He shook his head, rinsing the plates. “Don’t be. Nothing to do with you. I remind myself when I’m in the kitchen the people working with me love food—preparing it, cooking it—as much as I do. Plus, I had a good family life.”
A confused frown pulled at her forehead.
He turned off the tap. “It just wasn’t mine. The love in Owen’s family was amazing. There’s a lotta heart in that family. In all of them. Owen’s heart is bigger than Mars, I think. Your sister has definitely got herself a keeper there.”
Elisa studied him. Didn’t say a word.
Something tight coiled in his stomach. “You don’t think so?”
“Oh no, she’sdefinitelygot a keeper. Owen is amazing.” She smiled. “I was just thinking your heart is bigger than you think.”
“Maybe.” He let a low chuckle fall from him. For a split-second he’d been prepared to defend Owen, but it was clear Elisa was a fan of his best mate. “I’ve got afewbig things, as it turns out.”
She groaned around a grin, rolling her eyes. “Your prowess in the kitchen and the bedroom isn’t surpassed by your word play prowess.”
Gasping with mock indignation, he leant his elbows on the counter opposite her and pinned her with a steady stare. “You mean I’d never be Australia’s next poet laureate? Or make it as a TV star? What kind of fiancée are you?”
“The honest kind.” Her lips curled, and she leant closer to him. “The kind who would nevereverlet you go on a TV show like that.”
“I knew I asked you to marry me for a reason.”
It was her turn to gasp, eyes twinkling. “Mi scusi?Iaskedyou, thank you very much.”
“A mutual asking?”
She laughed. “A mutual asking.”
“We’ll go buy the engagement ring after breakfast tomorrow.” He was joking. He really was. And yet the thought of slipping a massive chunk of a diamond on her finger…
“If it’s at breakfast time, I’m assuming we’re going to Tiffany’s?”
“Of course.”
“As it should be,” she said with melodramatic sternness. “But be warned, I’m going to be very picky.”
“Wouldn’t want you any other way.”
They grinned at each other. It was ridiculous how much he never wanted this to end. Could she feel it? Could she see it in his eyes? Could she see his heart, thumping like a cannon in his throat? Could she hear it?
“You wouldn’t?” she asked.
“I want youeveryway, Lis.Allthe time.”
She pushed herself from the counter and rounded to where he stood. He turned to face her. Met her gaze. Breathed her in.
Felt her warmth.
Without a word, she rose up onto tiptoe and kissed him.
He smoothed his hands around her waist, pressing them to the small of her back, holding her closer to his lower body.
His blood licked through his veins: hot and fast. His heart thumped harder.
He gave himself to the kiss, to her. Let his lips and tongue tell her everything he couldn’t say aloud: not to her, nor to himself. He didn’t do relationships, and she hardly knew him. But he never wanted her to go.
Finally, he pulled away. “Stay the night,” he said. “Or maybe longer. Just…stay. With me.”
She stared up at him, her eyes impossible to read. “Okay.”