She flicked her eyes at him, then away. “You can wash up if you like, your bathroom is right there.” She nodded at the door on one wall. “I’ll go get dinner. Come on down to the kitchen when you’re ready.”
He watched her leave, long, sleek bare legs, her cute little ass moving under the white shorts. Whoa. He should not be looking at Derek’s wife like that. Strangely, he hadn’t looked at any woman like that for a long time.
There had been women. He’d had sex. Mindless, physical release. He got horny, he found someone. It was never difficult. The only difficult part was making the women understand he wasn’t interested in anything more than a quick fuck.
Why had Derek pulled a disappearing act? Krissa seemed so upset, although she was trying to hide it. You’d think if they’d gotten some kind of bad news Derek would want to be home with her. Or was there something else going on? Derek better not be screwing around on Krissa. He’d kick his ass if he was.
He used the bathroom, didn’t bother to change out of the worn jeans he’d traveled in from Costa Rica, but did put on a clean T-shirt. Then he found his way back to the kitchen where Krissa was lifting the lid on a steaming pot.
“Hi. Everything’s ready. I’m afraid the potatoes are overdone. They were supposed to have been eaten a coupleof hours ago.”
“Did you try Derek’s cell phone again?” He sat down on a stool at the long granite counter.
“No.” She dished up plates for them and slid his across the counter to him. “What can I get you to drink? Beer? Cola? Juice?”
“I’d love a beer.”
She went to the big stainless-steel refrigerator with double doors and retrieved a beer for him. After what appeared to be a second thought, she pulled another out for herself.
He nodded, spearing a piece of meat with his fork. It melted on his tongue, the tang of spices and red wine exploding against his taste buds. “Wow, this is good, Krissa.” He took another bite.
“Thanks.”
He hadn’t had much appetite since he’d been sick. He’d lost a shit load of weight, and although he’d gained some back, and had been working out to try to regain some muscle, he hadn’t been interested in food. But this was fabulous.
“You’re a great cook.”
She smiled. “I like cooking for people.”
“Perfect. I like eating.” Well, it used to be the truth.
“You look like you lost weight.”
“Yeah. I couldn’t eat for a few weeks. I was on an IV for a while.”
“Oh God.” Her green eyes were full of sympathy. “The hospital in Costa Rica…was it okay?”
“Yeah. It was a decent place in San José.”
“I’m glad you came here to recover.”
“I don’t want to get in your way.”
Their eyes met across the counter. Her smile trembled.
“What’s going on, Krissa?”
Krissa lowered her eyes and pushed food around on her plate with her fork. “I think Derek should tell you.”
Hewasscrewing around, the asshole. Nate gritted histeeth.
“Let’s talk about you,” Krissa said, fake cheerfulness in her tone. “Your photographs have been doing great.”
“Yeah.” His success still amazed him. “After I made that first big sale, things just took off.”
“I hear they’re selling for ten thousand dollars.”
He laughed. “Yeah, now they are. But remember? I sold my first one for two hundred dollars.”
