“Clearly,” I said on a laugh.
She sighed, finally locking her phone and sliding it away. “Okay, I just didn’t want to have another stranger in the house. If it was my chef back home, it would have been different. I know her. I don’t have to perform for her. But I’m…”
“Tired,” I finished for her, my voice soft.
Her shoulders slumped a little, and she nodded.
I couldn’t imagine it. Sure, there was some fame that came with being a professional hockey player, but it wasnothingcompared to the life Mia led. I still held onto a bit of normalcy. I could live alone, could go out without getting mauled, could shop for my own groceries without having more than maybe a few people asking me for autographs.
But Mia? She had an entire team of people who were around her constantly.
Security guards. Agents. Publicists. Stylists. Label reps… the list went on and on.
Even if she stayed in the privacy of her own home or a vacation rental like this, she still had people around her all the time.
I didn’t blame her for wanting a night of peace and quiet.
But I felt my chest tightening like a protective bear at the thought of her not eating.
“I was going to order something in,” she said. “But I might just go to bed and eat in the morning.”
“It’s six o’clock,” I said.
Her stomach rumbled again, and I chuckled, knocking my knuckles on the countertop.
“I’ll cook for you.”
“What?” Mia instantly shook her head, her brown eyes wide as if the idea horrified her. “You don’t need to do that. I’m sure you have plans.”
“I’m here for the weekend, remember?” I asked her, gesturing my arms wide. “Besides, you know you love my cooking.”
“I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that. It’s rush hour, and you’d have to go to the store.”
“Oh, what a crisis.”
“You’ve already done so much for me today.”
“Yeah, because kissing you was a real hardship.”
“It’s storming, and—”
“Woman,” I growled, flattening my palms on the granite countertop and lowering my gaze to meet hers. “Shut up and let me feed you.”
I arched a brow when it looked like she was going to finish her argument, warning her without words not to even try. And only when she let out a sigh of resignation did I push back off the counter.
“I’ll be back before you know it. You just relax,” I said, shoving my feet into my sneakers and swiping my keys out of the bowl by the door.
“Relax,” she echoed. “What’s that?”
I smirked, pointing at her from the doorway. “It’s an order. Give the phone a rest. Don’t think about the album or the tour for the whole half hour it’s going to take me to get what I need.”
The corner of her mouth tilted, and she hopped off her barstool before meeting me at the door. Surprisingly, she wrapped her arms around my neck, crushing me in a fierce hug.
Jasmine and honey.
I held her tight, my arms wrapped full around her, nose buried in the scent of her wet hair. Her body was small and soft and pliable against mine, everything about her in that moment making me want to hide her away from the world. I wanted to hold her on the couch while we watched a movie. I wanted to rub her shoulders and run her a bath. I wanted to cook for her, and the fact that me offering that seemed so wild to her, that she didn’t believe anyone would want to take care of her without being paid to do so… it only made me want to do it more.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
