She thought of his kiss. Considering how his touch had a way of lighting her like a Christmas tree, a little food was probably advisable. She had a feeling once they started kissing again, there’d be no stopping for some time.
The shower was going, but she went to the door, hesitated there for a second. It felt so intimate to make herself at home while he was on the other side of that door, naked. She vowed that next time she would offer to get in the shower with him. She smiled to herself—she was taking to this Eddie thing rather more quickly than she’d thought she would.
Not giving herself a moment to chicken out, she simply cracked the door and called in, “You eaten?”
“No. You?” The smell of men’s soap, like pine trees, wafted out with his voice.
It gave her a shiver. “Me neither. I’ve got some ideas, though. ”
He laughed that laugh—she’d known he would. She’d even anticipated his next line, “I look forward to that. ”
As a no-carb girl, she knew her way around a frying pan and ground beef. She quickly formed some patties and got them going on the stove.
She’d known Eddie her whole life, and stepping into his world like this felt oddly like settling into a cozy chair. It was new, but somehow familiar, too. Almost like coming home.
She wandered back into the living room as she waited, making herself at home in a way that felt satisfying. She studied the pictures on the wall and thought it interesting that there were no personal pictures to be found, especially considering his close-knit family.
Instead, there was a series of large, black-and-white landscape photos. An alpine lake with the sharp glare of sunlight on the water. Dark, massive granite peaks that seemed all the more majestic for the absence of color. An extreme close-up of pine needles coated with clouds of fresh snow.
“You like those?” Eddie had come in, and he stood there toweling his hair.
It took her a moment to find her tongue, he was so sexy, standing there in his bare feet, his dark hair spiking every which way. “I do,” she said. She liked every single thing about this cabin, including its inhabitant.
“This one’s my favorite. ” He came up beside her, peering at a shot of a tiny winter bird. A line of fragile bird tracks trailed behind it in the powdery snow. “I took it a few years back, in the woods by the falls. ”
“You took these?”
He laughed at her disbelief. “Yup. Mom got me a Neanderthal camera when my View-Master broke. ”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “Don’t make fun. ”
He nudged her back. “You either, Laura. ” He’d sounded almost half-serious. It showed him in a different light.
“I won’t,” she promised. She supposed she had been ruthless over the years, probably judging him all the more fiercely for the fact that she’d always found him so damned attractive.
“I’ve learned my lesson, Eddie Jessup. ” She crossed her heart. “As of this moment, I will never again make any assumptions about you. ”
He got a funny expression on his face and looked toward the kitchen. “Hang on. What’s that smell?”
She’d forgotten the burgers. “Whoops. ” She made a sorry face. “I was going to surprise you. ”
“By filling my cabin with the smell of burned meat?”
She followed him to the stove, staring in horror at the obliterated patties.
Eddie turned off the burner and tilted the pan, studying the mess. “Did you put anything in these, or on them?”
“No. ” She gave him an apologetic smile. “All I know are Atkins recipes. I’m sorry. I ruined it. ”
He got a funny look on his face. “Not at all, actually. Grab a bottle of red,” he said, nodding to a small countertop wine rack. “I’ve got an idea. ”
An hour later, he’d added a can of Ragu, some chopped tomatoes, and a few additional spices, and they’d settled at a weathered picnic table behind his house, eating pasta with Bolognese sauce.
“Refined flour,” she muttered as she twirled spaghetti onto her fork. It ended up being a giant bite. “What the hell?” She shoveled it in. If she was going to be hooking up with Eddie Jessup, she might as well enjoy some carbs, too.
When the flavors hit her tongue, her eyes widened. She put a hand over her mouth and said, “Oh my God. ” Swallowing, she repeated, “Oh my God. ” She shut her eyes, washing it down with a sip of wine. “I never eat pasta, and this is so good. ”
“See? You’re learning all kinds of things. Pasta’s not half-bad. Maybe Jessups aren’t half-bad, either…” He gave her a teasing smile. The late-afternoon sun made his skin glow, and a light breeze tousled his hair.