Saying goodbye to the waitress, she headed over to the small grocery store, hoping to score a few deals for the dinner she had planned.
Chapter Twenty
Chloe lifted the Dutch oven’s lid and gave one last stir to her beef goulash. She was expecting Samuel to arrive any minute now and she wanted everything to be ready before they started tonight. As she dipped her knife into the large pot, she felt that womanly pride as the beef fell apart at the slight touch. It was cooked to perfection. The potatoes were soft and just fine. She turned the heat down to a low simmer and placed the knife in the sink to be washed.
Pleased with herself and the way her meal turned out, Chloe turned around to open the fridge door. There was a knock at the front door just as she was lifting the large bowl of tossed salad out of the fridge.
“I’ll be there in a second!” she called out. Placing the bowl on the counter, she wiped her hands on a towel and crossed over to the door. As she swung it open she saw Samuel on her front porch, sniffing the air appreciatively.
“Ever thought to be a cook?” he greeted her. She stepped back and smiled.
“Nope. I couldn’t bear to work in a boiling hot kitchen day in, day out. That and it’s too cutthroat working your way up. Far too many secrets, and tempers, and jealousy in a kitchen. You know the saying—too many cooks and all that.”
“Mmm…I brought the game.”
Chloe waved a hand to the small coffee table. “Just leave it there, I figured you’d want to eat first. I cooked up a huge amount, I know you so well.”
She was startled when he bent over her, carefully holding her chin still so he could lean down to kiss her. The tenderness she felt in the kiss, the gentle, almost sweet exploration of her mouth had her flush with surprise.
This wasn’t a simple hey-there-good-to-see-you sort of kiss. No. This was more of a missed-you-like-crazy-why-did-you-take-so-long style of kiss. An affirmation of the night they had spent together as well as an indication of more to come.
Chloe felt quite dazed as he pulled away. Blinking, she tried to gather her thoughts. She had planned to feed the man, make sure he was comfortable and then tell him her plan to talk to the local school principal and submit a request to teach in the local school. As their relationship was barely a weekend old, she hadn’t thought it much of his business whether she left or stayed.
That kiss, however, showed her he was more than interested in what her plans were, as well as his intention to stay in her life. She had had every intention of continuing their relationship—but it seemed as if he was moving a little faster than she had anticipated.
She had thought of maybe renting a cabin in the region somewhere, dating the man for a few months. Having a normal, ordinary courtship to see if they worked well together.
What was it Mona had said?
Ah, yes. “We feel the mateship bond a lot more intensely than you humans do. We can’t just put it off or talk ourselves out of it.”
For a split second, Chloe worried that Samuel was moving too fast. She was brought back to reality, however, when he pulled her ponytail gently.
“Hey there, little girl! Don’t freak on me, it was just a kiss.”
Chloe laughed and shook her head. She was being silly. “Go and sit down before my goulash burns. I’d never forgive you for that. It would be so embarrassing.”
Samuel grinned cheekily. “Hey, it wasn’t me staring off into space, looking ready to bolt, and chewing on my lower lip.”
Chloe shrugged off his teasing and went to serve the dinner.
* * * * *
When Samuel finally rested his fork on his plate and sat back with a satisfied sigh, Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment there she had worried he would want fourths, and while there was a small amount of the goulash left, there wasn’t enough to fill his plate a fourth time. He had inhaled his huge first serving, automatically checking if she wanted seconds and heading back into the kitchen to replenish his plate.
After a second serving of both the goulash and salad, mopping up the remaining gravy with the last crust of the French roll she had bought them, he had held up his plate in an imitation of Oliver Twist.
“Please, miss. I would greatly appreciate some more.”
Chloe had taken in her own empty dish, leaving it to soak in the sink, and heaped his plate a third time. Thinking to teach him a lesson, she had filled the plate, as full as she had the first time, nearly—but not quite—emptying the large pot.
Seeing his eyes light up as she placed the plate in front of him, she had marveled how such a lithe, slim man could pack away such a vast quantity of food.
She had debated for a moment if she should warn him of the ice cream and cream puffs she had picked up for dessert, but as she wouldn’t be able to squeeze a bite more in, she figured to leave it for later.
They had talked politely over dinner. She had explained about her previous careers, how nothing had really grabbed and held her attention until she had found teaching. But far more interestingly, Samuel had opened up about his work as a private investigator.
She found it so interesting, the security work he did with his brothers, how in the beginning when he had been building his reputation and starting out, he had followed around cheating spouses and proving false claims.
He insisted much of it was incredibly boring—paperwork, research, and very little action. But she was still entranced by the work. He had laughed when she divulged she
