And neither would Lilah if she ever found out.
So, I have no choice but to stick it out while Gladys patiently coaches me through the steps of making pesto pasta, one of Lilah’s favorite dishes.
We’re on our second pot of pasta thanks to me.
How the hell was I supposed to know you needed to stir it occasionally to prevent it from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan?
I know Gladys is fed up when she removes the shrimp from the heat and gently suggests I find something else to do.
“Why don’t you season the green beans?” She says throwing me a bone. “I can take it from here.”
And before I can protest, she’s moved in on my station in front of the stove and bumped me out of the way with her hips.
Chuckling, I shake my head and move to the other end of the counter.
“I thought you loved me, Gladys,” I tease, grabbing the salt shaker.
“I do,” she says sweetly. “And I want Ms. Lilah to love you too. We can’t accomplish that if you serve her goop.”
Goop?
I’m howling with laughter when my phone chimes, alerting me to someone at the front gate.
When I see Lilah’s name on the screen, I swipe my finger up to grant her entrance.
“Okay, she’s here,” I announce in a stage whisper. “Remember, I made all this.”
Gladys tosses me a playful eye roll as I leave the kitchen to let in Lilah. When I pull open the front door, she’s standing there with a contemplative look on her face.
It vanishes the second she sees me. Her coffee-colored eyes turn inviting.
“Hi,” she murmurs, going up on her tiptoes to kiss me.
“Hey Cupcake.” When I return her kiss, the lingering taste of wine on her lips pulls me in for another one.
“Miss me?” She giggles, using my line as she steps into the foyer.
“Always,” I tell her truthfully. Whenever she isn’t here, I’m basically just counting down the time until I see her again.
I’m infatuated. Trust me, I know.
And for once I don’t give a shit.
Without thinking, I instantly reach for her bag to carry it to my room. It comes naturally now. After years of never allowing a woman to share my space, it’s become second nature with Lilah.
“How did you get here?” I ask when I realize there wasn’t a car in the driveway when I let her in.
“Charli dropped me,” she says. “I had a little bit more wine than she did.”
Nodding, I accept her answer as fact until I realize I haven’t really seen much of her car these days.
“Is your car still in the shop?” I wonder aloud.
Lilah’s face falters for a split second and she actually looks confused before recovering her calm façade.
“Um, yeah. Still in the shop.”
She’s lying. And I want to know why.
“What shop did you say it was in again?”
She studies me for a second and I can see the wheels spinning in her brain as she formulates her next answer.
“A friend of mine is working on it.”
“Which friend?” I follow up not missing a beat.
Her hand flies to her neck to cover the blush crawling up the side. It’s a tell-tale sign she’s lying. Took me a while to figure it out, but once I did I’ve been able to read her like a book.
“Something smells good,” she says, changing the subject.
“You’re hiding something from me,” I say, my voice more accusing than I’d intended.
“Andrew, I don’t—”
“Just tell me, Lilah.”
With a heavy sigh, she brings her hands forward to cover her face as she mutters something into her palm.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” I say pulling one hand away from her mouth.
“I can’t afford to bring it home right now,” she mumbles again, the red stain creeping from her neck and up to her cheeks. “The expense isn’t in my budget.”
Dumbfounded, I look at her and feel like a dick for making her talk about it.
She’s clearly embarrassed because of it and I just couldn’t drop.
“Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think—”
“Let’s just drop it. Please,” she begs.
“How much do you need to get it out?” I ask, doing the exact opposite of what she just requested.
Eyes growing to the size of golf balls, Lilah shakes her head furiously.
“I’m not taking money from you, Andrew. Forget about it.”
I don’t know why I’m surprised, but my ego is a little deflated when she turns down my attempt to help.
“Fine,” I tell her, coming up with another solution. “I’ll be driving you to and from work until you get it back then.”
She opens her mouth to object but I’m faster.
“And when I can’t be there, I’ll arrange for a driver.”
“That’s insane. You don’t even use a driver!” she protests, placing her hands on her hips.
But I’m not budging on this.
“It’s settled, Cupcake. Now come in the kitchen, I have a surprise for you.”
Thirty-seven
ANDREW
“You cooked for me?” Lilah’s eyes are wide as she looks from one pot to another.
I don’t know how Gladys did it, but while Lilah was upstairs taking a shower, she managed to finish everything and slip away to do laundry on the other side of the house.
“I had a little help,” I confess, coming up behind her at the counter. With my arms wrapped around her waist, I tell her, “I seasoned the green beans and boiled the water for the pasta. Gladys took care of the rest.”
With a light laugh, Lilah turns to kiss me. “It’s still sweet. Who knew you paid attention to me enough to notice my favorite food?”
“I notice everything about you,” I tell her, disrupting the teasing mood.
Her eyes grow serious as she looks at me, but she breaks eye contact almost immediately.
Moving across the kitchen, Lilah retrieves two plates for us and we pile the food on high, working in companionable silence.
Lilah sets her food on the bar then turns to swing open the fridge.
“How was your day?” she asks, reaching back
