It had been a long day. Actually, it hadn’t been all that long, but it felt like it. Drew’s leg was aching badly, and for the first time in a couple of weeks he’d taken the full dose of painkillers.
He’d wondered whether that would keep Caro away tonight. Maybe she didn’t want to run around after him this evening while he sank down onto the sofa to rest. But when he’d hinted that maybe he should rest tonight, and she might like to go home, she’d given him a smile.
‘Good. If you’re resting, then I can cook for you.’
‘What are you going to cook?’ He’d never seen Caro cook anything. She was good at taking stuff out of the freezer and heating it up, and she was quite capable of working her way through a mountain of fruit and a stack of sandwiches at her desk, but cooking required leaving her workshop for more than ten minutes at a time.
‘Anything you like.’ She shot him a frown. ‘That’s what cookery books are for, Drew.’
‘How about spaghetti Bolognese?’ Everyone knew how to make that.
‘Done.’ She pulled her phone from her pocket. ‘I’ll find a recipe, and we can get the ingredients on the way home.’
‘That’s okay. I have the ingredients...’
When they got back to his cottage he spent a worrying forty-five minutes on the sofa, trying to tell himself that there was a limit to the amount of damage that one robotics engineer and a Labrador puppy could do in someone’s kitchen. Caro appeared in the doorway, crooking her finger at him, and he levered himself onto his feet and followed her.
Phoenix ignored him completely in favour of the bowl of food that was laid out for her in the corner. The pans were all cleared away and in the sink. The blinds were drawn and the light over the dining table switched on. There were two plates of spaghetti Bolognese, a dish of grated Parmesan cheese, and a bottle of sparkling water on the table, along with a candle. The smell made his mouth water.
‘Sit down.’
Drew regretted his doubts and did as he was told. Caro lit the candle and sat down, pouring the water into a couple of wine glasses while he sprinkled Parmesan cheese onto his food. She picked up her fork and he followed suit, aware that she was watching him.
The spaghetti was perfect. The sauce was wonderful. Drew rolled his eyes as he ate the first mouthful, prompting a smile from Caro.
‘This is great. Really nice. Where did you get the recipe again?’
‘I found four different ones. So I worked out what each element was supposed to achieve and chose the parts I liked the best.’
In other words, she’d applied the techniques she used in sorting and refining her own ideas. And it had all worked with the same apparent ease as her robotics projects.
‘Well, you have to write it down. This is much better than my recipe.’
She gave him a luminous smile. ‘You didn’t think I could do it, did you?’
He should come clean and admit it. ‘You don’t cook all that much. I can see why, you get interested in something...’
‘Yes, I know. I’m not working now, though.’
Maybe she could be persuaded to work a little less in the future. Drew dismissed the thought. She was who she was, and just because that wasn’t compatible with his way of life, it didn’t give him the right to try and change her.
‘You’re as perfect when you’re not working as when you are.’ He decided on a compliment that covered both of their points of view.
‘Thank you.’ She waved her fork at him, grinning like a Cheshire cat. ‘Eat. Before it gets cold.’
* * *
They spent the evening in the sitting room, Caro with her laptop balanced on her knees and Drew sprawled on the sofa with Phoenix. Drifting back and forth between talk and silence, ideas and thought. When Drew started to doze, she left him to sleep while she finished what she was doing and then closed her laptop, walking over to the sofa to shake him gently.
‘Come upstairs if you want to sleep.’
‘Uh. Yeah... Sorry.’
‘Don’t be. It’s been a busy few days. You’re not working tomorrow, are you?’
He thought for a moment. ‘I may go in late.’
‘That’s a good idea. You have two jobs at the moment, and one of them is to heal.’