Frowning across the counter at me, she narrows her eyes and the corner of my mouth twitches. I have to clench my jaw to keep from smiling.
“Honestly, this is a simple spaghetti sauce. It only needs two hands.”
“Hmm…” Crossing her arms under her breasts gives me all sorts of ideas I shouldn’t have. Except my body and brain were ready for a wife and all the benefits of having one. And I would be lying if I said Riley isn’t attractive.
She’s beautiful. Inside and out.
I hate knowing she hasn’t been appreciated her whole life. Which reminds me. I need to do some research.
Glancing up again, I see she hasn’t moved and the scowl on her face has me biting back laughter. “Tell you what. I’ll get this on the stove then you can keep an eye on it while I get some work done.”
“What do you do?”
It’s the first time she’s asked, and I don’t want to lie, but I can’t tell her the truth either. Not yet. Maybe not ever. “Computer stuff.”
“Computer stuff? Like make them?”
With a shake of my head I say, “No. I’m a programmer.” She doesn’t need to know I’m more of a de-programmer.
“Oh. You build websites and games?”
“No. Not games.” And the websites I deal with aren’t built by me.
“I like computers. Well, I like using them. I haven’t been able to since I finished school.”
“When was that?”
“Three years ago.”
She told me she didn’t put her profile up on Get Hitched, and her lack of computer access confirms it. “I’ve got a spare laptop you can use if you want.” I don’t, but I can strip back one I use rarely and make it safe for her.
“What would I do with it? I’m not in school anymore.”
“You could scroll social media. Stream a movie.”
“I don’t know how to do either of those.”
“Do you want to?”
“Maybe.” She worries her bottom lip with her teeth and I wait her out, sure she’s got a question burning her tongue. With a huff of air she blurts, “Can you teach me?”
I’d like to teach her a lot of things. Learn with her too. But I know that isn’t what she’s referring to and I need to get my head out of my pants. “If you want. Why don’t I set you up with my streaming service and you can watch a movie or two while I work.”
“Okay. But don’t clean any of this up. I’ll do that.” She waves her hand over the counter where I’ve got a few things laid out. “Dinner smells really great and it’s not even cooking yet.”
“It’s the herbs and spices. Plus the fresh tomatoes.” I prefer fresh to canned and I know we’ll be limited to canned as winter takes over and the greenhouse stops producing most of the summer crops.
“Who taught you to cook?”
Her question takes me off guard and my hand slips on the knife I’m using to slice onion. Swallowing through my constricted throat, I say, “Mom.”
She watches me closely, takes her time before talking. And when she does, her voice is laced with concern. “Was your mom in the accident with you?”
I nod. I can’t speak. I’ve never talked about that day with anyone except my uncle. But it feels right to give Riley my story.And when she waits, doesn’t push, I know my past and the hurt it’s caused me is safe with her.
“We were driving home from dinner in Winter Lake. The roads were wet. Nothing too bad, but a group of deer darted across the road making Mom swerve. The car hit a pool of water and aquaplaned off the road into the trees. Mom died instantly.”
“I’m sorry.” Reaching over, she places her warm hand on my forearm. “It’s never easy to lose a parent but I think it would be harder when you have good memories of them.”
