Page 35 of Suddenly Dating
“Oh,” she said, before he could answer, “I forgot to mention that I made you dinner. I mean, if you want it. But I wanted to show my gratitude for rescuing me last night, and you always seem so hungry.”
He stared at her—or rather her legs, which were now directly in front of him. He was amazed by this stroke of luck. The offer of food,realfood, and not some processed shit, had drawn him to the kitchen without him even realizing it.
“I’m going to make a mushroom sauce, but the sauté pan is up here. Who puts asautépan up here?”
Well, he had. He couldn’t find another place for it.
Lola reached, and when she did, she hopped a little to reach it, but in doing so, her foot missed the chair. “Careful!” Harry said, and put his hands up to catch her. One accidentally landed on her derriere, which, he couldn’t help but notice, was neither too firm nor too soft. It was perfect, pliable yet firm. The ideal ratio of fat to muscle in his non-expert opinion. He wanted to examine it, push his fingers into it.
“God, thank you,” she said, glancing down at him. “I could have broken my neck.” She withdrew her arm from the cabinet clutching the sauté pan, and Harry withdrew his hand from her ass.
She jumped down from the chair and pushed it a little haphazardly beneath the kitchen desk. With his foot, Harry nudged it completely under. That was the point he noticed she was wearing an apron with the body of Superwoman painted onto it, giving her the illusion of having that figure.
“It’s steak,” she said.
He glanced up from her cartoon figure. “Huh?”
“Dinner. I’m going to grill steaks. It’s grass-fed beef, which is supposed to be better for you. Oh God, you eat beef, don’t you? If you don’t, I made a salad. Oh, and baked potatoes. You look like a guy who would like baked potatoes. Oh, and guess what else? I made you a pie. See?” She slid past him, dropped the pan onto the stove, then reached across the kitchen island to pick up the pie and show him. The dough was latticed across the top of the pie. “Apple.”
“Yes,” he said, without thinking. His stomach was already rumbling.
“Yes... it’s apple?”
“No. I mean, yes, I want whatever you’re offering,” he said, and added gratefully, “I’ll eat anything right now. Because you’re right, Lola, I’m hungry. Unfortunately, my options are pretty bleak out there.”
Lola beamed. “Great! So yes to the wine?”
“Yes to the wine. I’m just going to clean up,” he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of his room.
“Okeydoke,” she said, and put down the pie. She turned back to the kitchen, and for once, Harry was not annoyed that there were dishes and condiments scattered about and something oozing out of a pot on the stove. Nope, he wasn’t annoyed, because she had made him a fuckingpie.
He took a quick shower, dressed in some jeans, and managed a quick shave. When he returned to the main living area, he heard voices and realized they were coming from Lola’s phone, set to speaker as she worked at the stove.
A young woman was complaining. “He doesn’t have the right to tell me what to think or who to hang out with,” she said.
“Uh-huh.” Lola dropped the lid to the pan on the counter with a clang. “Ty, don’t tell her what to think.”
“I haven’t told her what to think,” a man’s voice said irritably. “I just said she might be a little more careful about who she hangs out with! The woman was aMoonie, Lola.”
“I can’t stand this!” the girl screeched. “How can you be so narrow-minded, Ty? You hate everyone! You have contempt for anyone different from you!”
“That is not true, Kennedy! The only people I have contempt for are siblings who don’t agree with me!”
“Okay, all right,” Lola said, her back to Harry. “What do you want me to do about it, Ty? I’m up to my elbows in a mushroom sauce.”
“I would kill for some of that,” the man said wistfully. “Anyway, you need to come home and talk to her, Lola. No one is looking out for Kennedy, and God knows what she’s doing on campus without someone checking up on her.”
“I am not a child!” the young woman shrieked.
“I’m not coming home, Ty. You’re going to have to deal with it if you’re worried about it,” Lola said, stirring something in the pan.
“Me! I already have three children, remember?”
“I am right here!” Kennedy said angrily. “I can hear everything you’re saying, Ty!”
“Okay, how’s this?” Lola said calmly as she whirled back around to the counter. She saw Harry and winced, mouthed anI’m sorry,then said, “Kennedy, please call your brother once a week and make sure he knows where you are. Ty, lighten up. Kennedy is twenty-three and, therefore, an adult. You can’t dictate her life to her.”
“Thanks, Lola, helpful as always,” Ty said curtly. “Look, I have to go, I don’t have time for this. I’ll talk to you both later. Kennedy, I’m coming over tomorrow!”
