“Wash your hands.”
While he did that, she found a cutting board, pans, the olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, onions, brown sugar, and balsamic.
She pulled on an apron with BY THE CUP on the right top corner. “Okay. Grab a can opener—you can drain those tomatoes, then dice the garlic. Do you have a press?”
Wes shook his head. “Nope. But I’ve got knives. You want a glass of wine? I have red or white.”
“Red, please.”
There was a lot going on in her brain. She hadn’t cooked dinner for a man in a long time. She’d never taught one how to make her grandmother’s marinara. She felt that jittery buzz of excitement she’d normally attribute to attraction, but it was more. Or something else entirely. Hailey didn’t have a lot of experience with the whole guy-girl friend thing but she was curious if this undercurrent of … what? Energy? Electricity? If it was normal.
“How was the rec center?” She turned the dial on the stove, poured some olive oil into a sauté pan as he chopped the garlic. She grabbed the onion and chopped it on the other cutting board.
“I was surprised by how excited the kids were. I think I expected some of them to need a solid push but I guess it’s different when they all want to be there. Not like a regular school class where they have no choice.”
“What did you teach?” The oil spattered in the pan so she grabbed the cutting board from him, swept the garlic in, loving the sound of the sizzle.
“Mmm. Love the smell of garlic,” he said.
“Me, too. You can slide the onions in. I keep the heat high at first but you need to be careful it doesn’t burn.”
The onions added bonus sizzle. Hailey stirred them with a wooden spoon, picking up the can of tomatoes while he told her about coding, creating apps, and developing software. One of those areas that was fascinating but beyond her understanding.
“You don’t want the juice?” he asked when she poured in the second can.
“Personal preference. If you want a juicier sauce or are adding meat, then yes. I tend to do this because I like a hearty marinara. Your voice sounds happy when you tech talk.”
Wes stopped rinsing the tomato can. “‘Tech talk.’ I should coin that phrase. Like a TED Talk but different.”
“It’s literally a different language for me.”
“As is this for me.” He gestured to the pan.
She wondered if he’d had people cook for him. Not here but in New York. “I don’t want to learn coding,” she said. She knew her limits and had no problem staying within them.
“That’s fair, but you’re going to play at least one video game before you’re allowed to leave tonight.”
She continued to stir, adjusted the heat. “Are you trying to turn me into a gamer?”
“It’d be nice to go on a winning streak. I’m used to playing with my brothers. Going up against a rookie will be good for my ego.”
“Until I kick your ass. I’m a quick learner.”
“We’ll see.” He passed her a glass of wine. She knew dinnerware. She had an affinity for it the way some women loved jewelry. Turning the glass, she tipped it slightly, looked for the suspected W stamp on the bottom.
“Something on your glass?”
Waterford. “Nope. Just admiring your good taste.” Taking a long swallow, she tried to push down the unease that came along with thinking about his wealth. She’d broken down, broken her own rule, and googled the hell out of him. He wasn’t just well off. He was old-family-empire-like-the-Hiltons rich.
“My grandmother’s taste. She gave each of us a set of two. They were her mother’s.”
Hailey set the glass down then pushed it farther from the edge. “You might want to give me a plastic cup next time. I can be clumsy.”
“I haven’t seen much evidence of that.”
All it takes is a high-value family heirloom to bring it out in me. She remembered meeting Dorian’s parents. A nervous swing of her jacket had nicked one of his mother’s sculptures in the entry hall. She’d never lived it down.
“Why don’t you get the water going for the pasta.” Changing the topic felt easier than addressing it. “I start with a drizzle of balsamic, a tablespoon of brown sugar. I add all the regular spices you do to any other Italian dish and then adjust to taste.”
She held up a spoonful for him, her hand underneath it. When he bent his knees to accept, she got caught in his gaze for a second again. It was like looking at the sky on a perfectly clear day.