For the Longest Time by Kendra Leigh Castle

Author:Kendra Leigh Castle
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-06-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Twenty minutes later, Tucker panted happily by Sam’s feet while she finished up the sauce for the cooked penne pasta. Jake had vanished without much fuss after she’d kicked him out of the kitchen. He looked like he needed to sit somewhere, and she needed to concentrate on what she was doing so that nothing, including herself, caught on fire.

That was less likely while he was being babysat by the sports channel and she didn’t have to wonder whether he was looking at her butt.

The quiet, with nothing but the sounds of Tucker’s breathing and the drone of the TV from the other room to break it, gave her some time to decompress. This was one of her favorite go-to recipes—just a little basil, a little garlic powder and black pepper, some heavy cream, half a cup of sun-dried tomatoes (several of which she may or may not have eaten while cooking), and a bag of shredded four cheese blend, and voilà! Sun-dried tomato cream sauce!

She poured it over the pasta in another pot, stirred it up, and then set it down on the stove so she could hunt up plates. After a few minutes of searching, she found them. They were old, probably hand-me-downs from his mom, and dated, but they would work. Two plates went on the table, along with forks and a pair of mismatched glasses. She didn’t even bother looking for napkins, instead just folding a couple of paper towels into something workable.

Some part of her had imagined him as perfect. This was actually sort of refreshing. He was such a guy.

“I smell food. Real food. How can this be?”

Her mouth curved up when she turned her head to look at him, standing in the doorway. “Magic. And the use of a couple of pots that I had to clean the dust out of. Sit.”

He obediently wandered over to the table and sat down. Sam grabbed the pot, along with the large spoon she’d found sitting all by its lonesome in a drawer, then walked over to put some of the pasta on each of their plates. By the time she sat back down, Jake just about had his nose in it. He hadn’t picked up his fork, though.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked.

He raised his eyes to hers, honey gold in the light. Striking eyes, with lashes so dark that he could almost have been wearing mascara. She wondered fleetingly how he would look in guyliner and immediately had to stop thinking about it. He’d look like a pirate. A very bad pirate.

The kitchen suddenly felt much too warm.

Tucker flopped onto his side in front of the stove, gave a heavy sigh, and closed his eyes.

“The one thing he doesn’t do is beg? Your dog is weird, Jake. Not that I’m complaining.”

“Me, either. Not begging is the first thing he and I worked on. He’s really good about it, I just wish it hadn’t taken up all the available space in that thick head of his.

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