A New York Secret

Chapter Thirty Three

"I'll go lounge in the bedroom and let Loki look through the books. If you need help, let me know." Emily stacked the few books that Loki picked out, then stood.

"I will need help in about fifteen minutes." Mary called back to Emily.

"Can I help with dinner?" Loki asked Emily as he placed the last few books onto the shelves.

Emily smiled and bent to pick up the books Loki wanted to look at. "Sure. I'm sure Mary won't mind. I'll just put these in the bedroom."

"I can take them. I was going to put them on the bedside table so I can look at them later." Loki told Emily.

"Sure," she said softly, then handed the books to him. "I'll be in the kitchen."

"I will be in there in just a minute." Loki said. He pecked Emily's lips, then took the little stack of books and carried them into the bedroom.

Emily sat on the barstool in the kitchen and watched as Mary began to prepare ingredients. "What did you decide to make?"

"I'm making lasagna, garlic bread, and salad." Mary told Emily. "I was hoping I could get you to make the salad though."

"I can if you want me to. I can even add strawberries if we have any."

"Strawberries in a salad? I've never heard of that before." Mary admitted. She poured several ingredients into a pan to make the sauce.

"It's good. I think both you and Loki would like it."

"I'm open to trying it." Mary agreed as Loki walked into the kitchen. "I think there are strawberries."

Emily nodded. "If we have a vinaigrette, I can add that to the salad too."

"I'm pretty sure we have that. It would be in the middle cabinet if we do." Mary said, then put the lid on the pot to simmer the sauce.

"I'll get what I need then." Emily slid off the barstool and ran her hand across Loki's back as she passed him and made her way to the fridge. She pulled out greens and strawberries then placed them on the counter.

"What can I do to help?" Loki asked. He watched with curiosity as Mary stirred the meat in a skillet.

"You can cut the strawberries into pieces if you want to," Emily said.

"Alright, I can do that." Loki said. He took the strawberries, then found a knife in one of the kitchen drawers. Once he was ready, he set the strawberries on the counter. Working extremely quick and with expert precision, he cut the stems free of the fruit and had the berries cut into perfect little pieces.

In the time it took for Emily to find a salad bowl and toss the greens into it, she checked on Loki, her eyes going wide. "That's amazing Loki!"

Loki looked over to see Emily and Mary both watching him. "What? You said to cut them, right? That's all I have done..."

"You cut them like an expert chef. It's beautiful really," Emily told him.

Loki looked down at the now cut strawberries then back at Emily. "I'm just good with knives..." he said, feeling shy from the praise.

Emily smiled and rubbed Loki's back. "There's nothing wrong with that. But I could see you being really good in the kitchen because of it."

"I can always cut stuff up when you need it." Loki offered still feeling awkward from the compliment.

"I can show you how to do more if you want," Emily replied. She gathered the strawberries and mixed them in with the lettuce mixture. "Do we have any almonds?"