He nodded and smiled. “Duly noted.”
“You need to let me go, so I can clean up the kitchen.”
Reese tightened his embrace. “Not yet. It feels good holding you.”
Cherie let her head drop back to his shoulder. He had no way of knowing how good it felt for him to hold her, and she couldn’t believe how much she’d missed when interacting with a man. Reese was older than Weylin and no doubt had more experience with women; maybe that was why she’d felt an instantaneous comfortableness with him, and it wasn’t solely because he’d saved her life.
If she were honest with herself, she knew there had been a vaguely sensuous connection that had passed between them whenever they saw each other, and at the same time, she had been both flattered and frightened by his interest in her. However, his interest in her hadn’t escaped the eagle eyes of Kayana and Leah. If Reese liked her, then the feeling was mutual because she also liked him. He made her feel safe—and that was something that had always been missing in her life. She hadn’t had a father to protect her, and achieving financial security or living in a gated community wasn’t the same as feeling safe.
“When are you going to cook for me?” she asked. Cherie felt Reese go stiff. It was apparent she’d shocked him and herself with the query.Now where did that come from?she mused.
“Do you really want me to cook for you?”
“I did ask, didn’t I?” she countered.
“I’m off Sunday, so what about Sunday dinner?”
She was also off because Kayana and Derrick didn’t open the café on Sundays during the off-season. “Sunday dinner sounds wonderful. Do you want me to bring anything?”
“Yes.”
“What?” she asked.
“Yourself.”
“Are you sure, Reese?”
“Very sure.”
“My Grammie would haunt me from her grave if I showed up at someone’s home empty-handed. Old southern traditions die hard, even for a Connecticut Yankee.”
“Okay, Cherie. You can bring dessert.”
Smiling, she kissed his jaw. “Thank you. Now please let me go so I can clean up. I have a pet peeve about leaving dishes in the sink.”
Reese unwrapped his arms from around her body. “I noticed that you are a neat freak.”
She slipped off his lap and stared up at him when he stood. “Does that bother you?”
“No, because I’m also somewhat of a neat freak.”
She patted his bicep, encountering rock-hard muscle. “That means we should get along well.”
“You can rinse while I stack the dishwasher.”
Cherie wasn’t going to argue with Reese. The kitchen would be cleaned up faster with two of them working together. “Can you stay long enough to have coffee? I have a coffee machine that makes lattes and cappuccinos.” She’d bought the machine to brew cappuccinos, espressos, and lattes to serve with dessert when it came time for her to host her book club meeting.
Reese dropped a kiss on her hair. “Of course.”
She wiped her hands on a towel and walked to the pantry to take the machine off a shelf. She hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Reese took it from her, carried it back to the kitchen, and set it on the countertop.
“Thanks.”
“You should’ve asked me to get this.”
Cherie rolled her eyes. “It’s not that heavy.”
“Come on, sweetheart. Aren’t you used to men spoiling you?”
