I give Ralph a rare grin. “Yeah, I know.”
“What’s that all about?”
“I’ll let you know when I do.”
Ralph harrumphs and closes his door again. But my grin doesn’t go anywhere.She’s still here.It’s weird as fuck how excited I am by that, and when I unlock the door and push it open, I’m hit with an incredible aroma of tomato and basil. She’s here…and she cooked?
But Sadie’s not in the kitchen, where I look first. Then I spy her red hair piled on top of her head, peeking out over the back of the couch.
Setting my keys down, I walk around the end of the sofa and find her with Cat tucked into her side, her laptop on her legs,and an adorable look of concentration on her face. Her lack of acknowledgment makes sense when I see the earbuds tucked in her ears.
“Holy crap!” She slams her computer shut when she notices me.
“Sorry, didn’t realize you couldn’t hear me come in.” I glance down at her computer. “You don’t have to stop working on my account.”
She blushes furiously. “It’s fine. I was done.”
“What were you working on?” I sit down in the chair next to the couch instead of heading for my bedroom to change.
“Nothing.” She’s fidgeting with her hands.
“Really.” I arch my brow at her and wait. “Nothing?” Her blush deepens. Interesting… “Sadie. What were you doing?” I don’t honestly know why I’m pushing this, but now I really fucking want to know what she was doing.
“Promise you won’t laugh?”
“Well, now I’m not promising anything.”
If she could shoot daggers from her eyes, she would be right now. “Maverick.”
“Specs.”
Letting out a little huff, she opens her computer up again. “Fine. But if you start to judge me, I’ll…” she trails off.
“You’ll what?” I can’t hide my growing grin; this is too much fun.
“I don’t know. So don’t judge me.”
I lift my hands up. “Fine. No judging.”
The computer comes to life with some random couple on the screen. “Reality TV? That’s your dirty little secret?”
“No judging.” She narrows her gaze at me. “And yes. I like to watch these ridiculous dating shows to unwind sometimes.”
I move to the couch, sitting down on the other side of Cat. “Okay, show me.”
The incredulous look Sadie gives me is honestly funny as shit. “You’re joking.”
“Nope. But can we eat at the same time? Something smells amazing.”
Sadie jumps up off the couch. “Oh! I made dinner.”
I follow her into the kitchen and watch her bustle around the space as if she’s been here for years, not less than a day. She plates some pasta with a red sauce that is clearly the source of that aroma I noticed when I got home. Then she pulls out two small bowls of salad from the fridge and sets them on the counter. Taking a step back, she looks at me. “I’m hoping you like pasta.”
“I do.” Closing the distance, I pick up a fork and take a bite. Flavours explode on my tongue, and I quickly swallow only so I can take another, larger bite. “This is really fucking good, Specs.”
She stands up straighter, her head ducked, but I can see the smile my praise brings. “I’m glad you like it. I called Willow to see what kind of food you might like; I wasn’t sure if there was a diet plan or something during the season. But she said anything was fine as long as it was high protein. So I thought my mom’s Bolognese would be a good option. I remember my brother eating tons of it when he was on the track team in high school.”
God, she’s so fucking cute when she rambles. But I can’t let myself think that for too long. Especially when it’s clear I needto make damn sure she knows her staying here doesn’t come with strings attached.
