“What will you do?”
She chewed her lip, her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know. At this point, I may have to cut my losses.”
The thought of Gigi and Butch taking over Mack’s Place was offensive. But it was Nat’s decision, and she didn’t need me making it harder for her. I said nothing while I dished up the pasta, sprinkling the pecarino over the top. Then I put our bowls on the kitchen island.
“You want to eat here in the kitchen?” she asked.
I nodded. “Maximum comfort factor.”
“Let me guess. The kitchen’s your favorite room?” Her smile was shaky, but at least it was there.
“By far.” I returned her smile with extra wattage added.
“I didn’t think I was hungry, but the food smells amazing.”
“Eat. It’ll do you good.”
Nemesis was twisting around my legs insistently, so I gave Asher’s cat a small taste of cream before settling onto the stool next to Natalie.
“This is delicious,” she said with her mouth full. “You were right, it’s making me feel better.”
“You know that’s the best compliment a chef can get?”
“You deserve all the compliments. Seriously. My mouth has died and gone to heaven.”
My answering smile was probably on the smug side. This was the part about being a chef I loved most. “I’d tell you to stop with the compliments, but feel free to keep going.”
“I could eat this for every meal and never want anything else.” She scooped more pasta into her mouth, making little groans of pleasure each time she swallowed.
It wasn’t easy to drag my attention away from her mouth when she was making those sounds, but I forced myself to try.
Conversation. That’s what we needed.
If I made conversation, I’d be able to focus on something other than insistent images of how I might make her groan even louder.
“You know Asher’s going to build an apartment building here?” I grabbed for any thought I could summon that wasn’t sex-related.
“You already told me.”
“I’m surprised Asher and Iola aren’t here. Maybe they’re taking Ruff for a walk.”
“Mmm.”
“Once we’re done eating, I’ll call Mason.”
Thankfully, because I was rapidly running out of random thoughts that didn’t involve nudity, she stopped eating for long enough to say, “I thought about phoning Carlotta when I found the café flooded.”
“I’m glad you called me instead.”
“So am I. Thank you for being a rock.”
We were quiet for a while, focused on our meal, until she swallowed the last mouthful of pasta with a sigh.
“I can’t believe I finished that so quickly.” She leaned back in her chair to put both hands on her stomach. “My jeans feel like they might burst open, and I don’t even care.” Lifting a hand to her mouth, she gave an enormous yawn.
“You’re sleepy?”
She nodded, still yawning. “I thought I’d be too anxious to sleep, but all of a sudden I’m tired.” She stood up. “I’ll do the dishes then head to bed.”
“Forget the dishes. I’ll put you to bed now.”
“That sounds promising.”
Grabbing her overnight bag, I led her to my bedroom. “I’ll change my sheets.”
“No need, I’m sure they’re fine.” She yawned again. “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m suddenly so exhausted.”
“The effect of all that pasta.” I turned for the door. “You need sleep.” As much as I wanted to kiss her again, now wasn’t the time. She still looked paler than I’d like. The shock had hit her hard.
“You’re not going to stay with me?”
I turned back, torn between wanting to stay and knowing she should rest. “You can’t keep your eyes open.”
“Just sit and talk to me while I fall asleep. It probably won’t take long.”
“Okay. I’ll call Mason first, but I’ll be back soon.”
I went out, closing the door softly behind me, and rang Mason to tell him what had happened. I’d just hung up when I heard a key turn in the lock, and the front door open. Asher and Iola were finally home, Ruff loping in ahead of them.
“Hey,” I said quietly, intercepting them in the hallway. “Nat’s sleeping in my bed.” I related the evening’s events as we walked into the kitchen.
“Is Nat okay?” Iola asked.
“She’s fine. Just tired.”
“When are you going back to LA?” asked Asher.
“I can’t even think about going back right now. The vandalism’s my fault. It has to be one of my fans that did it. I should have guessed this might happen.”
Asher pulled out a stool for Iola to sit down, taking the one next to her. “How do you know it was one of your fans?”
“I just know. I can feel it in my gut.”
“Then you should make a strong public statement. You don’t have to announce your engagement’s fake. But you could say the police are investigating the vandalism, and you’ll prosecute the person responsible.”
“Good idea.”
“Of course it is,” he said in his deadpan way. “I’m the smart one in the family.”
I rolled my eyes and Iola snickered.
“I’ll come up with a post in the morning,” I said. “Right now I need to check on Nat.”
“Naturally. After all, she’s in your bed. You should make sure she doesn’t need anything.” Though his tone was flat, he still managed to make it sound dirty.
“It’s not like that. She’s had a serious shock, and she wants me to sit with her while she falls asleep.”
“Uh-huh.” Iola was nodding too hard, her expression too innocent. “Of course, Kade, we believe you. Now hurry into the bedroom so you can watch her sleep.”
Shaking my head, I left them in the kitchen.
When I went back into the bedroom, Nat was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling. Her glasses were on the nightstand. The covers were pulled up to her chin and moisture glistened at the corners of her eyes.
My chest contracted and I sat on the bed next to her. “Honey, it’s going to be okay.”
She dragged in a shaky breath. “I was just thinking how devastated Dad’s going to be about the damage to the café.”
“It’s just a building. Your
