She couldn’t answer. The only thing that came out when she opened her mouth was a riotous cackle. She bent at the waist, heaving as the laughter poured out of her.
It was hilarious! Zach Wilson defeated by limp noodles.
“It’s not funny! Stop laughing.”
There wasn’t a bit of humor in his tone, but the howling hit a new roar when she peeked under the dish rag and saw the wavy black remains of their dinner.
“This isn’t funny at all. You know, this is all your fault.”
“My fault?” She managed to wheeze through her guffawing, sending her into a coughing fit that was the definition of unattractive.
“You’re trying to make me do things I don’t know how to do. This isn’t me!”
She covered her mouth with a hand and clearedher throat. His face was turning a dangerous shade of maroon. “I’m sorry. I?—”
With a grunt, he stormed right past her, gripping his hands into fists at his sides.
“Wait!”
Good grief, he was quick. His casual stride had taken him all the way to the front door in two seconds while she was still sputtering like a goat and weaving her way around the kitchen table.
He held up a hand and kept walking. “I’m done with this. I’m not your servant, Lauren.”
“Please, just wait.”
Her hand clamped around his wrist in the same moment he rounded on her. The error hit her before he even spoke a word. Touch. She’d promised not to touch him.
He jerked his hand out of her grasp and leveled her with a searing gaze. “I said?—”
“I know. I’m sorry. I forgot. I was just trying to get you to stop and listen to my apology. Please give me a minute to explain.”
He shook his head but didn’t resume his retreat, and she took that as her cue to continue.
“You’re right,” she whispered. “I asked you to do something that I shouldn’t have. I could have easily cooked supper for us when I got home. I was out of line to bully you into doing something you didn’t want to do.”
The lines of his stern brow didn’t soften, but he didn’t stop her. He just stood there, quiet and waiting.
“I don’t think you can do everything. It wasn’t right of me to assume you could do all of these things, especially cooking. From now on, I’ll ask if you know how to do things. If you don’t, you can let me know if you’re willing to figure it out or if I should hire someone else.”
He was quiet for a moment as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. “You can’t do everything either.”
Lauren modeled his stance. She’d admitted she was wrong. He didn’t have to rub it in. “What do you mean? I know I can’t.”
“But you’re trying to do everything,” Zach said as his gaze traveled from her face to her toes and back up. The way he looked at her made her want to step behind a curtain.
There wasn’t any malice in his voice when he spoke. “You look tired.”
Oh. That was just great. Why did he have to notice things she wanted to keep hidden? “I didn’t sleep well last night.”
Zach nodded slowly. “Was it because of the monster next door?”
“Not exactly.”
It wasn’t a lie. How could she explain what she didn’t understand?
It wasn’t his fault she was still hung up on the trauma. Well, not his fault anymore. He’d given her his apology in actions and words. It was tough to stay mad about it when he’d shown remorse.
Living with the memories and the residual fearwas tough on a good day. After juggling her way through this disaster of a day, she didn’t have the fortitude to withstand the emotions that liked to settle on her shoulders.
