Merrick stiffened. “I've cooked for you before.”
“I know, but that was all three of you. And I'm not trying to insult you.” I pushed at his shoulder. “I'm a terrible cook, so I'm hoping you're better than me.”
“Oh.” He softened again. “I think I'm pretty good. I made pan-seared trout and a roasted chicken in case you don't like fish.”
“I love fish—trout, in particular.”
Merrick smiled. It came slowly, creeping up on his face with the look of a rare occurrence. It wasn't a great shift like Braxen's smile had been, nothing soul-shaking. But it relaxed me. It helped me see him as more than the angry, alpha man I thought he was.
I smiled back.
“Uh.” Merrick cleared his throat. “This way.”
He didn't try to take my hand, just led me down the hallway to his bedroom. Merrick opened the door and waved me inside. I entered a dark room, lit only by a few candles on a small table near the balcony. The balcony doors were shut, but they were made of glass, so the clear night sky could be seen. Stars. Shit, that meant I had slept longer than I thought. I glanced around, my stare flitting over a very masculine bed with thick wooden posts, a simple dresser, and a reading nook with a recliner. Finally, I caught sight of a clock. It was nearly 10:30.
How long had he been keeping the food warm?
“Please,” Merrick said as he pulled out a chair for me.
I sat down and smoothed my hands over the white linen tablecloth. The plates were fine china, there was real silverware, and a bottle of champagne was chilling in a bucket on a rolling cart next to the table. The cart also held several platters of food. In addition to the trout and chicken, there were mashed potatoes, broccoli, and bread.
“Would you like me to make you a plate?” Merrick asked.
“Please,” I said.
He filled a plate with a bit of everything, then set it before me. “Champagne?”
“Sure.”
Merrick opened the bottle and poured some into our glasses. Only after I took a sip and sighed happily did he make his own plate.
“This smells incredible,” I said. “Thank you for going through so much trouble for me.”
“You're welcome.”
“So, uh, what's the plan with the Host?”
Merrick grimaced. “I searched the traffic cams in the area and all I could find was Kaleo Chang, no one else with him. I was able to trace him back to his hotel. I'm still going through the footage from the hotel to see if I can link him to someone else. And I'll hack into the police files later to see what they find.”
“You can hack into the police database?”
He smirked.
“Oh, all right. You've got skills, huh?”
“A few.”
We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't a comfortable silence, like how I felt with Braxen. This was more awkward. A silence waiting to be filled. Anxious for words. But neither of us had the right ones.
Finally, Merrick said, “I'm an asshole. I know it.”
I burst out laughing.
He grimaced. “But you're not an easy woman either.”
“If by easy, you mean someone who will obey your every command, then no. Far from it. But if by easy, you mean a promiscuous person, then it's an even bigger no with an added, 'how dare you' tacked on.”
Merrick snorted a laugh. “Not the second one.”
