Mrs. Matched | Complete

Chapter Seventeen

Dinner outside was just as cold as I thought it would be, but it was very entertaining to watch Melody and Paul discuss marriage and their plans for a house. Paul is discussing his ideal kitchen when Melody takes the conversation in a direction even I never saw coming.

"Paul, you don't get to pick the kitchen if you don't cook!" Her face is practically a cherry but she somehow calmly turns to Christopher and compliments his cooking this evening.

"What was that about?" I asked when there was a break in the conversation.

"What was what?" Melody batted her eyelashes in an exaggerated slow-motion, so I know she is aware and being coy.

Two can play at that game. I narrow my eyes and tilt my head to the side, sliding my hand onto my hip and giving her what my own mother would call 'the mom face.' It is constantly lamented that I do not actually have any children, but that's a topic for another day.

She should have known by then that I was never going to lose a staring contest, but she tried it anyway. Eventually, she relents. "Okay, I've been trying to convince Paul to take cooking lessons but I'm having no success. So I figured if I just lure him in with a nice kitchen and hit him with a 'look, Christopher cooks,' I could maybe convince him to learn a dish or two."

"It's a wonder that man ever survived on his own, Melody."

"Well, he knows how to do most things but I swear all he eats are sandwiches."

The lights twinkling overhead were not quite bright enough to see, once the moon was hiding behind some clouds, and the misty air was cold against every exposed part of my skin.

"You girls want to head inside?" Christopher asked from across the yard. Is he reading my mind? No, surely he's just cold too.

Mel and I picked up our dishes and transferred the party through the door into the kitchen.

"You go on through to the living room," I said to Melody. "I'll grab us some hot chocolate and line up some entertainment. Just look around in the meantime."

And then I remembered who I was talking to. "And stay out of my underwear drawer!"

Melody's laugh rings out from what is almost certainly our stairwell. I knew it.

Christopher stepped into the kitchen and slid the door closed behind him. "Everything's all clean out there. Why don't you let me grab those dishes and you go spend some time with Melody."

"No, I can help."

"I know, but you haven't seen each other in forever. Go entertain her before she finds my underwear drawer."

I hadn't thought of that. Shit! "Melody!" I called, and bolted toward the living room.

"And don't forget you promised to put your books away!" Christopher called after me. "Take pity on my poor stubbed toes!"

I couldn't help but laugh as I tripped over one of my own boxes and made my way up the stairs to stop Melody from anything ridiculous.

"What's this?" she says when I round the corner into the upstairs room with the computer.

Oh. Shit.

"Mel, I can explain. I was just researching some things and..." Then I saw that the computer was not turned on. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"You have a desktop computer? What is this 1970?"

I was so relieved I almost forgot to answer, so Melody did it for me. "And we'll talk about that other thing later, but I think the boys would be missing us if we hashed that out now. Coffee this week?"