“Great. I’ll work on dinner. You hungry?”
“I didn’t think I was, but the thought of your cooking could change my mind.”
Again with that boyish smirk, but on this sexy man, it’s almost sinful.
“If I’d thought about it, I would have lured you here with my cooking a lot sooner. Does anything in particular sound good?” He moves toward the door and turns back.
“Anything you make is always good. Ihavebeen missing your whatever’s-in-the-fridge soup. And your throw-everything-in pasta. Even though I’mtryingnot to eat like that anymore.”
“Elle, your body is slamming. You don't need to do anything different than whatever you're already doing.” His voice darkens. “Is Lisa giving you a hard time?”
“Uhh,” I hedge. “Not me specifically, no…but we do have to weigh in, and that is driving me crazy a little bit.”
He scowls. “I hate that. You dance better than anyone I’ve ever seen. You learn your routines perfectly. I've seen you out there. That should be the only thing that matters.”
“You're right. I know. I don't know why it’s like that in this industry, but…it is. I have to admit, I do feel better when I eat lighter and not so carb-heavy, but still. Dodging them completely will never work for me, and when I do have them, I shouldn't feel like I'm doing something wrong.”
“Agreed,” he says. “You just tell me when you want all the carbs, and I'll bring it. We can go lighter if you prefer, but you've been traumatized tonight, so you get whatever you want.”
“There’s something else I should probably tell you…in case it comes up with Carrie. We had a little run-in a few days ago when you were out of town. Not a big deal, but…you know how things can sometimes go sideways with her.” I make a face. “I stopped by Serendipity and she was there withLevi. He ran over when he saw me and she chewed me out, saying I didn’t need to encourage that.”
“What? Why? She knows how much he loves you.”
“She was all over the place. First, it was that it sends him confusing messages to see me all the time and then not…and that it’s weird for him to see us together,” I point between the two of us, “but not her with you. I said that’s what co-parenting a child with someone you don’t have a romantic relationship looks like…which she hated.” I laugh. “She told me to watch my place and said I needed to back the hell off of her child.”
My eyes well with tears and I bite down on my lip, frustrated to be weepy over this.
“Elle baby, I'll talk to her,” he says softly, rubbing my shoulder. “That's not gonna fly. I’ll set her straight. She has no right to talk to you that way. She knows how important you are to me and to Levi.”
“Yeah, that's why she said it when you weren't around.” I exhale and blink up at the ceiling. “Anyway, then it turned into...I should know better than to let him run across the restaurant away from his mom when he's out in public. Someone could grab him because you're famous. And I'm like, Carrie, you’re the one who didn’t stop him from running to me. I know how to watch out for your boy. Trust me. I've been looking out for him since the day he was born and you know it. You weren’t complaining when I took care of him when he was sick because you guys were both sick too. You weren’t complaining when you wanted to go see your sister and Rhodes had an away game, so I watched Levi.” I shake my head. “That slowed her down for a second, but when she tried to start in on me again about it confusing Levi, I got out of there.”
“I’m sorry. Sometimes I can't believe this is my life. Shemakes it so fucking hard. I'm just sorryyouever have to deal with her.”
“I love Levi. He's worth it. All of it. I love you, Rhodes. Thank you. I feel better already, just being here.”
“I love to hear you say that.” He leans in and tips my chin up, his lips curling in a grin. “I plan on things only getting better.”
He walks out and I stare after him for a few seconds before catching my breath. Whew.You can’t be losing your willpower here, Elle.
I call Sheriff Davis and it’s a relatively painless process. He says he’ll pay Brock a visit. I feel much better already that I let someone know what’s happened.
Next, I unpack my bag. I brought enough clothes for the next few days and hang them up in the walk-in closet. When I walk into the bathroom and open the cabinet next to the sink, I realize more of my things are here than I thought. One of my favorite perfumes, my deodorant, lipstick and a brush I’ve been missing for months, and all the bobby pins and elastic bands I could ever want.
Since it's getting late and I am hungry, I decide to just take a quick shower instead of getting sleepier in the tub. I hop in and out and get into something comfortable. I walk into the kitchen and sigh.
“It smells so good in here. How did you do that so fast?”
He's changed into his sweats and the vision of him standing by the stove, stirring soup, is almost as good as when I’ve watched him reading a book. It might only be beaten out by watching him work out. I’ve had to go take many cold showers after watching him lift weights like it’s nothing.
I take him in for a second and he holds up a spoon.
“Wanna taste it?” he asks.
I walk to the stove and blow before taking a taste of the soup.
“Oh,” I moan, “so good.”
He’s staring at my mouth when I look up at him and we stay suspended there for a few seconds.
