“Coming.” She looked through the peephole to see Smith waiting impatiently.
She opened up, and he tugged her close for a kiss.
He let her go, and she sighed. “Well, hel-lo to you too.” Talk about a steamy greeting.
“Sorry about before. I didn’t mean to be so late.”
“You okay?”
He followed her inside. “Yeah. Cash got chatty on the job. About drove me nuts.”
She grimaced. “Please. Don’t say that word.”
“Cash?”
“Nuts.” At his frown, she explained about her articles.
“Ah.” He glanced at her open laptop. “Nice work, Ms. Editor. But I prefer the YouTube channel.” He shrugged. “I looked you up. You’re supposed to be filming new stuff this week.”
She waved at her kitchen. “Where would you suggest I do that?”
He snuck a hand in his pocket and produced a key. “Well, I had a thought about that.”
She stared at that key. It seemed to glow in his hand. She swallowed. “Is that yours?”
“Yeah. I had another made. Don’t tell Tilly.” He chuckled. “Look, you need a kitchen. I’m addicted to your cooking. How about a deal?”
“A deal?” He hadn’t asked her to move in. She told herself to be glad, because she wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment yet. Bad enough she thought she might love him. She needed to be smart about the falling for him part.
“You’re looking at me weird,” he said cautiously.
“Sorry. I’ve got nuts on the brain.”
“Long as they’re mine, I’m okay with that.” He winked.
She blushed and tried to cover it with a frown, which made him laugh. “The deal?” she reminded him.
“Right. You need a kitchen. I like your cooking way better than mine. How about you use my kitchen whenever you want to do your food thing? I know it’s not super fancy but—”
“It’s just fine. I can work with that kitchen island.” Excited at the prospect, she wanted to jump on his offer. “Are you sure this is okay?”
“Cupcake, I’m more thrilled with the idea than you are.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“I do. What’s the next thing on your list to make?”
She frowned. “I don’t know. Some kind of dessert. You keep calling me Cupcake, and now I have a hankering to make cupcakes.”
“Awesome.” He grinned, a lot freer with his smiles than when she’d first met him. “I’ll provide the raw ingredients for dinner, you cook it up, serve whatever you make on you show for dessert, and we’re good. Yes?”
“Oh. So like I do with Tilly.” She nodded. “That’s fair.” She went to take the key, and he closed his fist around it.
“You have to make enough for two to eat though. We’ll be eating together. You and me. Is that okay? It’s kind of a package deal.”
He wanted them to eat together. “Only if I can pay for half the meals. It’s only fair since I’ll be eating it too.”
“Nope. My house, my rules. You want to pay for something? Consider whatever you cook on the show your fee.”
