“Thank you.” I take a bite. “Mmm, this is delicious.”
“I know.”
I laugh. “You aren’t cocky or arrogant at all.”
He shrugs. “I’m a good chef. No one has ever turned down my cooking.”
“Ever wanted to be a chef full-time?”
“Why would I want to do that? I get to work my own hours, get paid well, and hang out with my best friends?”
I take another bite and speak with my mouth full. “I don’t know, maybe the little part about being able to go home every night and know you won’t die or have to kill anyone.”
“Well, that sounds boring,” he grins at me.
I smile back at Hayes. His smile is infectious, and he’s incredibly likable.
I take another bite and moan. “Why couldn’t I have married you instead of Lennox? I’d be happy to marry you if it meant I could eat your delicious cooking all the time.”
“That can be arranged,” Lennox says from behind me, making me jump.
I bite my lip nervously and turn to face him, while Hayes just continues looking from me to Lennox with his amused, happy grin on his face.
“Great! What do you say, sweetheart? Want to divorce this scoundrel and marry me instead?” Hayes teases, leaning in and kissing me unexpectedly on the lips.
My eyes never leave Lennox. He’s good at hiding his feelings, but I swear I saw his jaw twitch when Hayes’s lips touched mine. A second later, his face is wiped clean and expressionless. Maybe I imagined it or hoped that I can get under his skin as easily as he can mine.
“Where have you been this morning?” I ask Lennox.
“Dealing with business.”
“What business?”
“None of your concern.”
He’s not going to talk to me anymore today than he did last night. He’s still silent on all the things that matter.
I turn to Hayes. “What are you doing this morning?”
“Planning our wedding,” Hayes winks.
I give him a weak grin. “How about teaching me some self-defense instead?”
Hayes glances at Lennox behind me and then nods after I assume Lennox gives him permission.
I sigh. I hate that this is my life now—getting permission from someone else to do the most basic of things.
Hayes stands up. “We have an apartment on this floor that we turned into a gym. We can go there. Get changed, and then I’ll take you.”
I look down at my clothes, knowing I don’t have any workout clothes with me. Vincent didn’t see the point of me having any other clothes. “Nah, I’m good.”
Hayes looks to Lennox and then sighs.
“Okay, well, I guess that will have to do for now. Later we’ll get you some proper workout clothes,” Hayes says.
“Thank you.” As I start to follow Hayes out of the apartment, I feel Lennox’s eyes peering through my shirt. When he stares, I might as well not be wearing anything. I feel naked, like he can read through me.
He doesn’t say anything but follows us to the door two down that Hayes unlocks.