Page 20 of I Knew He Was Trouble
Well, I certainly don’t like it anymore. Or at least I’m notgoodat it anymore.
After Evie whips my booty three games in a row, we move to the kitchen to get started on dinner.
“You said your uncle likes healthy food?”
Evie nods. “But can you make something yummy?”
“We’ll do both.”
She comes over and gives me a high-five as I open the fridge and take a look at what Tyler has. I’m not at all surprised to find it stocked with a variety of vegetables and fresh proteins. When I spot fresh mozzarella pearls in the fridge and basil in a fruit bowl on the counter, I know exactly what I’ll cook.
“We’re going to make Caprese chicken with cheesy rice and broccoli.” Evie eyes me warily, and I shoot her a reassuring smile. “I promise it will be good.”
“If you say so.”
I pull some seasonings out of a perfectly organized drawer. “Do you want to help me?”
She nods eagerly, so I search through Tyler’s other drawers until I find measuring spoons and hand them to her. I read the measurements aloud from a recipe on my phone and help Evie add all the seasonings into a bowl.
“Why don’t you tear off these basil leaves for me while I slice the chicken and other ingredients?” I suggest.
Evie sits on the barstool at the island and accepts the bundle of basil I hand her. I preheat the oven and search around the kitchen until I find a cutting board and knife. After slicing a chicken breast in half, I heat olive oil in a skillet and get the rice going before sprinkling the seasonings Evie measured over the chicken. Once the skillet is hot, I place the chicken in it and slice a tomato and the mozzarella pearls.
“Here you go,” Evie says, giving me the basil leaves.
“Thank you.” I quickly chiffon them and start to chop the broccoli. “So, are you in any sports or activities after school?”
“Dance. I’m going to be a ballerina when I grow up.” Her smile falls.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t get to do dance while I’m here.”
I toss the broccoli in some avocado oil, salt, and pepper before putting it in the oven. I turn to Evie, giving her my full attention. “Why not?”
“Mama said she didn’t want to put too much on Uncle Ty’s plate.” Her brow furrows. “I don’t get it, though. There weren’t any plates around.”
“That’s just a saying.” I laugh. “It means she didn’t want to give him too many more things to do since he already has a lot of responsibilities.”
“Then why didn’t she just say that?”
“Sometimes adults make things complicated.”
Evie huffs. “You can say that again.”
I hide my smile behind my hand and move back to the stovetop, flipping the chicken while making a mental note to talk to Tyler about getting Evie back in her dance classes. She shouldn’t have to give up her favorite activity for three months.
I grimace at the idea of calling me and Tyler awe. Let me be clear: we’re only awein the sense of watching after Evie—nota romanticwe.
Once everything’s ready, I dish rice and broccoli onto the plates and then put the chicken with some melted mozzarella pearls, a slice of tomato, and basil on top beside it. I top off the dish with balsamic drizzle, and it looks perfect.
I’m putting the two plates on the kitchen table when I hear the front door open. Evie runs past me and jumps into Tyler’s waiting arms.
“Did you have a good day at school, Eves?”
“Yes,” Evie exclaims before she proceeds to enthusiastically share every detail of her day. When she’s done talking about school and how she destroyed me in Trouble, Evie points to the kitchen. “Then I helped Ms. Kelsey make you dinner.”
Tyler’s wide eyes move to me like he’s shocked I would ever do something kind for him. Or maybe he thinks I poisoned his food.
