Page 40 of How to Resist Prince Charming

When they parked in front of a fancy brownstone condo, Lenna leaned forward and looked out her window. “Wow, this is nice.”

Braxton was suspiciously quiet. He pocketed his keys and walked her to the entrance. Once he had the door open, he quickly reached around the corner to turn on a light. Then he stepped back to let her precede him inside.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Braxton followed her around to the different rooms as she gave herself a tour.

“Whoa,” was all she could think say. His home was amazing. “It’s...huge. And really clean”

Braxton shrugged. “I use a cleaning service.”

Lenna nodded and continued strolling. When she entered a room that was obviously his bedroom, she jerked to a stop in the doorway and backed out.

Dangerous territory.

Braxton sent her a small, knowing smile. Blushing, she hurried down the hall away from any glimpse of a bed.

The last room they found themselves in was the kitchen. Yes, good. Kitchens were nice, nonsexual rooms. Lenna folded her hands at her waist and took in the top-of-the-line appliances surrounding her.

Wow. This was one fancy kitchen. Everything was made of chrome and so sleekly polished, she could see her reflection staring back at her a hundredfold.

She wondered how much he actually cooked.

Stopping in front of one rather large appliance, Lenna cocked her head to the side and tried to figure out what exactly the stainless steel object was. It looked like a huge, overrated coffee machine.

“Um...” She glanced at Braxton, who leaned his shoulder against the doorframe and watched her with his hands in his pockets. “What is this thing?”

His cheeks brightened. Pushing off the doorway and edging closer, he examined the object as well. “It’s, uh...” He paused to scratch at the back of his neck. “It’s a latte maker espresso machine,” he finally answered.

“Oh.” Lenna nodded, feeling like an unrefined moron. “Of course.”

Braxton continued to look uneasy.

“So do you make lots of lattes?” she asked, eyeing the machine. He didn’t look like an espresso enthusiast to her. She would’ve guessed him for a regular coffee drinker.

Braxton flushed and finally grinned. “Never have,” he admitted.

Lenna stopped looking at the latte maker espresso machine to turn toward him with an expression full of confusion and crinkled eyebrows.

“So, then why do you have a latte maker?”

Braxton’s lips quivered as if he was trying to hold back a smile. “What?” he asked innocently. Then he caved. His shoulders slumped. “Okay, fine. I thought it looked cool.” When her mouth fell open with incredulous disbelief, he argued, “Isn’t everyone allowed to have at least one basically worthless appliance in their kitchen?”

Lenna threw her hands in the air as if calling defeat. “That’s it,” she announced. “We’re making lattes.”

“Okay,” he said. “Fine by me.” But when she continued to stare at him, he frowned. “What?”

“Well, I don’t know how to use this thing,” she said.

He snorted. “And you think I do?”

Lenna rolled her eyes as she sighed. “Where’s the manual?”

In return, she received a blank look. “Uh...” He glanced around the kitchen as if he thought the instruction booklet would appear in thin air before them.

She groaned, setting her hand against her forehead, “You threw it away, didn’t you?”

Once again, Braxton didn’t have a ready answer. “I might not have.” He opened a drawer and peered inside.

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