Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
She paused and pursed her lips as she thought about it. “I’m different. Yes, I might have been upset, but I’ve also not been in that position, so I can’t say for sure. I might have thought you wanted to see those two lines for yourself, that you were excited. Again, I don’t know exactly what I would have thought. Some women, Dylan, maybe not all women.”
“I should have known.”
She moved back to the stove with her drained pot of pasta. She’d already turned the meatballs and sauce off, and she picked it up and poured them into the pasta, using the reserved water to swill out the saucepan and pick up all the flavor.
Once it was all in one pot, she added some parmesan cheese, gave it a stir, and then served them both way too much, but she was starving. Robin made sure to give Dylan a lot more than herself, and once that was done, she grabbed spoons and forks.
There was no way they were eating this in her living room with that cream-colored sofa, so she moved toward the small dining room.
Dylan had grabbed her beer, which he put down on the table. Before he arrived, she had put some placemats down to preserve the table and stop it from getting any kind of heat damage.
She looked over at Dylan, and she felt that twist in the pit of her stomach, which she hadn’t felt before. It was an odd feeling. Her nerves began to pick up.
She nibbled her lip and waited as he picked up his fork. Her ex hadn’t liked her cooking for him. In fact, the few times she did cook for him, he complained at the taste, saying it was either too salty, or spicy, or there was “too much going on.”
Dylan took a bite and the moan that came from his lips made her jump.
“Good? Bad?”
“This is amazing,” he said. “I have not had meatballs and spaghetti in a long time, but damn, this is so good. So damn good.”
And now, she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face, because that was success.
****
Dylan’s kitchen was still intact and he was trying to prolong the time Robin spent with him. She had a couple of fitters in to measure his space and they started to talk styles and timetable. Once they had everything out, they were talking a couple of days to fit everything. They also had electricians and plumbers to be able to get everything set up, and Dylan wasn’t happy.
He wanted a reason for Robin to stick around. They had been enjoying meals together for the past three days. Since the meatballs, he’d become a little addicted, or it might have been the chocolate dessert that had called to him. Either way, he loved Robin’s food and while he thought about it, he also loved her company. She didn’t flirt and he found it refreshing to be around her.
Once the fitters left, Buttercup came wandering over, and he noticed Robin always took a few moments to greet his dog.
“Is everything okay? Are you having doubts about fitting the kitchen, changing it?” Robin asked. “Or do you like my awful cooking?”
“There is nothing wrong with your cooking and you know it.”
She chuckled. “Come on, give a woman a break. I’ve spent a lot of time being told how badly I can cook. Let me have this.”
He rolled his eyes and then glanced down to see Buttercup move up his leg, trying to get into his arms. He picked up Buttercup and she seemed to snuggle against his neck.
Robin watched as she let out a little gasp. “That is so cute.” She covered her face and he let out a chuckle. Buttercup moved, and then licked his face.
He loved this dog.
Robin sighed. “I could watch her all day. She’s just so precious.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I totally get not wanting to redo the kitchen. It can be a lot of work, even in a couple of days, to fit and all that stuff.” She nibbled her lip. “Does that mean you don’t want any of the other work done?”
“Other work?”
She frowned. “The other day when you asked, you mentioned about maybe doing the whole house. Have you changed your mind?”
“Oh, no, I haven’t. No, I still want you to do all of it.” Now he felt a little relief. There would be a reason for her to keep coming around.
What the hell is wrong with you? Why does it even matter if she comes around?
Dylan tried not to think of why he liked having her around. He wasn’t about to tell his little neighbor that for the past year, he’d been trying to steal little glances of her.
He’d not been interested in women. He’d sworn them off completely. But, there was something different about Robin. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he wanted to be around her.