Chapter Five
Isaac stepped out of the shower, humming as he got dressed. He and Cosette had sprinted for a long time, taking breaks to walk and talk, and then one or the other would issue a challenge and off they’d go again. Once they’d gotten back to the house, he’d offered to let her shower first. She’d teased that he needed the shower more, as she still smelled like her incredible perfume. He grinned at the memory. She smelled so good at all times, and it was driving him to distraction. Yet it was nothing on how great she looked or how she made him smile.
In the end, she had showered first, and he’d busied himself with burpees, push-ups, and planks to try to keep his mind off of that water running. He’d told her dad that he’d be sensitive and give her time to heal. Yet she already seemed more like the carefree Cosette he’d loved as a teenager. Maybe a simple getaway, and being away from this Lansky jerk, was what she needed.
Isaac walked out of his bedroom and into the main area. He breathed deeply, drinking in the scents of grilled meat, peppers, and onions. This sealed it. She was pretty much perfect.
Cosette was dressed in red shorts and a white tank top. She turned from the stove, which faced a view of the many trees on three sides of the house. She grinned and said, “I hope you’re a hungry hippo, because I cooked a lot.”
He just stared at her. She was so beautiful with that long drape of blond hair, her deep blue eyes, and her smile. How was he going to resist her until she was healed? How would he know she was healed? Was it fair to fall for her when he knew he was leaving soon and there was no hope of them being together for the long term? His enlistment was up next year. Would she wait for him? That was crazy thinking. He wasn’t ready to retire or move to a desk job. He loved what he did. He thought highly of Cosette, but that was all. They weren’t in love. They had no commitment of any kind. Twenty-four hours ago, they hadn’t seen each other since they were teenagers. She probably didn’t even think of him as anything more than a friend. Yet the way she looked at him told a different story.
Right now, she was looking at him as if he was hurting her. “You don’t like fajitas?” she asked.
Isaac pushed out an unsteady laugh. “I love fajitas, and I’m starving. Thank you.”
Her smile was restored, and she flipped some tortillas on the griddle, then turned back to the stove to stir the meat and veggies.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked.
“Sure. Look in the fridge and find cheese, sour cream, anything you can find to go with them.”
“Okay.” Isaac rushed to do as she’d asked and found the fridge was fully stocked. He pulled out salsa, sour cream, grated cheese, and some avocados. After he’d sliced the avocados and set the rest on the small table, he found plates and silverware and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge for each of them.
Cosette brought the meat, veggies, beans, and tortillas over. They sat down at the table, and when she reached out to him, he clasped her hands. Her touch sent a surge of warmth through his whole body. He bent his head and waited.
“You say it, please,” Cosette requested.
“Sure.” Isaac said a brief prayer of gratitude and requests to watch over their families and bless the food. They both said amen and then started assembling fajitas.
Isaac took his first bite and moaned. The veggies, beans, and meat were seasoned and cooked perfectly, and the tortillas were fresh. The salsa, sour cream, cheese, and avocados added to the delicious combination of tastes, but the fajitas would’ve been amazing even without them. “Are the tortillas homemade?” he asked.
She smiled. “Yes.”
“Are there recipe books around here? I destroyed your phone, so I know you didn’t Google a recipe.” He took another bite while he waited for her to answer.
She shook her head, nibbling at her own food. “I don’t need recipe books.”
“Why not?”
“Cooking is just another chemical experiment, right? My mom taught me the basics when I was young, and now I just experiment within that frame of reference.”
Isaac’s jaw went slack. “That’s incredible. What else can you cook?”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “I’m a renowned chemist and I create bestselling scents, and you think it’s ‘incredible’ that I can cook without a recipe?”
“You’re brilliant, I know that,” he hurried to say. “It’s definitely more incredible that you’ve created the lines of perfume and cologne. Forgive me for being a man and thinking with my stomach.”
She tilted her head, and that blond sheen of hair fell over her bare shoulder. Isaac forgot all about the delicious fajita he was gripping as his mouth went dry and something warm stirred within him.
“You’re forgiven,” she said. “But you’re dripping fajita juice out of your wrap.”
Isaac hurried to set his fajita down and blot the juice on his leg. “Sorry.”
“Stop apologizing.” She smiled at him and took another bite. “Thinking like a man, eh? What else would you like me to cook?”
Isaac used his fork to spear some of the peppers and onions that had slid out of his wrap onto his plate, and he thought of how lucky he was to be here with her. “I’m not picky. I’ll eat anything if you’re willing to cook it.”
“Don’t you cook?”