“I’ll take a glass of that, please.”
I pull out the bottle and two glasses. Pouring us each one, I slide hers over. “Okay, you’ve got two choices. I can either make us a steak and a baked potato or stir fry with chicken and vegetables.”
I watch her as she contemplates the choices. “Yum, both sound great. But I think steak sounds good. I haven’t had steak in months.”
What the hell does she eat? “Steak, it is.” I pull out the meat that I’ve marinated. The potatoes are ready to go, and I’ve got a salad to toss as well. I place the potatoes into some cloth bags my sister bought for me at a craft fair. If you microwave a potato in the bag, they turn out just like they’ve been baked in the oven. They really do work. I step out of the kitchen and grab a jacket from the hook. “Back in a second,” I say as open the glass door to my balcony where my grill is.
“Sam? I don’t want you to have to cook in the cold. Chicken is good, too,” MacKenzie says as she leans out the door.
It’s brisk out here, since we’re up twenty-five stories, but I’ve got a temporary enclosure around the grill for just this reason. I love to grill year-round. “No problem. I grill all the time.” I smile at her. “How do you like your steak?”
“Medium, I guess.” She gives me a small smile and returns to her spot in the kitchen. Once back inside, I prep the meat and pull out everything for my salad. “Can I help?”
“Sure. How are you at chopping lettuce?”
“I’m great at it.” She smiles prettily.
I slide the cutting board her way along with a knife, the head of lettuce, and the bowl. “Go for it.” I chuckle. As she chops, I step out and throw the meat on the grill. I was really hoping she’d choose steak. Honestly, most women would have picked the lighter chicken meal, but not MacKenzie. I love that about her.
As we finish up preparing dinner, MacKenzie and I chat about all sorts of things. She asks me about my job and the kind of work we do. I ask her about her family and friends. She focuses on her friend, Lauren, instead of family. Lauren may have been the woman I saw her with at the New Year’s Eve party. “Was she with you at the party?”
“Well, kind of. She was with her husband, and I was with her cousin Frederick.”
“Frederick?” I smirk. “He was your jackass date?” Okay, slippery slope here. She doesn’t know I was watching her all night.
She throws her head back and laughs. “Yep. Heisa jackass. That’s for sure.”
As I walk toward the terrace to check on the meat, I stop in front of her and lean down to give her a soft kiss. “He’s a jackass for not seeing what was right in front of him, sweetheart.” I pull the steaks off the grill and bring them inside. They’re still sizzling as I pull the potatoes out of the microwave. I plate our food and carry it into my dining room. “Bring the wine, would you?”
Holding both glasses and the bottle, MacKenzie steps into my formal dining room. “Dinner’s served,” I say with a smile.
I hold the chair at the head of the table out for her. As she sits down, she smiles. “Thank you.”
I sit in the seat next to her and watch as she cuts off a piece of steak and takes her first bite. “Mmm, good,” she says with her mouth full.
My cock twitches just hearing her moan and thinking about her mouth full of other things.Jesus, pervert. I clear my throat. “I’m glad you like it.” I take a bite of my steak and moan as well. “Damn, I’m a good cook.”
“You are,” she agrees quickly. “Everything is perfect, Sam. Thank you for cooking for me.”
“Anytime.” And I meananytime. After we finish our meal, I stand to take the plates to the kitchen. “So, what kind of movies do you like? I’ve got Netflix and Hulu along with all of the movie channels. Tell me what you like.”
She takes a drink of wine and swallows. Damn,swallows. “Well, I like all genres. But my favorite is probably something you’ll hate.”
“What? Chick flicks?”
She turns pink. “Yeah. Period movies like Jane Austen. But I also like raunchy comedies.”
“Raunchy, huh?” I stand up and grab her hand. “Let’s see what I’ve got.” I let go of her hand and make our way into my living room. I grab the remote and press a button. The painting above my fireplace slides up to reveal my fifty-inch television. “I’ve got DVDs in this cupboard.” I point to the built-in shelves on either side of the fireplace. “Plus, I’ve got those movie channels. Let’s check the DVDs first.”
I pull open the door on the left of the TV, revealing shelf after shelf of movies.
“Wow, you like movies, huh?”
“I do, but I don’t have a lot of time to watch them, although I’ve seen most of these,” I say, pointing to the shelves.
She steps up and starts reading the titles. I’ve got everything from romance to porn. The porn is in another bookcase, though. I watch as she runs her fingers over the titles, making comments along the way. Apparently she’s seen quite a few of them as well. “Oh, how ’boutDeadpool? I heard that was good.”
“Really? I figured you’d pickSense and Sensibilityor something like that.”
