I stopped myself from offering to take over at the grill and watched while she flipped two big steaks. “I’m sorry for stepping in earlier. Obviously, you can handle yourself.”
“Yeah, I can. I’ve been doing it for long enough.” She lowered the lid of the grill and nodded toward the sliding glass door leading inside. “If you’re up for eating outside, I could use some help grabbing a few things from the kitchen.”
“Just tell me what you need.” As much as I wanted to save her and the land she and Mike loved so much, I needed to offer help on her terms.
“Come on.” She entered the house with me right behind her. Close enough to catch a whiff of her musky perfume. The scent conjured up images of candlelight and white satin sheets. I forced them out of my head and tried not to focus on the way her ass sashayed back and forth in those tight jeans.
The kitchen reminded me of Mama Mae’s place, where it had always been the heart of the home. Wide wooden planks covered the floor and a sunny shade of yellow on the walls provided a cheery backdrop. Mike had always talked about celebrating the holidays around a big round table loaded with his mom’s homemade cooking. I’d always envied him those memories. Growing up at Mama Mae’s was the next best thing to having a place where I truly belonged, but I’d still ached for a family of my own.
Destiny moved around with a comfortable grace. She plated a couple of baked potatoes and opened the fridge to hand me a bowl of salad she must have made earlier.
“I hope you didn’t go to any trouble on my account.” She had enough going on without worrying about feeding me three squares a day.
“No trouble at all. Tomorrow is when the real work starts, so I hope you won’t expect any home-cooked meals after tonight.” She set the plates down along with a basket of bread before heading to the grill to grab the steaks.
“If I can survive on MREs, I’m sure I’ll be able to find something to eat over the next couple of days.”
She slid a perfectly cooked steak onto my plate. “I’ve got multiple food trucks coming to set up tomorrow and the café in town is hosting a bluebonnet cake decorating contest during the festival, so I’m sure you won’t go hungry.”
“Is there anything else I need to know about the festival?” The bite of steak I slipped into my mouth practically melted on my tongue. Destiny was hotter than a pin-up modelandshe could cook? I knew guys who would consider her the perfect catch. Guys who weren’t best friends with her big brother and might actually have a fighting chance with the bombshell brunette.
“Hopefully, Henry shared the important details. We kick off tomorrow night with a local band. You’ll need to have the petting zoo set up by three when I open the gates. The festival runs from nine to eleven over the weekend. If you don’t have help, I’ve got some volunteers coming who can take over for you long enough for bathroom breaks or for you to grab a bite to eat a couple times a day.” She held out the breadbasket. “These are my brother’s favorites. Homemade yeast rolls from our great-grandma’s recipe.”
She was seducing me with food, and she had no idea. I took a roll and swiped some butter across the middle before biting into the fluffy cloud of carbs.
“Is there anything you need from me?” she asked. The question was innocent enough, but my mind immediately traveled way beyond the friend-zone.
“Nothing I can think of.” Or nothing I could say out loud. My job was to keep an eye out and head off any attempts by the soul-sucking corporation who was trying to wrangle the land away from my best friend’s little sister.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Hopefully the festival would bring in the crowds she was anticipating, and the low life would stay away.
The conversation turned to small talk. Destiny asked me about my time in the service, and I avoided providing any direct answers that might make her suspect I had an ulterior motive for showing up at the festival. By the time she brought out a plate stacked high with brownies, my belly was full enough to burst. That didn’t stop me from biting into a heavenly square of chocolate.
“Thank you for dinner. I can’t remember the last time I ate so well.” The compliment was genuine. If I died tomorrow, I’d go knowing I’d been treated to a dinner worthy of being my last meal.
“You’re welcome. I don’t do much cooking anymore. Not since Dad died and Mike moved away. It’s not much fun to cook for one.” Her shoulders lifted in a slight shrug, and she peeled the corner of the label away from her almost-empty bottle of beer.
Mike hadn’t mentioned it, but there had to be a man in her life. She was the whole package: beautiful, strong, capable, a miracle worker in the kitchen, and with enough spark inside her to set blaze to a bonfire.
Sensing the conversation might be inclined to take a turn more personal and willing to do anything to avoid it, I picked up her plate and set it on top of mine. “Thanks for a wonderful meal. The least I can do is clean up the kitchen for you.”
Her eyes widened. “You don’t have to do that.”
“You didn’t have to cook for me either.” I flashed her a grin from across the table. “Maybe I love doing dishes and you’d be doing me a favor by letting me indulge in an activity I enjoy so much.”
Her laughter sounded like music to my ears. “Okay, soldier. Knock yourself out.”
4
DESTINY
There was something incredibly hot about watching the brawny man fill my kitchen sink with soapy water. My ovaries might have done a little shake and shimmy when he rolled his shirtsleeves up to expose strong, sinewy forearms. I sighed and enjoyed the arm porn. I’d always been a sucker for a man with muscles, and Thorne had enough to fuel my fantasies for days.
His hands disappeared under the suds, and I imagined he was caressing my skin instead of scrubbing my mama’s old Fiestaware. Get a grip, girl. It had been too long since I’d been in the company of a good-looking man. And way too damn long since I’d enjoyed myself with a live partner instead of my battery-operated “O-getter.”
To avoid the risk of grinding my hips against the barstool where I’d perched while I enjoyed the show, I got up to clear the rest of the table. Thorne might look like my personal fantasy man come to life, but I couldn’t afford to split my focus. Not now when the stakes were higher than they’d ever been.
