“I could lend you some money, give you some breathing room.” Her silence spoke volumes. “Itd be an investment. Writer—bookstore. Makes sense.”
“Im not interested in a loan.” Her voice had chilled, and just under the chill was a sulk. “Im not looking for another partner.”
“Okay.” He shrugged it off, then tugged on her hair. “Ive got it. I can pay you for sex. Like you said, you are really good at it. But Id get to set the price for each specific act, and I think there should be something in the rates about buy three, get one free. Well work it out.”
Since he was watching her face, he saw her dimples flutter as she struggled with a grin. “Youre a pervert.” She rolled over on her stomach, braced herself on her elbows. “It was nice of you to reach .down into the gutter to cheer me up.”
“We do what we can.” He trailed a finger down her cheek. “I bet you could use some food. You want to go out to eat?”
“I absolutely dont want to go out.”
“Good. Neither do I.” He shifted a bit, worked considerable charm into his expression. “I dont suppose youd care to cook.”
“I dont suppose I would.”
“All right. I will.”
She blinked, then sat up and tapped her fingers on her head. “Excuse me, did you just say youd cook?”
“Dont get excited. I was thinking of something along the lines of scrambled eggs or grilledcheese sandwiches.”
“Lets damn the cholesterol and have both.” She leaned down, gave him a quick kiss. “Thanks. Im going to grab a shower.”
WHEN she came out, comfortable in sweats, he was in the kitchen, pouring eggs into one skillet while sandwiches browned in another, and the dog inhaled a bowl of kibble.
He was missing the frilly apron, Dana noted, but all in all, he made a hell of a picture.
“Look at Mr. Domestic.”
“Even living in New York, it pays to be able to throw an emergency meal together. You want to get out plates?”
New York, she thought, as she opened a cabinet. It wouldnt do to forget the guy lived in New York and wasnt going to be making her grilled-cheese sandwiches on a regular basis.
She pushed the thought away, set the table, and added a couple of candles for the fun of it.
“Nice,” she said over the first bite when theyd settled down. “Really, thanks.”
“My mother used to make me grilled-cheese sandwiches when I was feeling out of sorts.”
“Theyre comforting—the toasty bread, the butter, the warm,melty cheese.”
“Mmm. Look, if youre interested in my hands doing more than driving you wild with passion, I can give you some time tomorrow.”
“If youve got it.”
“Id have come by today, but I had homework.” He pointed toward the envelope hed dropped when hed come in.
“Oh. You wrote everything up.” “Think I got it all. You can look it over, see if I left anything out.”
“Cool.” She got up, hurried across the room to fetch the envelope.
“Didnt anyone ever tell you its impolite to read at the table?”
“Certainly not.” Tossing back her hair, she settled back down. “Its never impolite to read.” She tapped out the pages, surprised to see how many there were. “Busy boy.”
He forked up more eggs. “I figured it would work better to get it down in one big gush.”
“Lets see what weve got here.”