Page 45 of Maid for a Magnate

“Someone will come for us,” she told him. “Besides, with you cooking and letting me nap, you’re spoiling me. Dinner smells a lot like that chicken dish you made me for our first date.”

 Will grinned back at her and winked. Winked. What had she woken to? Will in the kitchen cooking and actually relaxed enough to wink and smile as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

 “It is,” he confirmed. “I’ll bring it to you so don’t worry about getting up.”

 “I actually need to go to the restroom.”

 In seconds, Will was at her side helping her up. When he went to lift her in his arms, she pushed against him.

 “Just let me lean on you, okay? No need to carry me.”

 Wrapping an arm around her waist, Will helped her stand. “How’s the ankle feeling?”

 “Really sore, but better than it was.” She tested it, pulling back when the sharp throbbing started again. “Putting weight on it still isn’t a smart move, but hopefully it will be much better by tomorrow.”

 Will assisted her across the room, but when they reached the bathroom doorway, she placed a hand on his chest. “I can take it from here.”

 No way was he assisting her in the bathroom. She’d like to hold onto some shred of dignity. Besides, she needed a few moments to herself to regain mental footing since she was stuck playing house with the only man she’d ever envisioned spending forever with.

 “I’ll wait right here in case you need something,” he told her. “Don’t lock the door.”

 With a mock salute, Catalina hobbled into the bathroom and closed the door. The scent of some kind of masculine soap assaulted her senses. A damp towel hung over the bar near the shower. He’d made use of the time she’d been asleep. Her eyes darted to the bathtub that looked as if it could seat about four people. What she wouldn’t give to crawl into that and relax in some hot water, with maybe a good book or a glass of wine. When was the last time she’d indulged in such utterly selfish desires?

 Oh, yeah, when she’d stripped Will naked and had her way with him in the old cabin earlier today.

 A tap on the door jerked her from her thoughts. “Are you okay?”

 “Yeah. Give me a minute.”

 A girl couldn’t even fantasize in peace around here. She still needed time to process what their intimacy meant and the new, unexpected path their relationship had taken. Will had most likely thought of what happened the entire time she’d been asleep. Of course he was a man, so he probably wasn’t giving their encounter the amount of mind space she would.

 Minutes later, Catalina opened the door to find Will leaning against the frame. Once again he wrapped an arm around her and steered her toward the bed.

 “I can eat at the table.” She hated leaning on him, touching him when her nerves were still a jumbled up mess. “I’m already up. That bed is too beautiful to eat on.”

 In no time he’d placed their plates on the table with two glasses of wine...again, her favorite. A red Riesling.

 “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you stocked this kitchen just for me,” she joked as she took her first sip and knew it wasn’t the cheap stuff she kept stocked in her fridge.

 “I did buy a lot of things I knew you liked.” His fork froze midway to his mouth as he looked up at her. “At least, you liked this stuff four years ago.”

 For a split second, he seemed unsure. Will was always confident in everything, but when discussing her tastes, he suddenly doubted himself. Why did she find that so adorable?

 She felt a shiver travel up her spine. She didn’t have time for these adorable moments and couldn’t allow them to influence her where this man was concerned. That clean break she wanted couldn’t happen if she let herself be charmed like that.

 They ate in silence, but Catalina was surprised the strain wasn’t there. Everything seemed...normal. Something was up. He wasn’t trying to seduce her, he wasn’t bringing up the past or any other hot topic.

 What had happened while she’d been asleep? Will had suddenly transformed into some sort of caretaker with husbandlike qualities.

 But after a while she couldn’t take the silence anymore. Catalina dropped her fork to her empty plate. “That was amazing. Now, tell me what’s going through your mind.”

 Will drained his glass before setting it back down and focusing on her. “Right now I’m thinking I could use dessert.”

 “I mean why are you so quiet?”