“So come on then, tell me some of your pickup lines.”
“Why?” He fills a pan with water, placing it on the stove and flicking a cloth over his shoulder as he turns up the heat.
“Just curious because most pickup lines are so cringy.”
“Some are, I agree, but think of them as conversation starters.”
“In what way?”
“Women are intimidating as fuck when you’re all together in a group, or alone if I’m being truly honest. Sometimes we need a way to start a conversation, and I find humor works best.”
“Leo Brent isn’t intimidated by women,” I tease as he continues to seamlessly gather everything he needs. He has his back to me, and I pray he doesn’t go and put a shirt on because damn, the picture he’s painting right now is pretty spectacular.
“Trust me, some women intimidate me more than others.” He shakes his head, focusing on cracking the first egg into the now boiling water. “But if you must know, my favorite pickup line is cringy, but it hasn’t failed me yet.”
“How? Because the cringy ones would definitely make me want to run as fast as I could.”
“Depends what you consider cringy, but this is nothing like ‘did it hurt when you fell from heaven’ or some shit like that.” He laughs, the muscles in his forearms flexing as he sprinkles some salt into the water.
“That would one hundred percent have me running away.”
“I have no doubt.”
“So come on, tell me.”
“You want me to pick you up, Ri Ri?” He puts the bread in the toaster and leans against the counter, legs crossed. Fuck, the man doesn’t need pickup lines posing like that, and I get why he doesn’t have trouble. Have I been walking around blind all this time?
“Try me,” I say a lot more confidently than I feel as it takes all my strength not to allow my eyes to wander now that he’s staring straight at me with intense gray eyes.
The toast pops behind him, and he gives me a small smile before finishing preparing our breakfast. “Drink your coffee, Ri Ri.”
After a moment, he turns everything off and places a perfectly prepared poached egg in front of me. “Impressive.”
“I’ve heard that many times.” Sitting back next to me, he hands me my silverware.
“Always so cocky.”
“Not cocky, Ri Ri, just confident. Always be sure of yourself, and everyone around you will be confident in you.”
“Your dad always says that.”
“He’s a clever man. But don’t tell him.” He winks.
“Your secret is safe with me.” Smiling, I tuck into my breakfast, moaning when I take the first bite of the perfectly seasoned poached egg. “Leo, this is perfect.”
“I enjoy cooking. It’s always been something that allowed me to organize my thoughts, you know? Because yes, you have a recipe to follow, but you’re given creative tools to change whatyou don’t think will work, and sometimes you create something sensational—other times not so much.”
“You keep surprising me.”
“Really? How?”
“You’re deeper than you let people see.” He just shrugs as he continues to eat. I think I’ve hit a nerve as he doesn’t say anything until he finishes his meal and turns to me.
“So I have a question.”
“Okay?” Pushing my plate aside, I turn to him. Our knees brush together and goose bumps erupt on my exposed thighs. I mask the shiver rushing through me by grasping my coffee cup.
“How heavy is a polar bear?”
