Page 9 of A Soldier's Destiny
If she hadn’t been blushing before, she had to be three shades of red now. When she glanced sideways at Lily, she was smiling one of her huge, ‘oh yeah I’m causing trouble’ grins. Great.
“Sorry. It’s ready. Let me just put these in the oven, and we can eat.” After popping the tray of mini apple strudel in the oven, she and Lily plated the chicken marsala and red potatoes. Lily was right, she couldn’t help herself especially when she was stressed. Cooking and baking were about the only things that took her mind off everything else.
With the food set on the table, they sat down to eat. Rori wasn’t sure she’d be able to swallow a bite with Jasper’s eyes watching her every move. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. “Is there something wrong? You keep staring at me. You’re going to give me a complex.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. You weren’t what I was expecting.”
“It’s okay. But…umm…what were you expecting?” Waiting for his answer made her feel like she was back in high school on a first date. The uncomfortable squirmy feeling that made her want to escape. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so awkward around a man. But then, she hadn’t been around a man since Jim died. Still, there was no reason for it. He wasn’t there to date her, only to keep her safe. Even if it was a waste of his time and energy.
“I don’t know. I just figured you were older.”
“Older?”
“Yeah,” Steele interrupted, “I think he thought you were a grandmother type.” She’d watched Jasper while Steele spoke, and he looked mortified and pissed at the same time. It eased the squirmy feeling and she struggled not to laugh.
“It’s okay. It was probably the name, right? My parents loved the Sleeping Beauty story. When I came along they named me Aurora. But no one calls me that anymore.” The relief in his eyes warmed her heart, and she smiled.
“I’m not sure what you call this, but it’s delicious. It’s been ages since I had a homecooked meal,” Raptor commented between mouthfuls. The food was disappearing from his plate in record time and Rori wondered about the last time he’d eaten anything.
“It’s one of Rori’s recipes. She’s aCordon Bleuchef. If you’re anything like the rest of Willow Haven, you’ll need to work out more just to keep from gaining weight. I couldn’t work there, I’d be enormous.”
“Lily’s exaggerating but I’m glad you like it. I figured most people eat chicken. I have this horrible habit of cooking or baking when I’m upset or nervous. Usually the women’s shelter benefits from it.”
“You’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me if you cook like this all the time,” Jasper said with a wink. Feeling shy as the heat rose up her neck, she looked down at her plate. He was having the strangest effect on her.
“We’ll see. Maybe I’ll have to start burning things.”
“No, you won’t,” Alex said. “You are too much of a perfectionist in the kitchen.”
Their laughter eased the earlier tension, and the conversation turned to food, and what Jasper liked to eat. She couldn’t believe he’d been living on mostly food in a pouch for the last decade. Gross. She’d fix that. After four years at theCordon Bleu, Rori was horrified by his description of the MREs. The chefs would have had fits at the mere thought of food in pouches.
After dinner, Steele and Jasper went outside to chat before he headed back to the station.
“What do you think? Will you be okay having him around?”
“Do I have a choice?” Rori had expected to feel awkward about a stranger staying with her in the apartment, but after spending the last few hours with Jasper, she was more comfortable than she’d expected. Except for the whole attraction thing. That could end up being a problem.
“You always have a choice, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”
“I was kind of worried before I met him, but now not so much. Unless he’s hiding what he’s really like, I think it’ll be fine.”
“Good. Because there was a Plan B.”
“Isn’t there always?”
“Yup, sometimes a Plan C too. Actually, there was always a Plan C.”
“Out of curiosity, what was Plan B?”
“We’d have you both stay here.”
“Yeah, no. That would never work. I start some of the dough at two a.m. Nope. Not happening.”
“It wouldn’t have been a big deal. I never sleep through the night anymore. My bladder is controlled by the baby and she doesn’t like the idea of me sleeping for more than an hour at a time.” Rori laughed and hugged Lily.
“It would be for me. I’d have to get up even earlier to get back into town. Besides, we don’t know how long this is going to go on and you’re going to have that baby before you know it.”
“But it was better than having you freaked out.”
