“Must have been all the coffee,” I mutter as I head to the sink to wash my hands.
“I’ve got a secret,” she says, coming right up next me, her hip bumping mine as she sticks her hands under the water, too. Instantly the smell of barbecue is replaced by her sweet, intoxicating, floral scent, and I have to hold my breath to keep from inhaling her. Otherwise, I’m afraid that if I do, I’ll be searching out that smell for the rest of my life.
Fuck, this girl needs to go. I step back to let her finish washing her hands.
“Don’t you want to know my secret?” She settles on one of the stools at the counter.
I close my eyes because those words coming from her mouth make me want a lot of things. Though none of them are her secrets.
“Not really,” I grunt.
“It wasn’t coffee.”
“No shit.”
She barely bats an eye at my bad attitude. “It was mimosas because my sister and Rosie drink mimosas on Sunday mornings.”
I take a stack of ribs from the platter and a scoop of the mashed potatoes. Tally reaches over and spoons some broccoli onto my plate. “You’re a growing boy, Cowboy. You need your greens.”
“Not a cowboy.”
“Whatever you say.”
I take a bite of rib and practically moan from the delicious flavor of the meat as it falls off the bone.
“Good, right? Sorry, I stole your ribs. If we’re going to be living together, we should probably figure out how to split the expenses.”
“You cook like this every night, and we can call it even,” I reply without thinking.
She blinks up at me like I told her she was the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen, and the most gorgeous shade of red fans across her cheeks. “I’m glad you like it,” she murmurs softly before taking a bite of her food.
I slide off my stool and head to the fridge for a beer, holding one up for her. She raises her glass bottle of diet coke inresponse and shakes her head, so I grab just one beer and pop the top. Before digging in and forgetting my own name, I add, “I’ve got a business credit card. We can use that.”
She shakes her head, but I hold up a hand for her to let me finish. “If you’re determined to work here, you’re an employee. It’s only right.”
Her lips twist and she nods. “About that—I’m really sorry about the tulips.”
“It wasn’t all your fault. You were right. I should have told you my plan.” Her eyes light up. “You still should have listened when I told you not to touch them. But I could have done a better job of explaining why.”
She nods and then her tongue goes to her cheek. “Well, while we’re being honest, I have something else to confess.”
Oh Christ, what did the woman do now? I lift my brows, waiting for her to continue.
“Remember how you told me to count the daffodils?”
I almost snort because fuck, just picturing her doing that has me ready to laugh. Somehow I manage to maintain a serious face. “Yes?”
Her eyes focus on the ceiling before she mumbles, “Well, I kinda sorta fibbed when I said I did it.”
“Oh yeah?” I work to keep my tone devoid of humor.
“I thought it was you being bossy and mean and all grumpy, but then you explained why it’s important, so I promise I’ll go out there and count every stalk this week.”
I dip my chin. “All right.”
“And I can do the grocery shopping if you tell me what you like to eat,” she adds. A warm feeling spreads through me as I realize she wants me to like her. Though I don’t thinkthere’s a damn thing she could make that I wouldn’t like if this barbecue is even a hint at her talent. I haven’t had a home-cooked meal this good in—well, fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever had a meal this good.
“Where’s your mother?” I ask, reminding myself that it’s not just the two of us living on this farm.
