Anchor

Chapter 14

Gabriel

"You're the whole package, aren't you? Sexy, smart, and now you say you can cook? My hero." Chloe bats her eyes and settles onto a stool, leaning on my island bar. She crosses her legs and I have to fight not to stare at her. Wisps of hair have broken free of her loose braid to frame her face. She looks good in my house. Like she belongs here.

"A man can't give away all his secrets, now, can he?" I pause while dicing tomatoes to kiss her soft lips, and then once more for good measure. Responding immediately, her hands slide up to my neck and I almost say to hell with dinner.

I'd forgotten how nice it was to cook for someone other than myself. Chloe spent the last ten minutes entertaining me with stories about the antics of her family and the crazy clients she's had at the travel agency she helps manage.

"Well, none of the men in my family have ever been able to make more than scrambled eggs. I've never wanted a plate of spaghetti more in my life after all the hospital food. Seriously, it smells amazing."

"Of course it does. Plus, this serves dual purposes. It's both dinner and a seduction."

Chloe's eyes light up. "Oh, is it?" she murmurs.

"You bet. Cooking for a woman is my best move." I pour the diced tomatoes into the sauce and stir, glancing at her over the steaming pot.

She sets her glass down on the counter and snuggles into my side. "Oh, so this is something you do for all the ladies, huh?"

"Only the special ones."

"I bet you save all of them, too." She jabs me in my uninjured ribs and I laugh. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, you don't worry about it. I'm going to take care of you tonight." And I mean that in more ways than one, if she'll let me.

She brushes off my statement and moves to root through my fridge. "Aha," she exclaims. I turn to find her with arms full of salad mixings. She dumps the supplies on the counter and then turns to search in the cabinets.

"What are you doing?" She bumps her head on the open cabinet and yelps.

"You okay?"

"I'm seeing double, but at least I found a salad bowl."

I tug on her free hand and circle her in my arms. "I told you that you didn't have to help."

"It's just a bump. I'll be fine."

I grab a cloth and some ice from the dispenser and press it to the goose egg already swelling on her head. "You sit and relax. If you must do something, you can put together that salad while sitting. Surely, you can't get hurt that way," I tease. "The last thing we need is to take you back to the hospital."

"Har, har." She gets to work shredding and assembling the salad. "So I'm a little clumsy. You should probably know that about me up front. I also do crazy things like challenge people with guns. Spend the night with a strange man."

"Do that often?"

She sputters around a sip of her drink. "Completely not what I meant and you know it."

"C'mon. You're gorgeous. I wouldn't hold it against you even if you had. But you also don't seem like the kind of girl to take relationships lightly."

"Got me there. The last one I had ended pretty badly."

"What happened?"

"Well, he told me he couldn't ruin our friendship in case something went wrong with our relationship. He was my best friend when we got together." She drinks heartily. "Did I mention he was my fiancé when he dumped me and he recently got engaged? Again."