I Pretend You're Mine

19. The Evaluation

Tim came home from his morning run with Kojo to the smell of...pancakes? He walked over to the kitchen to find Lucy humming and standing over the stovetop.

"Hey, babe, how was your run?" She called over her shoulder.

"Fine...what are you doing?"

"Making us breakfast."

"That's not just breakfast. Those are pancakes."

"Bradford signature pancakes," she corrected. "Figured I needed to learn to perfect the recipe before officially becoming a Bradford."

He filled up Kojo's water bowl while eyeing Lucy curiously. "I've only made them for you a few times. You really think you figured out the recipe?"

"I've been paying attention."

Tim set the bowl down before Kojo darted over to start lapping up the water. "Using those keen observations skills I trained you to use?"

"Don't turn pancakes into a Tim test. You told me your mom said that cooking for someone else shows you care."

"So, this is a romantic gesture?" He asked and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Exactly."

"Crap. Now, if they taste horrible, I have to pretend to like them."

Her mouth fell open as she elbowed him playfully. "RUDE!"

"I'm kidding," he chuckled. "Mostly."

Lucy narrowed her eyes at him.

"Totally kidding," Tim corrected himself and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Better. Now, sit down and eat your pancakes." She handed him a plate of breakfast.

"So bossy," he grunted while walking around to the stools tucked under the other side of the kitchen island.

"Sorry, I'm just thinking about our evaluation today. We have to get to the station early. I want us to make a great impression on H.R."

"Would you relax, baby? This is just a formality. They're gonna ask us some questions about our relationship, and we just have to tell them the truth."

"That we faked our engagement at first and then..."

He cut her off as he sat down at a stool, "Okay let's tell them we started our relationship while we were out of town. We'll need a psych eval if we tell anyone we pretended to be engaged."

"Right. When should we say that we got engaged? If we say it happened when we got back, Smitty's blog post would be wrong."

"I asked at your apartment. We can say I was planning on proposing sooner, but your aunt went to the hospital, and we had to get back to work."

"That's a lie," she scoffed.

"No, baby, it's not. I wanted to come back from Carmel actually engaged. I thought we were gonna stay a few more days and I'd have time to figure out how to tell you. I'm not really the best at talking about my feelings."

She clasped one of his hands. "You're getting better every day. So, tell me your feelings on my pancakes."

Tim took a bite and was surprised that the recipe was replicated perfectly.

Lucy saw the look in his eye and drenched her own plate in syrup, excited to try the pancakes for herself. She sat down next to him at the kitchen counter, took a bite, and smiled victoriously. "I think I nailed it."

He held her chin to turn her face towards his and kissed her. "Perfect," Tim sighed, because the taste of her lips mixed with pancakes and syrup was his new definition of perfect.