“Fuck, T. This is better than your mom’s, and that’s saying something because I thought hers was my favorite.”
Ducking her head, she offered a shy smile. “Thanks.”
“Seriously. I love chili, and your mom’s is to die for, but this? Hands down the best I’ve ever had.” I shoved another bite in and grinned around it at the way color climbed up her pretty neck to flood her face.
“You’re kinda over-the-top, Danny.”
“Take a sincere compliment, T.”
With a shake of her head, she cut her sandwich in half, dunked a corner in her soup, and took a bite.
For a few minutes we ate in silence, me finishing my sandwich and most of a bowl of chili in the same time it took T to get only halfway through half of her sandwich and a few bites into her soup. Living with guys for most of my life hadn’t taught me much about taking my time with meals. I appreciated her cooking, so I willed myself to slow down.
“I’ve gotta admit, I love it when someone else cooks. Every Sunday afternoon while we watch pro football, Callahan and Bax make breakfast burritos for the four of us for the week. It’s pretty damn awesome to know I have something filling to eat on the run since I’m usually the last one out of the sack.” I finished off my bowl and glanced hopefully at what was left in the serving bowl in the middle of the table.
With an indulgent grin, Taryn nodded, and I filled my bowl again.
“We take turns cooking dinner, but no one in the house can make chili like this.”
“You’re kinda transparent, you know.”
My brows shot up. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not coming over to cook for you and your roommates. My schedule is already packed.”
“Where in my praises for this delicious meal did I ask you to?”
This time her brows went up.
“If anything I’m just hoping to be invited over here for dinner more often.” I grinned and nodded at the half a sandwich left on her plate. “You gonna eat that?”
Chuckling, she said, “You’re ridiculous,” as she slid her plate across the table to me, and I plucked the cheese sandwich from it.
A few minutes later, a few leaves of lettuce were all that remained from an excellent dinner I hadn’t expected.
During my night of tossing and turning, I’d made plans to fix things with Taryn. But when I rolled out of bed this morning, I would never have predicted I’d be sitting in her blink of a kitchen having dinner with her like we were a long-established couple. For the first time since I was a little kid, I felt like I belonged, and it was all because the stunning woman sitting across from me wanted me as much as I wanted her.
?Chapter Twenty-One
?Taryn
“Took you twolong enough,” Zoe said as we worked our way through the crowd thronging into the stadium for Saturday’s home game. “You’ve been watching each other for years, pretending you don’t have feelings. Honestly, it was silly.”
We found our seats and spread a blanket over them.
“But highly entertaining to watch,” Zoe continued. Her laughter washed over me, and I may or may not have smacked her arm as we laid out the blanket.
“You didn’t have a clue how we felt. Both of us never let on,” I said as I wrapped a second blanket around her shoulders and mine. Though we hadn’t had any snow yet, winter was definitely riding the wind.
She patted the side of my face with her mittened hand. “Oh, my darling naïve friend. Whenever you’re together, neither one of you can keep your eyes off the other. Several of us in the drama club had bets on when you’d finally give in and start dating.” Her expression was smug. “I won.”
Widening my eyes, I asked, “What date did you pick?”
“Prom.” Her eyes danced. “Derek did everything he could to force you to go with him. But I was pulling for Danny, and he came through.”
It was my turn to drop a patronizing tone on my friend. “You should return everyone’s money, Zoe.” At her raised brow, I said, “It wasn’t a real date. We went as buddies. If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you the pics. We couldn’t have been more awkward if we’d tried.”
“It’s your story, Taryn. Tell it any way you want. But I know what I saw—what we all saw. It drove Derek Watson and Kaitlyn Frost bonkers that they couldn’t crack either of you.” She bounced a friendly elbow against my side. “Again, highly entertaining.”
