Page 38 of Harmony Island Gazette
“My pleasure,” I said.
With that, she turned and disappeared into the hallway, leaving me wondering what the hell I’d done and how I was ever going to walk away from this woman when the time came.
I was smitten. And if I didn’t get out now, I doubted I would ever be able to.
14
JUNIPER
I dressed in a new pair of leggings and a soft, worn t-shirt. I stood in front of the mirror in my bathroom, brushing my wet hair and staring at my reflection as I went over what had just happened with Boone.
He’d spent the last hour taking care of me more than Kevin had ever taken care of me in the years we’d been together. Kevin would have never held my hair back while I puked. If I’d thrown up in my hair and had been too weak to stand in the shower, he would have just handed me some wipes and told me to take care of it.
But not Boone.
His actions had me all sorts of confused.
For a moment, I allowed myself to think that this was how a man took care of the woman he loved, but then I wiped that from my head with a quick shake. Boone was not my man, and he certainly wasn’t in love with me. He was just fulfilling his promise to my dad by taking care of me. That was all.
Still, I wanted to look nice in front of him, so I grabbed my mascara and swiped it across my lashes. Then I stared at myself, wondering if I was reading into things. I turned on the water and grabbed my makeup removing rag.
I studied my reflection in the mirror. I did look better with more pronounced lashes.
I flipped off the water. What did it hurt towantto look good? Unless he was the kind of guy who could tell when a woman was wearing makeup. Would he wonder why I was wearing it?
I turned the water back on.
Cursing myself, I turned the water off, squeezed the water out of my makeup rag, and set it next to the sink before flipping the bathroom light off and entering my bedroom. If I didn’t get out to the kitchen, Boone was going to start wondering what was taking me so long.
I fluffed my damp hair as I pulled open my bedroom door and padded out into the hallway. Boone was busy in the kitchen. The smells of basil and tomato wafted past my nose and my once queasy stomach was grumbling with anticipation.
I couldn’t fight a smile, so I gave up as I walked into the kitchen and found Boone standing near the stove. Steam was rising from various pots and pans in front of him. He had a pair of tongs in his hand and was busy flipping the breaded chicken.
“This smells divine,” I said as I made my way toward the stove and peered over his arm.
“Careful,” he said, using his free hand to stop me from getting too close. “This oil is popping tonight.”
I glanced down to see five breaded chicken breasts in the pan. The crust was perfectly browned and only made my mouth water more. “Is it almost done?” I asked, fearing I might eat this entire house if he told me no.
He chuckled. “Have a seat at the table and I’ll bring it as soon as I can.”
I pouted but nodded and obeyed. I sat down on the dining room chair and got lost in watching him move. He was something I’d never expected, and I wasn’t sure how to read him. He took care of his mom, but he was also a Navy SEAL. The man could cook in a way that would make Gordon Ramsey bow down, but he had a stare that said with one simple movement he could break your neck.
It was a strange combination, but Boone was slowly growing on me. It made me sad when I reminded myself that he was going to leave. Or dateMs. Meaghan.
I was a mess.
“Did your mom teach you how to cook?” I asked before my thoughts truly went wild and I wouldn’t be able to rein them in.
Boone glanced over his shoulder and shook his head. “Nah. Back when I was growing up, my meals consisted of boiled hotdogs and Hamburger Helper with no hamburger.” He lifted the pan of oil and chicken off the stove and set it on a trivet. He started pulling the chicken from the skillet and placing them on a plate layered with paper towels. “I actually learned from a buddy in the service. He taught me to cook while we were deployed and needed a distraction.”
There was so much to Boone’s life that I didn’t know. His mom. His time in the service. He was this complicated puzzle that I knew I should keep my fingers off of, but every part of me desired to see the final product.
“Do you miss it?” The question left my lips before I could stop it. I inwardly cursed as I pinched my lips to remind myself to keep my nose out of other people’s businesses. My mother would die if she knew how far I was prying into Boone’s life.
He paused, his gaze turning thoughtful before he glanced over at me and said, “Every day since I left.”
I wondered if I was supposed to respond, but as he continued, I sat back and listened.
