"Geez, where did all the food go? Did you have a party or something last night?"
Cale glanced around to see her standing in the open refrigerator door, frowning over the now-barren shelves. "Oh, I ... er ..." Sighing, he set the towel down and moved to the door into the hall. "I need to go get a change of clothes from the hotel anyway. I'll pick up something on the way back."
"Cale."
He heard her feet padding after him and moved a little more quickly to the closet by the front door, managing to retrieve his coat before she caught up.
"Keys." She offered her keys as he turned with the coat held in front of his groin. "So you can get back in."
"Right." He smiled and took the keys, then backed toward the door, the coat still held at his waist. "I won't be long. Any special requests when it comes to food?"
"I'll leave it to you."
"Right." He turned away, pulled the door open, and headed out with relief.
"Put your coat on," she said with a laugh, catching the door when he tried to pull it closed. "It's freezing out there, and you're wet. You'll get frostbite."
Cale quickly shrugged the item on as he jogged down the steps and rushed to the car.
Chapter Ten
The house was silent when Cale returned almost two hours later. He'd been as quick as he could be, grabbing a bag of blood from the cooler as soon as he stepped into his hotel room, and then actually feeding on it as he jumped in the shower. It had been the fastest shower in history, he was sure. The bag at his teeth hadn't even been empty by the time he got out, but he'd dried himself one-handed, and then begun to dress in fresh clothes as it finished.
After that Cale had only taken the time to throw more clean clothes into a bag to take back with him before rushing down to his car. Both the stop at the hotel and then hitting the Tim Hortons drive-thru on the way back had probably taken him less than twenty minutes. However, Alex's house was a good forty-minute drive from his hotel, which was where most of the time had gone.
Now he closed the front door, engaged the lock, and carried the food and coffee into the kitchen before removing his outerwear. He quickly put them away in the hall closet, and then moved quietly upstairs. Cale heard her slow, deep breathing before reaching her door, but eased it open anyway to be sure. He smiled widely when he spotted her curled up on her side with her back to him, sleeping peacefully away.
Cale eased the door closed, turned on his heel and rushed back downstairs. She was sleeping! The thought raced madly through his head. They could share another dream! The thought had him already half-erect before he'd even reached the living room and the waiting couch. Diving onto it, he settled himself on his back and closed his eyes, eager for sleep to claim him and the dream to start as it had earlier.
"Hello?"
Cale's eyes popped open and he sat up to peer toward the empty doorway with a frown. This wasn't a dream. He'd barely closed his eyes before Alex had called his name. He must have woken her closing the door. Sighing, he called, "Yeah?"
"I thought I heard you come in," she called from the top of the stairs. "I'm just going to grab a shower. I'll be right down."
Cale's shoulders slumped. It seemed there would be no more shared dreams for now. Damn! He'd been looking forward to it. Sighing, he stood up and moved back out to the kitchen. The food and coffee still waited on the table. Cale collected plates and silverware for two. He had poured their coffees into cups and unwrappedand set the food on the plates by the time Alex entered the kitchen. Her hair was damp but brushed, she was dressed in jeans and a blue sweater, and she smelled of oranges and spice as she joined him at the table.
"Wow, it's still warm," she said with pleasure, pressing a finger to the top of her sandwich.
"Oui. I got it at the coffee shop just around the corner." Cale settled in a seat across from her. "And you were fast in the shower."
Nodding, she sat down. Both of them were unusually quiet while they ate. Cale didn't need to think hard to figure out why. Every time he glanced at her, their shared dream rose in his mind, stealing any ability to speak. Judging by the way Alex flushed every time she glanced his way, Cale suspected she was suffering from the same problem. It was almost a relief when they had both finished.
They worked together in that same silence as they cleaned their cups and plates, and then Alex glanced at him, flushed, glanced away, and murmured, "I'm thinking I might head over to the restaurant and check that light over the back door, change the bulb. If I don't, I'll forget and end up having to leave in the dark again."
"The doctor said you were supposed to take it easy today," Cale said quietly.
"I know, but I have to cook tonight and-"
"No you don't," Cale interrupted. "My cousin arranged for Emile to fly in and take your place tonight."
Alex looked at him fully for the first time since coming downstairs. She definitely wasn't thinking about their dream this time. Her eyes were wide anduncertain. "Excuse me? Your cousin arranged for who to take my place?"
"Emile," Cale said, smiling wryly at her stunned expression. Apparently she recognized the name where he hadn't. "I gather from a purely business perspective it's a very good move. Not only is he supposed to be a good chef, but they're expecting the press to be all over your restaurant once they hear ... and if I know my family, there have already been several calls made to the different newsrooms in the city. This should be very good press for the restaurant, as well as the opening next week."
"Damn," Alex breathed, leaning weakly against the counter. "And here I was afraid the attack was a sign that my streak of bad luck hadn't ended like I'd started to think."
Cale smiled incredulously. "You're now thinking your getting attacked is good luck? "