Her sex clenched at the thought, and then disappointment filled her once again. He didn’t want her that way.
“What’s it like then?” Kim’s question pulled her back to the present.
“I’m in one of his spare bedrooms.” When her friend didn’t respond, Ali continued, “His bedroom is at the back of the house.”
“And how do you know where his bedroom is?”
Her friend wasn’t going to let this go. Not that Ali could blame her. “I told you it isn’t like that. He told me his bedroom was down the back hall if I needed him for something.”
“The back hall? Just how big is this house?”
“Pretty big. I’ve seen most of the downstairs. Except for his bedroom, of course. But I haven’t been upstairs yet.”
“Wow,” Kim said. “I never would have guessed. He seems so—”
A knock sounded on her door. “I’ve got to go.”
Kim chuckled. “Tell Daniel I said hi.”
Ali didn’t bother to respond before disconnecting the call. She scrambled off the bed and went to answer the door.
Daniel looked her over for a long moment before speaking. “Dinner’s ready.”
“Oh. Thanks.” She tossed her phone onto the bed, then stepped out into the hallway.
Daniel turned on his heel and strode toward the kitchen.
The chicken and shrimp stir-fry he’d made smelled delicious. Her mouth was watering before she took the first bite. “This is really good,” she said after swallowing.
“Thank you.” He lifted the glass to his lips, drawing her gaze.
Ali forced herself to look away and took a couple more bites. She was amazed by how good he was in the kitchen. The only other man she’d met who could cook this good was Drew. He’d brought spaghetti Bolognese to the submissive group once and she’d almost had an orgasm right there. The man could cook. So could Daniel.
“How did you learn to cook like this?”
He scooped up some rice, then stabbed a piece of broccoli. “I took a few cooking classes, but there was also a lot of trial and error.”
“Wow. That’s impressive. Most single guys would rather live on takeout or ramen noodles.”
“If it was just me, I would have been fine with that, but I wanted healthier meals for my kids when they were here.”
She almost choked on her food. Kids? Ali reached for her glass of water and drank, downing half the glass. “You have kids?”
“I do. Three of them.”
Before she could stop herself, she scanned the room for any signs of children. There were no toys or children’s books lying around. Granted, there were parts of the house she hadn’t seen, but surely there would be evidence in the living room and kitchen.
And where were they? She had to assume they were with their mother.
Their mother. Or mothers. She had no idea.
So many thoughts were swirling through her head. “Do they live around here?”
He stood and she thought she saw sadness cloud his features. “Not anymore.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. Kids grow up and move away. That’s life.”