He gestured toward her shopping cart. “But you’re buying food.”
She shifted her focus to the items she’d put in her cart. “That’s because I wanted to give your mom the night off.”
Something about her words hit him hard—like knock him off his feet, hard. “You… want to… you cook?”
Kat snorted at him. “Yes, Leo,” she drawled, “I cook. I’m not completely useless.”
“I never said you were useless,” he snapped. Then he immediately flinched at his tone when her look of incredulity made it clear he’d gone too far with his tone. He scrubbed at his jaw and relaxed. “What I meant to say was that… well, don’t you come from money?”
For a moment she just stared at him. Then she laughed and, dang it, that sound could melt ice in the North Pole. “Yes, Leo. My family comes from money. We do very well for ourselves.”
“So don’t you have a chef or something?”
She turned down an aisle, not meeting his gaze then. “My father does. And when I’m too busy to make something of my own,” she paused and cut him an embarrassed look, “sometimes I have someone fix me something.”
What did she have to be embarrassed over? He got the distinct impression that she didn’t like him thinking she couldn’t take care of herself. Or maybe it was something else. He wanted to tell her there was nothing to be ashamed of, but then he thought better of it. The way he’d reacted already was putting him in hot water as it was. He didn’t need to put his foot in his mouth more than he already had.
He eyed the food in the cart with curiosity. “What are you making?”
She lifted a shoulder. “It’s nothing much. Just spaghetti.”
Leo’s eyes snagged on the bowtie pasta and he smirked. “I’m pretty sure you need spaghetti noodles for that kind of dish.”
A pretty flush spilled across her cheeks and she looked away. “This is how my mom made it.” There was a twinge of sadness in her voice, but it was clear this meal held happy memories for her. She peered up at the cans of tomato sauce high up on the shelf to her side and came to a stop. When she stood on her toes, he immediately jumped into action and reached for the jar she’d been reaching for.
Their bodies brushed against each other. His fingers grazed hers.
Sparks.
Fireworks.
Electrical energy just like before flowed between them. The smallest gasp of surprise slipped past her lips and he gave her a cocky grin as he handed over the jar before grabbing another. “Don’t ever say I didn’t come to your rescue.”
He could tell there was a rebuttal just waiting to be thrown in his direction so with that statement, he backed away.
“Where are you going?” she demanded.
“Can’t have spaghetti without garlic bread.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Kat stoleanother look at Leo. It had been a couple weeks since he’d joined them for dinner regularly. She hadn’t questioned it when he’d stopped coming. Sonya had assured her that sometimes Leo and Reese, her other son, would get so caught up with their work that they’d come in late to eat what she saved them in the fridge.
At the time, Kat had been… relieved. She’d not wanted to interact with Leo when tensions were so high. Especially leading up to that day in the cabin.
But then that night had changed everything. She couldn’t stop thinking about the connection they’d made when they’d been out there.
Coupled with the things he made her feel at the wedding?
It was a safe assessment that she was slowly but surely losing her grasp on the reality she’d come here to live. Now, with him standing mere feet from her chopping the vegetables that she’d purchased, it was almost too easy to pretend that they had something more.
Ridiculous as it was, she found herself wondering what life would be like if she didn’t have the upbringing she’d been blessed with. What if she’d been born into a place like Rocky Ridge? Would she have still been so driven that she wouldn’t allow a man to dictate the sort of life she would lead?
Kat wanted to think so, but right about now? She couldn’t be sure.
Leo hummed to himself as he chopped. His long-sleeved shirt was rolled up to the middle of his forearms. His large, capable hands wielded that knife like he could have been a chef in another life.
He stilled his work and his eyes slowly lifted until they collided with hers. He stared at her unabashed as his humming fell to nothing. The only thing she heard was the racing of her own heart as she was forced to come face to face with a terrible new reality.
