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By the time I finished, I had already fixed myself a plate and set his to the side. I was just putting his plate in the microwave to keep it out of the way when I heard the front door open, followed by the alarm beeping.

My body tensed up before I could help it. Even though I figured it was Cassian, after everything that had happened, I couldn’t help being a little jumpy.

A few seconds later, the alarm stopped, and I heard footsteps coming through the foyer. When Cassian reached the kitchen, he slowed to a stop, his eyes landing on me before glancing toward the stove.

“What is that smell?” he asked, looking me up and down.

I raised an eyebrow. “What smell?”

“Whatever the fuck you got going on in here. Smell good as hell.” He glanced around the kitchen again. “You cooked?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I cooked.”

“Aight, let me go put my stuff down, and I’ll be back.”

I didn’t say anything else, just watched as he headed upstairs. Once he disappeared, I took a seat at the island, said my grace, and started eating.

I was about halfway through my food when he came back downstairs, dressed in something more comfortable. He grabbed his plate, took a seat beside me at the island, and said his grace before digging in.

“Damn, ma, this shit good as fuck.”

I shook my head, laughing a little as he took another bite.

“I thought about what we talked about earlier,” I said, deciding to bring it up while we were both sitting here.

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?” He glanced over at me before taking another bite of his lamb chop.

“When you said I could go back to work, but I’d have somebody watching me.”

“Aight, what about it?”

I set my fork down. “I think I’m going to agree to it.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know, ma.”

I frowned, turning toward him. “What you mean, you don’t know?”

“Because if yo’ ass keep cooking like this, I might have to keep you in the house so a nigga can come home to a good ass home cooked meal.”

He sat there with a smirk on his face, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

I gave him a look before picking my fork back up. Part of me wanted to say something slick, especially after all the shit he’d put me through, but I wasn’t trying to start another argument with his ass. Not when I was finally getting somewhere with him about going back to work.

“Just because I go back to work, Cassian, doesn’t mean I can’t cook when I get off.”

“I know, ma. I’m just fucking with you.” He smirked before taking another bite of his food. “But I’ll get everything set up.”

“Okay, good. So does that mean I’m getting my phone back?”

I was hoping he’d say yes because I was missing the hell out of my sister. I couldn’t wait to talk to her and make sure she was doing okay. Plus, knowing Lha’Kayla, she’d probably been blowing my phone up trying to check on me.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Can I trust you with your phone?”

“Yeah. What the hell you mean, can you trust me?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “If I’m going back to work, Cassian, I’m gonna need my phone. Especially if something happens and I need to call for help.”

“You right. But the last time I let you have your phone, yo’ ass decided to call the cops to my house.”

“That’s because you wouldn’t let me leave. You was keeping me hostage.”