‘Want a snack?’ He gestures to the snacks on the table: a bag of biscuits, crisps, bread, cheese slices, tomatoes, the thick spaghetti with the wavy edges that always makes me think of fresh pasta in Italy, basil, prosciutto, pancetta.
I grab the crisps. Pomodoro flavour.
‘Thought I’d make dinner for everyone,’ Luc comments.
‘I can make it if you like?’
Luc knows my cooking abilities, and I don’t even know what I’d manage to make with these ingredients. He raises his eyebrow at me.
‘I don’t mind cooking,’ I protest.
‘You’re an acts of service woman, are you?’
‘Says the man who made sure I was in the shade and had a glass of water before cycling to the shop to get stuff for dinner.’
He looks towards the door and, working out we’re alone, he comes closer to me, enveloping me in his arms. His body is coated in a thick layer of sweat from the bike ride but my body lights up at his touch. The hairs on my arms stand on end when his lips reach mine. It’s a quick kiss, but it’s one of those kisses with the potential to make me rethink everything I’ve ever known. To make me wonder what would’ve happened if I hadn’t ended it ten years ago.
I try to deepen the kiss, parting my lips softly, but then there’s footsteps coming down the stairs.
‘Hey, kids,’ Dennis says.
Luc and I shatter, spreading to opposite sides of the kitchen.
‘Luc’s cooking,’ I say.
‘Glad you’re not,’ Dennis comments.
‘It was a close call,’ Luc says, at the same time as I retort, ‘Yeah, alright Dennis!’
‘You guys are mean,’ I pout.
‘And not wrong,’ Dennis points out, taking a stool at the four-seater breakfast bar.
‘Dinner?’ Luc offers, filling the pan with water from a bottle, something I mentioned doing once because I was so worried about using the tap water. I know it’s not necessary,but I recognise he’s trying to make me feel comfortable. He chops the tomatoes and pancetta.
‘I’m going to go and get a shower, will leave you two lovebirds to it,’ Dennis says and disappears up the stairs before we can respond.
I look at Luc, expecting him to look horrified, but instead he laughs. ‘I guess he heard?’
‘I guess so.’I’mhorrified.
‘Probably weren’t as quiet as we thought.’ He drops the tomatoes into a pan.
‘Thatis something I donotwant to think about.’
Luc laughs, a great guffaw from the base of his stomach. ‘He was bound to know, Sie.’ He stirs the ingredients and chops some garlic. ‘His job is to know everything about you to keep you safe, right?’
I nod.
‘There’s a reason he’s practically attached to your hip,’ Luc says.
‘True. I don’t feel safe unless he’s around.’
‘I think…’ Luc stirs the tomatoes and then puts a lid on top of the pan, balancing it so there’s a small gap for steam to escape. ‘That we would’ve been okay here with him staying somewhere nearby.’
‘Probably, but the only other rental available was in the next town, which felt too far away if I needed him.’
He glances at me earnestly. ‘I can keep you safe, Sienna.’
