“Ooh, dinner three times in a week.” I wiggled my eyebrows. “For someone who doesn’t date, that’s a lot of dinners.”
“Are we dating? I don’t believe it was discussed.”
“We are not, I was just making an observation. Also, I was going to cook. How do you feel about chicken?”
Theo slid onto one of the stools and pulled off his shirt. “Your observation would be correct. But the fact we’ve kissed twice puts us into murky water, don’t you think? As for the chicken, perfectly fine dead, but not a massive fan of them alive.”
I pulled chicken out of the fridge. “It certainly clouds it, but I don’t know that either of us one: know each other well enough to say we’re dating or two: are ready to do such a thing right now. Good to know on the chicken, but why don’t you like them alive? They’re cute. In a weird way.”
This two-part conversation was oddly amusing. And the whole dating thing? Totally less awkward when you were also discussing live chickens.
One day, when I wrote my autobiography, this would be the conversation I’d write where I would note that this was the moment I realized that Theodore Dalton was under my skin, and quite possibly fast-tracking his way into my heart.
“I think post your points are valid concerning dating. I think we know enough to discuss whether we would like to quietly pursue something without the knowledge of Ari, and by pursue, I mean see what happens naturally.” He flipped the cap from his water bottle. “I got chased by a chicken when I was on a school trip when I was seven. Thing chased me for five minutes before the farmer stopped it, and ever since then, I haven’t really cared for them.”
I sliced open the chicken breasts and threw them into a bowl to season with salt, pepper, and garlic. “Naturally is certainly something I would be open to discussing,” I said, like I was discussing a change in my hair color or something. I almost giggled at the formality of the conversation, but I was having too much fun. “How realistic do you think it is to keep it from your daughter? And with the knowledge that I might yet go back to New York? And I completely understand your trepidation regarding the chickens. They can be scary little fuckers.”
“Well, as of this moment, you’ve admitted that your plans to return home are up in the air right now. You’re here for another month, right?”
Okay, we’d dropped the chickens.
I washed my hands in the sink and nodded, looking over my shoulder. “It’s kind of like a vacation, and I haven’t had one of those in two years. Besides, if I’m going to create some new content, it’s not like I have to be in New York to do that.”
“That’s what I’m counting on.”
“What is?”
“The fact that you don’t have to be in New York.” He met my eyes as I dried my hands with a towel. “Maybe, in the next month, you might find more than one reason not to go back.”
I paused, hands wrapped in the towel, and smiled ever so slightly, almost shyly.
He had no idea how right he was. Every day, I found another reason to stay.
I’d been here ten days.
It was terrifying to connect with a place and the people who lived there so quickly.
“How do you feel about zucchini?” I pulled out one out of the fridge and held it up.
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s a courgette.”
“No, it’s a zucchini.”
“I call it a courgette.”
“Poor zucchini. What did it ever do to you, Theodore?”
He sighed. “In the UK, that’s a courgette.”
I looked at the zucchini. “Why don’t you call it a zucchini?”
“Because it’s a courgette.”
I opened my mouth to respond to that, but I had nothing. “Well, do you like it? Whatever it’s called?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” I put it back in the fridge. “Do you like cheese?”
“What kind of bloody question is that?”
“Some people don’t like cheese. Maybe you don’t eat it. Vegans don’t.”
“Elle, if I’m eating chicken, I’m not a vegan.”
Excellent point.
“Oh, whatever. Shut up.”
He grinned, and my stomach fluttered like a hoard of butterflies had just been released into it.
Damn it.
***
“The box will be with you tomorrow. I put it on two-day shipping.”
“Thanks, Em,” I said, putting the phone on the counter for a moment while I opened the fridge. “Send me the invoice, okay?”
“No,” she replied, the line crackling with her laughter. “Are you really staying there a month?”
“Yep.” I pulled water from the fridge and picked it up again as I headed for the back deck. “It’s nice here. It’s quiet. It’s private. The people are great. I think it’ll do me some good to have some time away from everything.”
“What about your apartment?”
“I’m not sure. I’m already paid for the next month, so I think I’ll make a decision about what to do then. I might feel differently then.”
“Okay. You don’t have to come back for us, you know that, right? Besides, I’ll take an excuse to visit the Florida Keys. Ben can’t say no, then.”
I smiled, sitting cross-legged on the sofa. “Ah, I see. You’re using me.”
Emily laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I want you to be happy, Elle, and if you’re finding happiness there, then that’s where you should be.”
I glanced over toward Theo’s house. “Like I said, there are great people here.”
“Oh, my God. Have you already met someone?”
“Oh, stop it.”
“Elle!”
I sighed. “Look, it’s not what you think it is. He owns the place I’m staying in and his daughter is obsessed with me.”
“He’s a single dad?”
“A British one.”
“Lord above, I think I just fell for him. You know those are my favorite books in the world to read.”
“Yes, I’m aware,” I said dryly. “We got off to a rough start, but we get along really well.”
“So? What’s happening? You’re literally living a romance novel.”
I should have kept my mouth shut. “Not a lot is happening, so get your head out of the clouds. He has a child to think about, and I have an entire life away from this place. It’s not that simple, but we’re just kind of… rolling with it.”
“So you’re screwing him.”
“I am not sleeping with him, no.”
“Why not? At least get laid if you’re going to come back here.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Emily.”
“As your big sister, I fully give you permission to bang the hot British guy all the way back to England.”
“Well, thank you for that. So noble of you.”
She grinned. “I know. What about friends? Do you have friends there?”
My mind flashed to Blaire. “I’ve met a few people, and you would love them. Blaire is basically you but two years younger.”