“Don’t give me that ‘good morning’ bullshit, Zoe. You know exactly what you did!” Trevor snapped, trying to look stern as he pointed a finger at her. His eyes darted down at the food spread out on her counter several times, completely wrecking the effect, especially when he went ahead and licked his lips in anticipation.
“Can I have double cheese?” Trevor asked, momentarily forgetting why he was pissed at her, which she noticed happened whenever food was around.
Sighing heavily as if it somehow pained her to do as he’d asked, she put down the jar of mayonnaise and added extra cheese to his sandwiches.
“Only three sandwiches? Are you trying to starve me?” Trevor asked with a pout that she shouldn’t find adorable but did. “You know that we’re not all on a diet, don’t you?” Trevor asked as he reached out and pushed the loaf of potato bread towards her in silent demand.
With a roll of her eyes, Zoe pulled out two more slices of bread, wondering how she’d let him talk her into this particular chore. Oh, that’s right. Two months ago, he pouted and kept on pouting for a week until she’d finally had enough and agreed to make his damn lunches for him. She hadn’t missed the triumphant smile he’d tried hiding from her. She let it slide since it meant more hours for her and because he was just so damn cute when he thought he was pulling one over on her.
“Oh, God! What the hell have you poisoned me with now?” Trevor demanded, drawing her attention.
“Hey! Stop eating my food!” Zoe snapped, reaching over and taking her bowl of high-fiber cereal away from him. He practically shoved it in her hands. “You keep screwing with my calorie count, you jerk.”
A woman on a diet who was only allowing herself twelve hundred calories a day was not someone to mess with as Trevor should have already learned, but the man couldn’t seem to stop himself from stealing whatever food she was eating. Most of the food she bought was admittedly gross, but it worked. If she hadn’t already lost thirty pounds, she would have given up a long time ago.
“You owe me an apology!” Trevor demanded. She’d wondered how long it would take him to get back to that. He really had a problem with his focus when food was around. Actually, now that she thought about it, all the Bradfords she’d come across seemed to have that same problem.
“For what?” she asked, trying to appear innocent, but her lips twitching as she fought back a smile kind of killed it.
“For what?” Trevor asked, dumbfounded. “For lying to me! You said that book had sex in it! You lied, again!” He folded his arms over his chest as he glared down at her.
“Are you sure? I don’t remember saying that,” Zoe, of course, lied. It really did entertain her every night when he would ask if they were getting to the sex part yet. She’d assure him that they were while she tried not to laugh. She lost that battle several times, but thankfully, he couldn’t see her burying her face in her pillow and laughing her ass off at him.
“Yes, I’m sure, woman! That’s two books you’ve lied to me about,” Trevor said, still glaring.
“Hmm, you know what, it’s been a while, so I guess I just confused the books,” she said, scrunching up her face in thought. “It’s definitely in the third book.”
He narrowed his eyes on her. “Are you sure this time?”
“Mmmhmm,” she answered, looking back down as she fought not to laugh.
“Fine, I guess we can start the third book tonight,” he said in that tone that he used when he tried to make her think that he was somehow doing her a favor. She wasn’t fooled, but she didn’t care enough to argue.
Over the past two and a half months, she’d come to enjoy their nightly ritual. It was nice to have something to look forward to instead of the all-consuming loneliness she used to feel. Her days were no longer filled with dread and boredom. Now, she woke up looking forward to going to work, although she missed having Haley to talk to, it was still a thousand times better than her old job.
Zoe hadn’t really made many friends, but the guys were really nice to her and every now and then, Haley called to say hello. She’d even been invited to Haley’s baby shower. Everyone had been so nice and she’d really been enjoying herself, that is, until Haley’s water broke. It got a little crazy after that.
But she did meet some very nice EMTs and even got to help put a splint on Jason’s fingers after Haley broke two or three of them during that last contraction. Not that he seemed to care or notice. He’d been a nervous wreck the entire time. The only thing that seemed to calm him down was when the EMT placed the cutest little baby girl Haley had ever seen in his arms.
Little by little, things were improving for her and she couldn’t be happier. Even her relationship with Trevor was better. She wouldn’t exactly call them friends since they’d never socialized and he never went out of his way to acknowledge her at work, but he did provide her with entertainment in the morning and at night, so he was a much-welcomed part of her day.
She grabbed his lunch box and gestured to the clock. “You’re going to be late.” She started the five-minute process of fitting all his food into the small cooler.
“Shit,” Trevor said, reaching into his back pocket. “Let me pay you before I forget.”
Ah, payday, her new favorite day of the week. It was nice not having to cringe anymore when she got paid. Granted, her full-time job paid her more than enough so that she had plenty of money to pay her bills, but the money she earned from Trevor was her favorite. It was probably because she actually had plans for this money. If things kept going the way that they were, she would be taking her first real vacation soon.
“Gimme,” Zoe said, grinning as she held out her hand.
Chuckling, Trevor handed her the money that brought her that much closer to her dream vacation.
“You better get going,” Zoe said, gesturing with a banana for him to move his butt.
“Yes, boss,” Trevor said teasingly as he swiped the banana out of her hand.
“Hey! That’s a hundred and ten calories, buddy!” Zoe said, hurrying around the kitchen island to rescue her banana, but Trevor was already out the door by the time she made it to the living room.
“There had better be sex in that book tonight, Zoe!” he yelled from the hallway.
