Page 29 of Snowed In with an Incubus

She expected something simple. Toast, maybe some cup noodles. But when she emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later,the oven was on, and he was sliding pumpkin skin off a cutting board and into the trash.

“I’m making soup,” he explained. “But there’s bread over there. For snacking. I was just going to bring it in. Is this okay?I can make something faster, soup might be a while.”

Jaz cut him off, delighted. “Soup is good! Love some soup.”

Sam looked relieved. “Cool. Uh, there’s the snacking bread.” He pointed at the counter. There was a smaller, more batteredcutting board with half a loaf of bread sitting on it. Xena sat below, tail wagging hopefully.

“It’s a bit stale,” he said. “But you can toast it.”

Jaz cut a hunk off and ate it plain. She dropped a tiny piece for Xena, who snapped it up gratefully and went right back tostaring.

Sam placed the cutting board in the sink and leaned on the counter opposite Jaz. He looked so … domestic. Sleeves rolled up and a blender ready behind him, presumably for soup-related purposes.

Jaz grinned around a mouthful of bread. She almost wanted to snap a photo to send to Lilian: See? Told you he’s sweet!

Sam asked, “What?”

She shook her head. “Just excited for pumpkin soup! I always assumed you boiled it.”

“You can. Roasting it caramelizes the vegetables.”

“Vegetables, plural?”

“Potato. Makes it creamier.” Sam folded his arms with a nervous smile. “Seriously, what?”

She shook her head again, still grinning. “Nothing! It’s nice to meet a guy who knows soup facts. I can’t cook. Except rice!I eat a lot of rice. Rice with sauce, rice with microwaved vegetables … I can make sushi … Sometimes I make curry!With frozen vegetables. If I buy vegetables fresh, they just go bad before I can get to them. I’ll need to learn to cook Thanksgivingfood when my family finally puts me on the food roster, but all my aunts and uncles are still clinging to their spots, soI don’t really have to learn until one of them dies.”

Sam nodded. He still looked nervous, but now his mouth was twitching. Like her frozen vegetable rant had distracted him fromwhatever he was worried about.

Jaz poked him in the knee with her foot. “What’s up? You look worried. I promise I’ll eat your soup even if it sucks.”

“It won’t suck,” he said. “I’m great at soup.”

“Okay. Why the face?”

“There’s no face,” he said, expression flattening out. The worry was gone, but now so was his smile.

She poked him again, trying to coax it back out.

“There’s no face,” he insisted, dodging. “I just—do you really want to go?”

Jaz’s heart skipped a beat. Was he asking what she thought he was asking? It seemed uncharacteristically bold of him to askher to stay in Claw Haven, a town she’d only ever meant to pass through, because of one great night. And yet, it made a strangehope rise inside of her. She could stay a little longer, right? She was going to stay with her aunt for a few weeks, so whynot stay here instead? Just while she found her feet. Then she could go back to Chicago. Would he want her to stay here? There was a big difference between one night and a few weeks.

Before she could start making any more outrageous plans, Sam’s eyes widened.

“To the party,” he said quickly. “Do you really want to go to the party?”

“Oh.” Jaz pushed down her disappointment. “Sure, why not? That’s what you do at New Year’s. Party, party, party. Make resolutionsyou’ll never keep. Kiss a cute stranger.”

She winked. His mouth quirked again, but only for a moment.

She groaned. “Why are you so nervous? I’m the one who should be nervous. I don’t know anyone there!”

“I’m not nervous!”

Xena barked, leaping up at Sam. He sighed, stroking her head.

“I know, girl, I know. She hasn’t been on a walk today.” He paused. “Want to come? We still have half an hour before the pumpkin’sready.”