“I’m sure it is.” She took a sip of the delicious concoction but then set it down. “This is weird.”
“The coffee?”
“No. This situation. Alex Markov cooking me breakfast in his home.”
“Yeah, for me too. I don’t cook for anyone, but it’s because most of my meals get delivered or prepared in the Vice kitchens.”
“So, I’m special?” she teased.
“You are,” he replied, without a hint of a tease in his voice. “I want to do this for you.”
“Ah.” She sipped her coffee to escape his gaze. “Are you going to tell me what happened to your hand?”
In a few short sentences, he relayed the story of Gordon Dean. When he told her about the crowbar, a chill skittered down Dana’s back.
The thought of anyone hurting Alex took her to dark places.
“And this man is still in Vegas?”
“Yeah. I vouched for him, of course, so the police have dropped the case. I don’t want Gordon to suffer. He made a couple of mistakes. I’m not pressing charges. He’ll be heading home soon, but I think he just wants to come up with a plan first.”
“And what if that plan involves coming back for you?”
“He won’t. We talked it through.”
“Alex, this man and his family have held a grudge for over a year now. He flips sides out of nowhere, and you believe him?”
He averted his gaze.
“One minute, Gordon Dean was threatening you with a crowbar. The next minute, he’s taking you to the hospital? I don’t understand. Why did he change his mind?”
“I broke down in front of him. I think it shocked the hell out of him. Gordon realized he’d taken things too far. He’s even going to talk to his parents and get them to back down.”
“How nice of him.”
A glint shone in his eyes. “Are you worried about me?”
“Of course.”
“Don’t.” He covered her hand with his for a moment and then went over to the stove. He opened it and used a fork to poke at the omelette. “Eggs are ready.”
“Great.”
Too bad her stomach was turning over.
Alex plated the mixture and delivered it to the table. “Now, be open-minded.”
“Why?”
“They’re not real eggs. I’m vegan.”
“Vegan? How did I not know this about you?”
“Well, we haven’t really spent our time together eating.”
As his voice trailed off, he met her gaze. Hunger flitted through his eyes and it had nothing to do with the faux omelette.
“I guess you’re right.” Her tongue thick, Dana attacked the dish and put a forkful into her mouth. “Mmm. These are good. Different, but good.” She ate some more. “So, what made you go vegan?”
