Page 18 of Wild Rush
It appeared as though she’d missed an awful lot after leaving Pat’s last night. And she’d only had one beer.
Her exhaustion must have been greater than she thought. The only good thing about her lack of memory was her current rested state.
She hadn’t felt this relaxed, this energized, since before she’d left the lodge. Smiling, she jumped out of bed and headed for the kitchen and the racket Rush was making.
Stepping through the doorway, she stopped dead in her tracks. “Wow.”
“Hey. Wasn’t sure if you’d want bacon and eggs or pancakes, so I made both.” He grinned.
“I can see that.” There were bowls and pans and food everywhere. Well, the food was on plates, so it wasn’teverywhereeverywhere, but there was enough of it to feed an army. “I usually settle for a bowl of cereal,” she murmured, her gaze traveling around the room.
“Not today. Today we need all the calories we can consume to make it through ’til lunchtime.”
Lunchtime? Lord, if she ate even a plateful of the amazing-smelling food spread out on her kitchen table, she wouldn’t eat another bite for a month.
“Sit down. I’ll grab you another cup of coffee. I know how much you need the stuff first thing in the morning.” Rush filled a clean mug, doctored it to her liking and placed it on the table. “C’mon, food’s getting cold.”
Reena moved forward in a bit of a daze. She slid into a seat, wondering where to start.
“So what will it be?” He held out a plate of pancakes. “They’re blueberry.”
“Blueberry pancakes?” Her mouth watered and her stomach rumbled.
Rush smiled sheepishly. “Yeah. I’ve got a weakness for anything blueberry. Pancakes, muffins, smoothies. Had a blueberry cheesecake once. Damn that was good. I haven’t mastered the art of cheesecake yet but my pancakes are to die for, even if I say so myself.”
She nodded and he forked a stack onto her plate. She’d never get through them all but she wasn’t about to disappoint him. He’d gone to so much trouble. Her gaze skimmed the countertops, the overloaded sink. Of yeah, lots of trouble.
“Eat up.” He offered her the bottle of syrup.
Shaking her head, Reena picked up her fork and cut a small section of pancake. The second the light, fluffy, blueberry-flavored fried batter hit her tongue, she knew she was in as much trouble as her kitchen. There wouldn’t be a hope in hell of resisting. She’d be gobbling down every last mouthful. Sugary and somehow creamy, it catered to her sweet tooth with pinpoint accuracy. Damn. The man could cook.
Swallowing, she grabbed her coffee and took a quick sip. “Are you some sort of kitchen ninja?”
Rush laughed. “No, but I know my way around.”
“I can’t believe I had all this in here.”
“You didn’t. I ducked out to the store before you woke up.”
“You went out and bought food?”
He shrugged. “I’m going to be here all week. I can’t sponge off you the whole time. Thought I’d pick up some essentials.”
“This is more than essentials. What else did you buy? And how much do I owe you?” she asked before scooping up another forkful.
“Nothing. You owe me nothing.”
She frowned and swallowed. “I can’t let you pay for all this food.”
“Sure you can. You’re letting me stay here, so I’m saving on accommodations. I thought I’d repay you by supplying some basic food items and cooking all the meals we eat at home.”
Reena liked the way he called her place home. Sure, he didn’t mean it washishome, but it gave her a jolt of satisfaction to hear the word come out of his mouth. It also delivered a burst of longing.
Shewantedhim to think of her house as home.
The thought brought her up short. What was happening here?
Three weeks ago she hadn’t known the man existed, and now she wanted him to call her house home?
“Hey. You’re thinking too hard again.” Rush pointed his fork at her plate. “Eat. Then shower. Then we’re out of here for a day of fun.”
She forced a smile and shoveled in another mouthful of delicious pancake. Nope. It wouldn’t be a hardship to eat the whole plate load.
Chewing slowly, Reena vowed to stop analyzing every second of their time or the connection between them and do what Rush had helped her do during her two week vacation in the mountains.
She’d soak up the world around her and enjoy every moment of it—of him.
