“I’m starving.”
Relief washed over her. So far, so good. “Great.”
“Okay.” He grinned, staring down at her, and the electricity was back between them, not that it ever left. The air between them was thick. She felt like he was going to say something, and she found herself holding her breath, but he was the one who exhaled. “I’m gonna…go wash up.”
She nodded, and Niko turned and walked down the hall. For a few seconds, maybe thirty, she stood frozen, staring at the space Niko had just occupied. That was how palpable the unspoken tension had been, it was still holding her captive.Thankfully, her phone buzzed with a notification from Golden Years. The notification had all of Pops pre-surgical paperwork that definitely snapped her out of the spell. She’d look at it all after dinner.
Tiana moved with the brisk, focused energy of someone trying to burn off …tension. She grabbed the Greek salad she’d made from the fridge and set it in the center of the table. A few minutes later the oven timer went off, and she pulled out the chicken and plated the food. She’d worked at high-end restaurants several times during her life, so she could plate a dish like nobody’s business.
At the store, she’d grabbed a couple bottles of wine. He’d said in his interviews he liked a glass of wine with dinner but had not specified which kind. She’d barely set the plates down when Niko returned. His hair was wet, and he was wearing a different shirt and pants with bare feet.
He’d taken a shower.
The thought of him naked, in the shower, popped into her mind. Drops of water sliding down his perfect form. Emma Stone said that Ryan Gosling was Photoshopped inCrazy, Stupid, Love,and that was exactly how Tiana felt when she’d seen Niko.
An easy smile spread across his face, revealing that damn deep dimple in his right cheek as he approached the table and stopped up short. When he saw the food, his smile dropped, and so did her stomach. It plummeted right to the floor like it was anchored with an anvil. She felt her heart rate triple and sweat break out at the base of her neck.
From his expression, this dinner was wrong. She’d clearly messed up. He looked like he’d seen a ghost, or like he was going to be ill.
“I’m so sorry.” She reached for both his plate and hers as she stood and panic rose within her.
Niko caught her wrist, holding her in place.
She froze, her eyes met his.
“You made chicken parmesan.” His voice sounded like it had been scrubbed with sandpaper.
Tiana wasn’t sure if that was a statement, a rhetorical question, or a question question. Whichever it was, she responded, “I did. I’m sorry.”
“Why…how…?”
Whenever Tiana was put under any stress she got nervous, upset, anxious, or uncomfortable and she had a cortisol and adrenaline spike, her body responded in one of two ways: either she had a panic attack, or she shut down. She got as small and quiet as possible. That’s it. She couldn’t control it. That was how she’d found yoga, it was recommended to her by a therapist because she didn’t want to be on medication for her panic attacks.
She hadn’t had an episode of either in years, but it didn’t surprise her that one was coming on now. Not because of the dinner. It was cumulative from Brock being in town. Her coming to stay with Niko. Pops needing a surgery. Her already having financial hardship and having to come up with thirty thousand dollars. So many changes. So many unknowns.
When she opened her mouth, she honestly wasn’t sure any words would come out. She was actually surprised when they started tumbling out of her mouth. “I wanted to make you dinner, so I was going to call Frankie and ask what your favorite meal was, but then I thought that’s cheating?—”
“Cheating?” His brow furrowed, but the corners of his lips curled in amusement.
“Yeah, what if I didn’t know your sister? Then how would I know what your favorite food is? I tried to look on your social media, but there was nothing like that on there, so I did some research, aka, google stalked you, and in the GQ interview youdid your rookie year, you said it was your favorite meal, so I thought I would make it for you, but obviously I got it wrong, or they misquoted you, or you changed your mind, or something.”
“No.” Niko guided Tiana’s hand down so that both plates were on the table, then they both lowered into their seats before he dropped his hand from her wrist. “You didn’t get it wrong, I wasn’t misquoted, and I haven’t changed my mind. Thisismy favorite meal, I just totally forgot I ever told anyone that.” He stared down at the dish. “That was before I had media training, and I learned pretty quick never to disclose personal information, and this is, um…” He cleared his throat. “…it’s pretty personal.”
“Oh…I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to, I didn’t mean to?—”
“I know.” He reached over and covered her hand with his. The heat, the warmth, and the comfort she felt from his touch sent a shiver through her. It also caused the swell of panic to begin to subside. “Stop apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong, in fact, the opposite. This is the kindest, most thoughtful thing anyone haseverdone for me.”
She was fairly sure he was being hyperbolic, but out of all the compliments Tiana could be given, those were two of the top four. Kindness, thoughtfulness, loyalty, and honesty—those were the four traits that Tiana valued above all else. When you grow up in the system and have literally no family to speak of, those are things you realize a lot of people don’t possess and a lot of people take for granted.
“Well, you say that now, you haven’t tasted it,” she teased, hoping to lighten the mood.
He smiled, a smile that warmed her body from the inside out. That made every cell inside her feel alive. She found herself holding her breath as he cut into the breaded chicken, then twisted the knife in the pasta and brought it to his mouth. The moment he did, his eyes closed and he moaned loudly.
She smiled. “Foodgasm?”
“Foodgasm,” he confirmed after he chewed and swallowed. Then his eyes opened on a discovery, as if he was in awe. “You made the sauce spicy.”
“Yeah, that’s what you said you liked.”
