Page 66 of I Knead You Tonight

I don’t know why he decided to take it upon himself to help me, but I won’t let him get away with it. I’ll repay him one day. I don’t know how yet, but I will.

“How?”

“No wonder my dad won’t let you into the kitchen. You can’t even make the most basic meal ever.”

I peel my attention from the platter I’m arranging and train it on Winston. I was so deep in my own head, I didn’t even realize I spoke out loud.

“What are you jabbering about?”

“I asked you to start the mac and cheese and you just asked me how.”

“Oh.” I wipe my hands across my apron and cross the room. “I wasn’t paying you any attention. Also”—I snatch the blue box from his hands—“I amnotmaking that shit. I’ll make it from scratch.”

He scowls at me. “Hey! That was expensive.”

“It was likely less than a dollar. You can afford it.”

“What’s wrong with the boxed stuff?”

“Everything.”

“You telling me you’ve never eaten boxed mac and cheese before?”

“Of course I have,” I say, sliding past him and to the pantry. “But I’m not feeling it today. I want to make something nice for our friends.”

That and I love any excuse to create in the kitchen. I don’t get to do it much with Simon kitchen-blocking me at work, so I’ll take it where I can get it.

He sighs. “Remind me again why we’re having a cookout?”

“We’re having a baby shower.”

“But you’re not pregnant. Or is there something you need to share?”

I look at him pointedly, because the fucker knows I most definitely am not pregnant, then go back to rooting around for the ingredients for the mac and cheese. “It’s a postnatal baby shower.”

“Aren’t baby showers supposed to happenbeforeyou have the baby?”

“Technically, yes, but that didn’t happen.”

“Because you’re stubborn,” he reminds me for the billionth time. “You didn’t want anyone to buy you gifts because you didn’t want to come off as ‘needy’ even though literally everyone has baby showers.”

“You don’t sound annoyed by this at all,” I sass.

“You drive me crazy. You make everything ten times more complicated because you don’t want to be complicated. You’re the most counterproductive person ever.”

“That’s not true.”

“You’re literally making mac and cheese from scratch when there is a perfectly good box of it right here.”

He shakes said box at me, and I snatch it from his hands, tossing it into the trash can.

“Drew!”

“What?” I say innocently. “It’s garbage. I just put it where it belongs.”

The doorbell chimes, and Winston starts for the door to let our guests in, shaking his head and muttering about how annoying I am.

“Annoying or not, we’re about to have some bomb-ass mac and cheese!” I call after him.

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