“So you’re not just a sad, lonely dude who is desperate for companionship?”
“Do I seem sad, lonely, or desperate?” he asked.
“Ugh!” I snapped, throwing up a hand.
“Not the answer you were hoping for?”
“I could have felt bad for you if you were just lonely. Understood why you’re digging in your heels about this. But now, now you’re just a pain in the ass.”
“A pain in the ass who just made dinner. Join me?” he asked, waving toward the dining table.
Warning bells went off in my mind.
But maybe we could have a calm, rational discussion over a meal, and then he’d sign the damn papers.
Even as I sat down at the table, I knew it was nothing but wishful thinking.
Then, well, then things got away from me.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“What?” Harrison asked when I set my fork down and glared at him.
“It’s not enough that you’re rich, educated, worldly, and handsome; you have to be a good cook too?”
A little chuckle escaped him at that.
“You think I’m handsome, huh?”
I rolled my eyes at that.
“Please, I wouldn’t have invited you back to my room if I didn’t think you were attractive.”
That was the wrong thing to say.
Harrison’s eyes warmed as memories surfaced.
Heat bloomed through my core.
“So, can you only make pasta?” I asked, wishing my glass of water was wine all of a sudden.
“Not just pasta, no. But just about everything I know how to cook is Italian. Our housekeeper was Italian. She had seven siblings and six kids. The whole family got together in the summer to make enough pasta sauce to can for the year.”
“Are you close with her still?”
“We’re in contact. But she’s retired and spending time with her grandchildren now.”
“I bet she’s proud of what you’ve accomplished.”
“Eh, she’s not impressed by money. She’s forever on my ass about gaining weight, getting married, and having half a dozen babies.”
“Do you want half a dozen babies?”
“I want kids. But that sounds excessive. Especially if I continue living in the city.”
“Right. Because this place is so tiny,” I said, gesturing broadly. “What is the square footage of this place?”
“Just under six thousand square feet.”
