I reach over to my phone that I’ve left on the side, and select my playlist, music filling the large kitchen as I dance around, moving my hips to the melody.
Grabbing a clean spoon, I hold it to my lips, singing along badly with the singer as I shimmy before dropping to a crouch using the edge of the worktop as a makeshift bar to keep my balance.
‘Come on baby’ I belt out, jumping back up and falling forward to draw my hand up my ankle, following the line of my body as I straighten again, brushing the side of my own breast and up my neck.
A strangled sound behind me has me screaming loudly, spinning around to find Caleb standing beside me, eyes wide as he watches me.
‘Jesus’ I gasp, dropping the spoon onto the side, ‘you scared the crap out of me! I thought you weren’t getting home for another hour.’
Caleb’s mouth opens and shuts a couple of time before he clears his throat, averting his gaze, ‘I finished early’ he mutters, his fingers going to his tie and pulling at it roughly.
‘OH, well dinner will be at least twenty minutes’ I reply turning back to the stove, ‘the sauce is ready but I haven’t even boiled the water for the spaghetti yet. If you want to go and get a shower or change, there’s plenty of time, I’ll get the water going now.’
A grunt of assent is my reply, and when I peek over my shoulder, I’m now all alone again.
Shaking my head, I turn on the hob, moving my hips again as I wait for the water to boil.
‘Shake it, make it . .’ I sing happily, pulling the spaghetti out of the packet and dropping it into the water. Once everything is cooked, I start to plate up our meals, opening the oven and pulling out some garlic bread that had been warming there.
‘Smells good’ Caleb’s voice rumbles from the doorway and I look up, my mouth drying as the strong man comes into view. A white t-shirt pulls tightly over his muscular torso and a pair of sweatpants are hung low on his hips.
‘Uh . . uh . . . it’ll be ready in a couple of minutes’ I stutter out.
Nodding, Caleb strides over to the drawers and pulls out cutlery, making his way to the table and starting to set it as I try to get my eyes to stop following him.
Dropping my gaze, I curse, straightening the tray of bread that’s about to tumble over the edge and head for the floor because I was too busy gawking at my stepbrother. I sneak another peek as I place the tray back on the stove and pick up our plates carefully. He sure does fill out a pair of sweatpants well and after seeing what’s under that t-shirt up close and personally last night, It’s taking everything in me not to openly drool.
‘Is it ready?’ Calebs’ voice cuts through my thoughts, and I slap on a smile, walking toward him, and placing his plate down in front of his chair.
Moving to my own seat, I’m surprised when the grumpy security specialist follows me, pulling out my chair and tucking it in as I take a seat with a murmured thanks.
Moving back to his own side of the table, Caleb detours back to the kitchen, opening the cupboards and pulling out two wine glasses before grabbing a bottle of red wine and a corkscrew. Walking back toward me he holds up the glasses with a grin, ‘can I tempt you?’
I run my tongue along my bottom lip nervously, ‘I’m not twenty one’ I mutter.
Taking his seat, Caleb winks at me, a devilish smile on his face that I’ve not seen before on his lips. ‘I won’t tell if you don’t’ he replies, ‘and trust me, after tonight, I could do with a drink and I hate to drink alone.’
Nodding, I hold out a shaky hand as he smirks, popping the cork and filling each glass with the deep liquid and passing it to me.
Accepting it, I hold it daintily as Caleb lifts his own toward me, ‘to good food, good wine and good company’ he toasts.
Nodding, I tip the glass to my lips and take a healthy mouthful before placing it down beside my plate and pick up my knife and fork.
Caleb follows my lead, diving into the meal with gusto as a groan of appreciation leaves his lips.
‘My God, this is amazing’ he groans, twirling the spaghetti around his fork before swiping it through the sauce and placing it between his lips.
We eat in companionable silence, the only sounds are our knives against the plates. Caleb sits back in his chair, having just mopped the plate of the last of the sauce with his garlic bread and pops it in his mouth.
‘You need to be careful’ he groans, ‘I could get used to being fed like this.’
I laugh, shaking my head, ‘I happen to love to cook so it’s not a problem for me to prepare dinner each night. I’m home by four each day so it’s not like I can’t do it.’
Caleb’s eyes glitter as they fall to me, his tongue flicking out to lick at the corner of his lips.
Unable to deal with his heated gaze, I dig for something to talk about, ‘you said you were having a bad day? What happened?’
The calm look on Caleb’s face stiffens and a frown creases his brow, ‘got a damn flat on my SUV, had to borrow Gage’s truck, piece of crap drives like a bag of rusty nails’ he mutters in annoyance.
I giggle, unable to stop myself, only Caleb would complain about someone helping him.
Caleb’s POV
Driving home from work, I’m getting more and more annoyed at Gage’s vehicle. The damn thing is a rust bucket with a stick shift. Why he can’t drive an automatic like the rest of the state I don’t know but here I am fighting with the gear lever at every stop sign.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.