“Is red paste bad?”
“Like sour cream and onion.”
I laughed and shuffled through the cans.
“You have a lot of ravioli for a guy who doesn’t like red paste. Which of these cans do you like?”
The sudden appearance of an arm reaching around me made me jump.
“Sorry,” he murmured, setting a hand on my other shoulder as he took a can of spam from the top shelf. “I like these.”
“Okay. I think I can work with that.”
He sat at the island and watched me dice the spam while some rice boiled.
“Do you think my plan will work?” I asked. “Will the people at Tenacity stop seeing fey as a threat if some of you serve them meals?”
“Maybe. Wearing clothes made some of the humans like us more. Giving them things made some of them pretend to like us. I like when you cook for me.”
I smiled at him, trying only to focus on his face.
“And I like that you’re so appreciative of it. Hopefully, the people in Tenacity will feel the same appreciation.”
He grunted.
“Do you want me to wake you up before Angel arrives tomorrow? She will want to know about your plan, too.”
“Sure,” I caught what I was agreeing to and quickly added, “But not in my favorite way. That was a one-time thing, okay?”
“Why only one time? I like your favorite way. It’s my favorite way, too.”
My insides went hot, and I turned away to find the can of peas and carrots.
“You said you liked it,” he said, hesitation filling his words.
I mentally cringed and knew I needed to handle the situation with more care.
“I did like it, Tor. But it was weird doing that with someone who wasn’t my boyfriend.”
“I will be your boyfriend. Then it won’t be weird.”
Gripping the can, I faced him. He tilted his head as he studied me.
“Why are you red? Are you angry?”
“Nope. I’m embarrassed.”
“Why?”
“I feel like Adam took advantage of you by asking you to wake me up like that. I think he knew how much you’d like it, and he believed it would endear me to you enough that you’d keep me safe when he left. And in a way, I took advantage, too. I shouldn’t have let you do that when I was still with Adam. But I didn’t know it was you until at the very end.”
Tor said nothing for a long moment as his gaze held mine.
“You thought I was Adam,” he said slowly.
“I did. I’m really sorry.”
Tor looked down at the counter. The tips of his ears slowly darkened.