“Are. You. Hungry?” I asked. “Yes or no.”
“I am, but you are already paying me. I don’t need you to include meals.”
“I’m not running an all-inclusive resort here. It’s just tonight. One meal. It’s the least I can do, considering all you did today. And you found my locket. Plus, you’ll be doing me a favor since I don’t like to waste food.”
Nick stood there, staring at me, arching an eyebrow.
It was like he didn’t trust me.
I let out a frustrated breath. “Please just eat. You’re killing me.”
He looked down at his clothes. “I’m a mess.”
“I don’t really care. If it makes you feel better, we can eat out here on the patio with Karma. And feel free to wash up in the bathroom while I warm up the food.”
Surprisingly, Nick finally agreed.
He gave Karma some food and took her out to the front for a pee. Then he grabbed a clean shirt from his truck and went to use the guest bathroom to wash up.
I scooped the container of lasagna into a large serving bowl and stuck it in the microwave to heat up. I poured myself a glass of wine from the bottle I had opened yesterday, taking a sip, and checking my phone for messages after I heard it vibrate.
Dee: Did you kill Nick? Don’t answer that! I don’t want to know. Just make sure you hide the body well and delete this message.
Ruth: I decided to spare him this time. Remember that locket I lost?
Dee: Of course. The silver one your grandma gave you.
Ruth: Nick found it.
Dee: That’s wonderful! Where did he find it?
Ruth: Under the rose bushes that Karma dug up.
Dee: That’s amazing. I know how much it meant to you. See? Everything happens for a reason. It’s a good thing I was smart enough to hire Nick for you. Make sure you do something nice for him.
Ruth: You sound like my mother. We’re getting ready to eat. I need to run. Talk later.
Dee: We? What do you mean WE?????? You and Nick are having dinner together?
I laughed and set the phone down without answering her, satisfied that I had gotten her back for telling me Nick and Brandon were working in the backyard, shirtless, with glistening muscles.
As I was pulling the lasagna from the beeping microwave, I considered that Dee would be asking a thousand questions later, but that was par for the course. I also knew we would be talking after dinner since we needed to discuss my lunch date for tomorrow.
I scooped the container of pasta into another large serving bowl and stuck it in the microwave to heat it up.
Nick entered the kitchen wearing the fresh T-shirt he had gotten from his truck. “Thanks again for this. It wasn’t necessary, but I do appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. Like I said, they’re just leftovers. I have way too much. I had a bottle of red wine already open and poured myself a glass. Would you like some?”
He arched an eyebrow again.
What was it with this guy? If I didn’t know any better, I would think he didn’t trust me at all.
Unless he thought I was trying to seduce him.
Could that be it?
He needed to get over himself.
“I’m not trying to get you drunk if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s dinner wine. I mean, who ever heard of Italian food without wine? Nobody is twisting your arm. Either you want to have some with your dinner, or you don’t.”
He nodded. “I do. Thank you.”
I poured him some wine, and then raised my glass. “To lost and found lockets.”
“Cheers.” Nick clinked my glass. “And to grandmothers.” He winked and clinked my glass again.
That was sweet.
We took the food and the wine to the patio table and sat to eat.
Karma came over and lay underneath the table by my feet.
I leaned against the table to pull the food a little closer to us and noticed something odd. I grabbed the edge of the table and wiggled it.
“What?” Nick said.
“Nothing. It’s just, this table usually annoys the hell out of me because it shakes so much, but now it’s not shaking.”
“Oh—I fixed it. Two of the legs were loose.”
I looked under the table where Karma was lying down and then back up to Nick. “When did you do that?”
“Yesterday.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because it was no big deal.”
Maybe not to him, but I liked his initiative. “Wow . . . thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
“Just remember I’m paying you for all the work you do here.”
“I’m not going to charge you for that.”
“Yes. You are.”
He chuckled. “Hmmm. Okay, let’s see then. Ninety seconds to fix two table legs . . .” He scratched his chin. “Got it. That will be one scoop of pasta.”
“I was already going to give you a scoop of pasta.”
“I guess I’ll have two scoops then.”
I shook my head. “Oh . . .” I looked back toward the kitchen. “I forgot the parmesan cheese. Very important. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll grab it for you.”
Before I could object, Nick was already up and heading back to the house.
“On the refrigerator door, right side,” I called out to him. “Oh, grab some napkins, too. Next to the toaster.”
“Got it.”
I watched Nick through the kitchen window as he went to the refrigerator, opening it for the parmesan cheese. Then he grabbed the napkins, pausing for a few seconds to look at something on the kitchen counter.
Wait a minute . . .
Had he looked at my phone?
Hopefully he didn’t see a text message pop up from Dee.
I tried to get a read on Nick’s face as he came back to the patio table and sat down across from me, wondering if he had seen something.
He handed me a napkin and the parmesan cheese, a suspicious smirk on his face.
“What?” I asked, almost certain he’d seen a text on my phone.
“Nothing. This looks amazing. Lasagna and . . . what is this?” He pointed to the pasta dish.
“Penne Bisanzio. It’s penne pasta with fresh tomatoes, diced eggplant, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. Help yourself.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He scooped a spoonful of the pasta onto his plate. “Is this a regular thing for you, eating Italian food twice a day?”
“Not regular, but I would never complain about it.”
“But it’s your favorite food?”
“I like everything, really. Italian, Chinese, Greek, burgers, hot dogs, sushi, you name it.”
“Me, too.”
We were both quiet for a minute as we served ourselves.
Nick and I both looked up at each other when we moaned at the same time with our first bites, but I quickly glanced back down at my lasagna, taking another forkful.
Then we both lifted our wine glasses at the same time, each of us taking a sip.
That was weird.
It was like we were mimicking each other. Or heaven forbid, of one mind.
Why was my brain scrambled around him? We were just two adults eating food at my house, nothing more, nothing less.
I took another sip of my wine, glancing across the table at Nick.