Page 52 of Beau

Beau did the same.

They carried their bowls into the dining room and laid them on the table.

He held a chair for her and then sat in the one next to hers.

With a dramatic wave of his hand, Beau lifted his spoon. “Bon appetit.”

Aurelie dug into the gumbo, blew on the spoonful to cool it, then took a bite. She closed her eyes as she chewed, softly moaning. After she swallowed, she looked across the table at him. “Wow. That’s amazing.”

He grinned. “I’m glad you liked it. I’m hoping to bribe myself back into your good graces.”

“It’ll take a lot more than gumbo to get there,” she said. “But this is a good start.”

“That’s all I can ask.” He took a bite of the gumbo. As he chewed, he stole glances her way, loving how she got totally into eating the meal down to the very last bite, taking sips of wine along the way.

When they were done, they carried their dishes into the kitchen and worked together to rinse and stack them in the dishwasher.

Aurelie found a plastic storage container in a cabinet large enough to hold the rest of the gumbo.

They washed and dried the container and its lid, poured in the rice and gumbo and stored it in the refrigerator.

After they’d finished in the kitchen, Beau went around the house, checking door and window locks. When he was satisfied that the locks would hold, he ducked into the single bathroom for a shower.

Aurelie had spent time scrubbing the tub, removing the shadow of a ring and making the old porcelain tub shine.

He rinsed the tub, dried off and wrapped the towel around his hips. Unlike Aurelie, Beau hadn’t thought ahead to bring in his backpack that he kept stuffed behind the backseat in his truck, ready to go at a moment’s notice.

With all intentions of wearing the same clothes he’d had on before the shower, he picked up his jeans from the floor, only to discover they were soaked. Apparently, he hadn’t closed the shower curtain securely. Now, there was a puddle on the floor. His jeans had been lying in the middle of it.

His truck was only a few short steps away from the cottage. Rather than dress in sodden jeans, he could march his dumb ass out to his truck, grab his backpack and return in less than a minute. If he was lucky, he wouldn’t run into Aurelie on the way out or the way back.

Beau stepped out of the bathroom and almost ran into Aurelie where she stood precariously on a rickety chair, unscrewing the globe on a ceiling light fixture.

When she looked his way, she lost her balance and the chair teetered.

Beau darted forward and caught her before she hit the floor. In the process, he released the grip on his towel, and it dropped to the floor. He held her in his arms, crushing her to his chest, his pulse racing. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “I was trying to change the lightbulb.”

Beau blew out a shaky breath. “Geez, woman. Let me help you with those. I’m a little taller.”

“I could’ve done it myself,” she said.

“I know,” he said. “But if you have somebody nearby, it’s always good if they have your back.”

“True.” Aurelie grimaced. “Even better if you use a proper stepladder, instead of an old chair.” She glanced down at the remains of the wooden chair that lay in splinters on the floor.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’ll clean that up.”

“It’s okay. I’ll do it,” Aurelie said. “As soon as you put me down.”

Beau shook his head. “Not a good idea,” he said. “Not unless you want to get an eyeful.”

Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Beau’s lips twisted into a broad grin. “It was either catch you or save my dignity.” He gave a pointed look at the towel lying on the floor.

Aurelie’s eyes widened, and her mouth formed an O. “I see,” she said. “What if I close my eyes?”