Page 102 of Even Ground

Reece lets out a moan that makes my toes curl.

“Oh my God, this is good.”

“Better than Delaney’s?” I tease.

He stops, puts his fork down and raises his eyebrows. “You’ll get me in trouble.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” I smile smugly at him, even though I know Delaney and I had the same cooking training by the same tutor, and we were always able to cover for each other in the diner because we were so in tune.

“Don’t you make me choose.”

I press my lips together to stop myself from saying something else smart. The words on the tip of my tongue will only get me into trouble.

He eats like a mad man, cleaning his plate so fast I’m sure he’ll be like Oliver Twist and asking for more any minute. Instead, he leans back and groans. “I might have to employ you to cook for me all the time.”

“I’ll do it for free if you play your cards right.”

His eyebrows rise. “Is that right?”

“While you’re staying here, that is.”

He leans forward, studies me closely, and then picks up his plate. “Want me to wash the dishes?”

I shake my head. “Just leave it on the bench. I’ll throw it in the dishwasher.”

Doing as he’s told, he takes a seat back at the table.

“Are you going to watch me eat now?”

He smiles. “I’m just waiting for you to finish so we can talk.”

I put my fork down. “I guess you have something to say.”

It takes a few moments before he narrows his eyes. “Are you going to start eating again?”

“Not if you keep watching me like that.”

He turns his chair around. “There you go.”

I chuckle to myself and pick up the fork. As much as I’m dying to know what he has to say, torturing him by making him wait is so much fun.

But I might just swallow the rest down without chewing as much as I usually do.

After the dishwasher’s loaded, we make our way to the couch.

The silence is deafening. He clasps his hands together and opens and closes his mouth like a fish a few times.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

He looks away. “I’m fine. This … just worked a lot better in my head.”

I place my hand over his, and he raises his gaze to meet mine. “Just tell me, Reece. It can’t be that bad.”

“Depends on whether you agree.” His blue eyes seem to look into my soul. I’ve seen him a million times on Skype, but never felt him looking at me like this before.

I swallow hard. “Agree on what?”

He pauses, sucking on his bottom lip for a moment. “I know we haven’t seen each other in person since Hawaii, but I feel like … we’ve really got to know each other.”