshole.”

“You’re the only asshole who’s put bruises on me. Now can we drop it?” I wanted to turn back to frying up the bacon, not liking the way he was looking at me with his eyes zeroed in on where the bruises were hidden underneath my clothes. I was just glad he hadn’t seen the other side with its matching bruises.

“I feel strange not talking about it. I did that to you.” He crossed his arms over his chest and then grabbed the back of his neck.

It was sweet that he was concerned about me, but it wasn’t necessary. I was sure if I could remember how I got those bruises, the experience I would remember would have been quite enjoyable. I hated I couldn’t remember the one time I’d ever have sex with Reeves Jenner.

I turned back to the stove. “It’s fine,” I amended my comment. “I’m fine, so justpleasedrop it.”

He was quiet for a few moments before he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry if that means anything, and if you ever want to talk about it, then I’m here.”

“Thank you. I hope you like bacon,” I said to change the subject. “I thought we could eat it with the leftover biscuits from last night if that sounds good to you.”

“I may not have liked the idea of you moving in or us having to stay married, but I have to admit, you cooking for me is worth whatever else happens.”

At least he was honest about not liking our circumstances.

“I think you’re getting more out of this than me. All I get is this gorgeous place to rest my head for the next three hundred and sixty odd days,” I joked.

“Let’s agree to disagree,” he let out a light chuckle. “What do you have planned for today?”

Plating the bacon, I pulled the biscuits out of the oven where they were warming before I placed them on the bar. “I think Catherine is sending over an email with some work for me to do. One thing I can promise you is I won’t be leaving the house.” I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to work up the nerve to leave alone. I was already thinking about asking Catherine if I could work remotely. Even though I was pretty sure she would fire me if I brought it up. “What about you?”

He pulled apart a biscuit and piled bacon on it until it was two inches thick before he placed the top back on. His cheeks actually looked pink when he looked up. “Levi is dropping something off, but that’s all I have planned right now. Tomorrow I’m expected on set bright and early.” He took one bite out of his sandwich, and it was nearly half gone. After chewing for a minute, he took a sip of his coffee. “It’s like they’re punishing me for having time off. I’ll be gone before the sun comes up so you’ll have the house all to yourself.”

Sucks for him, but it would be nice to be able to walk around and maybe snoop a little bit. Maybe after a day to myself, this place would seem a little more like home.

“Do you care if I have Sophie over after she gets off work?” I slathered butter on my biscuit before I broke apart my bacon and added it. After I got nothing but silence, I looked up to a frustrated-looking Reeves. “What’s going on?”

He shook his head. “This is your house for the next year. You don’t have to ask every time you want someone to come over, Abbi.”

“Cool, I’ll have her over. If you let me know when you’ll be home, I’ll make sure to have dinner ready,” I said with a little more pep in my voice than I meant to. I only wanted to reduce the sudden tension in the room.

Bracing his elbows on the table, Reeves’ lips turned down. “One thing you’ll learn about shooting schedules is they are never reliable. I can text you when I think I’ll be finished closer to the end of the day or when I’m done, whichever works for you.” He shrugged. “I understand that’s not a whole lot of time, but it’s all I can do.”

Him getting a warm meal every night didn’t sound too promising, but this was his life, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

“I understand. If I get a roundabout time, then I can try to make sure dinner is ready around then, and I can keep it in the warmer until you get home. No problem.”

See, I could be amenable. When I woke up that morning, I decided I wouldn’t let Reeves get to me. If I played nicely, then hopefully, he would, and it seemed to be working.

---