Page 67 of Hard Rock Desires
“It’s just something Finn said.” I brushed it off.
Kaylee looked at me with concern. “What did he say?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
She gave me a considering look, then sighed.
“Listen,” she started. “We’ve been having problems with Finn acting out. If he said or did anything—”
“Should I go get Zain?” I asked to deflect.
She eyed me worriedly, but didn’t push it. “I can go get him.” She went to the open archway separating the kitchen from the long hallway and cupped a hand to her mouth. “Zain!” she yelled, making me jump in surprise. “Come downstairs.”
“Is that really how you’re going to get him down here?” I asked.
“He’ll hear me if I bellow loud enough,” she said. “This is how we communicate in this house.” She gave me a cheeky grin. “If this doesn’t work then I’ll send a text. I just like to take any opportunity to yell at him.” She opened her mouth again. “Zain!! I’ve got something for you!”
It took about a minute before I heard footsteps thudding downstairs. My heart pounded wildly in my chest. I was all nerves. I didn’t know whether Zain would be happy to see me or not.
From the look on his face when he’d left my apartment, I knew he’d been upset. After taking care of me all evening, after listening to all my problems, after making love to me so sweetly, I’d just kicked him out.
“What’s with all the shouting?” Zain asked Kaylee as he walked into the kitchen. His hair was artfully messy and his t-shirt was rumpled, wearing his usual dark denim jeans.
He noticed me standing in front of the fridge as I was in the middle of putting the eggs away. His eyes widened. Then they narrowed as he crossed his arms.
“What’s all this about?” He looked between me and Kaylee. “Is this your doing?” he asked her shrewdly.
“As much as I love meddling in your life,” she said, “I’m not the one who arranged this. Grace texted me and asked if she could come over to hang out with you.”
“And why didn’t Grace text me herself?” he asked, not looking at me.
Yeah, he was definitely upset.
“I wanted this to be a surprise.” I held up the carton of eggs so he could see them. “I thought maybe we could try making another tart?” I gave him a careful smile. “We did so badly the first time, I figured we couldn’t screw it up any worse the second time.”
Zain looked surprised. He also looked guarded.
“You want to make a tart with me again?” he asked.
“We’ve got that bake-off at the end of our course, remember?” I said. “If we don’t learn how to bake something that isn’t a terrible disaster, we won’t have anything good to show off.” I brushed a strand of hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear nervously. “I don’t want to embarrass myself at the bake-off, so I thought it would be a good idea to practice. And I want to practice with you.”
Zain lowered his arms from where they’d been folded against his chest. The guarded look in his eyes slowly faded.
“Well, that’s my cue to leave,” Kaylee chirped. “You two have fun with your eggs and flour and baking and whatever it is you’re doing together.” She breezed out of the kitchen, leaving the two of us alone.
“It looks like Kaylee is trying to play matchmaker,” Zain said.
“I’m sorry I just showed up like this,” I told him. “I didn’t mean to take you by surprise.”
“Is this really the only reason you came over?” He gestured to the eggs in my hand. “You want to practice your baking with me?”
I flushed. I looked down at the eggs and fiddled with the carton as I set it down on the counter.
“I thought maybe we could talk about things,” I said. “We didn’t get to talk much after the party, and I think we were both sleep deprived in the morning, considering it was only five a.m. I thought maybe we could talk things out now that it’s daytime and we have clear heads.”
“What kind of things do you want to talk about?” Zain asked.
“I know it got a little tense between us,” I said. “I’ve got some issues that I need to deal with, and I shouldn’t have laid them all on you.”
