Rhodes nodded. “You’re close with him and your sister?”
“Yes, very. They’re great kids.”
“What about your parents?”
“Um, my dad was never in the picture. Neither was theirs. And my mom’s traveling right now, so.” I shrugged, making it clear that the conversation was closed. “It was good to see Luke tonight. I told him I’d take him swimming tomorrow.”
“That’s really nice of you. I’m sure that would make him happy. But wedoneed to plan an entire wedding.”
“I know,” I said quickly. “But he needs to have some fun. It’s okay if I take him for an hour, right?”
Rhodes’s gaze softened as he looked at me. “Of course it is. I’m glad that you’re bonding with him.”
“Me too.”
There was a knock on the door, and Philips arrived, wheeling in a cart with our food, already magically prepared.
“How are you everywhere at once?” I asked. “You were just serving ribs at the barbecue!”
“It’s my duty to be as omnipresent as possible,” Philips deadpanned. “Here are your burgers. Enjoy your evening.” He swept into a deep bow and left us.
“Having a butler’s pretty awesome,” I said.
Rhodes surprised me by laughing. “Yes, I suppose it is.”
He grabbed our trays and set everything up on the bed, pouring us each a glass of water. The food smelled divine; I realized I hadn’t eaten since that morning. My stomach snarled with hunger, so I dove in.
The burger was amazing. I sat cross-legged and ate the entire thing, along with my fries and salad, not pausing to say one word. Rhodes sat across from me, eating his own dinner and simultaneously watching me, dumbfounded, as I devoured my food like a ravenous animal.
I finished long before he did. In a last-ditch attempt to be polite, I waited to eat my cake.
As soon as he’d finished, I cleared the dishes and brought over our desserts. I wasn’t sure why, but sitting on this giant bed, eating room service in our sweats, was sort offun. For the first time at Barrington Manor, I wasn’t so intimidated—probably because I was starving, and then entranced by the delicious food, so I didn’t have the bandwidth.
“That was so good,” I said as I polished off my last bite of cake.
“I guess so.” Rhodes eyed my plate. “Do you want the rest of mine?”
“Sure!”
He laughed as I gamely slid his plate on top of mine and kept eating.
“What other types of food do you like?”
“Um… I’m pretty basic,” I admitted. “I like pizza, anything Italian, chicken nuggets.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Chickennuggets?”
I shrugged. “It’s chicken—shaped like a nugget.”
When he didn’t laugh, I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry, I won’t eat anything embarrassing in front of your board.”
“I’m wondering what we should serve at the wedding,” he explained.
“Ah. Probably not chicken nuggets.”
“Probably not,” he laughed.
“Steak?” I asked. “Salmon?”
