“You want to borrow one of my shirts?” he asks.
“Yeah, do you mind?”
His eyes grow darker and he pauses before answering. What’s the big deal? It’s a shirt.
I’m about to tease him, when he says, “Sure.” He turns away from me and heads into his room. I follow behind him, not caring at all that I’m topless. What’s the point in covering up now?
He goes to his dresser drawers and pulls out a faded black T-shirt. “Don’t lose it. It’s one of my favorites,” he says before handing it to me.
I take the threadbare shirt from him and unfold it, revealing a picture of Creedence Clearwater Revival. I quickly look up at him. “CCR? You have a CCR shirt?”
He nods. “They were one of my dad’s favorite bands. I only have a few memories of my dad, because he divorced my mom when we were young, but the memories I do have of him always involved CCR playing in the background.”
I slip the shirt on, loving how it smells like him.
He takes a step forward and tugs on the sleeve. “You’re swimming in this.”
“The way I like it.”
He nods again. “Yeah, you look pretty damn good in it.”
I hug myself. “It’s really comfortable. I might steal it from you.”
That playful brow of his quirks up again. “You better not.”
Teasing him, I say, “You shouldn’t have offered up this shirt if you didn’t want me stealing it.” I move past him, only for him to grip my wrist and pull me against his chest.
He tilts up my chin and says, “Don’t make me peel that shirt off you right now.”
“Is that supposed to be a threat? Feels more like a reward to me.”
His lips thin as they press together. His eyes search mine, bouncing back and forth, and I wait for his next move. His comeback. But he doesn’t say anything. He just . . . shakes his head and then laces his fingers with mine to bring me back downstairs to the kitchen, where he spins me toward the counter and lifts me up onto the island. The cold surface makes me squeal for just a second until my skin becomes acclimated.
“What do you want for lunch?” he asks.
“I thought you can’t cook.”
“I can’t,” he says. “But a sandwich is in my wheelhouse.”
“Is it now?” I cross one leg over the other and lean my hands back on the counter. “What kind of sandwich? Grilled cheese? Or is that asking too much?”
He looks over his shoulder at me. “That’s asking too much.”
I snort and cover my nose at the same time. “You poor wealthy man. Can’t even make a grilled cheese. Let me show you how it’s done.”
I hop off the counter and go to the fridge to find the cheese. Butter is on the counter in a crock, and I turn to find Huxley handing me the bread.
I know the pots and pans are in the island cabinets so I open one of the doors and find exactly what I’m looking for.
When I turn toward the stove, I feel Huxley crowding me. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to break anything.”
“I’m not worried about you breaking anything,” he says. “I’m hoping you teach me.”
I pause. “You really don’t know how to make a grilled cheese?”
“Never made one before.”
“Oh God, why do I find that so endearing?” I ask.
His hand falls to my lower back as he moves to my other side. “Maybe because it’s a weakness of mine and you enjoy watching me struggle.”
I chuckle. “I do like seeing the almighty Huxley Cane having to come back down to earth.” I elbow him, showing him I’m teasing. And when he glances in my direction with a smile, I can feel all of my anxiety wash right out of me.
With one simple look.
That’s all it takes.
“So, how do we make these things?” He holds up two pieces of bread.
“You really are helpless.” I turn on the stovetop, warm up the pan, and then grab a plate and a knife, which I hand to him. “Do you know how to butter bread?”
He gives me a mocking look. “I’m not completely inept.”
“Just checking.” I smile widely. “Butter one side on each slice of bread.”
He lifts the top to the butter crock and swipes butter over the bread. He’s not smooth about it by any means. He’s actually quite clumsy, which I find adorable, and at one point, he pierces the knife through the bread, making it seem as though I’m sitting in the front row to an awful infomercial where they don’t know how to do simple things like cut a slice of cheese.