hands on her hips, glaring at him. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you? That whole ‘show me’ thing is just a plot to…” she wasn’t sure how to phrase it since it was probably just a mild flirtation on his part but in her mind, it had been so much more sensuous.
“Where is your mother?” he asked, and by the stunned look on her face, he already knew the answer. He wished he’d never asked the question because all the laughter was gone, replaced by a sadness that made him want to take her into his arms and kiss away whatever pain she was dealing with.
“My parents both died in a car accident while I was in college.” She said it quietly and picked up her knife, chopping up the celery into careful, even slices. She put all of her effort into not crying in front of Hassan.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
She shrugged and shook her head. “It was a drunk driver, a stupid kid who thought he could have a few beers and make it home. He’s fine, by the way. Off in college and having a good time. Probably still drinking and then getting into a car.”
“That’s horrible. It was murder, no matter how one looks at it and I’m truly sorry that this happened to you, Dana.”
She took some broccoli and started chopping it up, his sympathy truly did help. In others, it had been a burden, but hearing those words from Hassan made her feel better. Less alone, somehow. “It was a long time ago.” She missed her college friends, Sasha and Jenna who had been there for her every step of the way while she arranged the funeral and worked through all the details. It had been horrible but having them there, like sisters always willing to offer a shoulder to cry on, had been her saving grace.
She really needed both of them now, but she wouldn’t dare contact them for help.
He raised his eyebrow at that, knowing she was only twenty five so “in college” meant only a few years ago. “They would be proud of the woman you’ve turned out to be,” he said and grabbed a red pepper, chopping that up the same way as the green one.
“Thank you.”
She felt awkward after that and struggled for something to say. Instead, she focused on cooking which always soothed her. “Okay, so let’s put everything into the pan and grill it up.”
She tossed all the vegetables into the center of the pan and took it over to one of the burners. She’d already set the rice to boiling before she started the vegetables so that was almost done. With a bit of spices, a little oil and soy sauce, along with a secret ingredient she and her mother had worked on together, she tossed the vegetables around in the center of the pan, quick frying them all together until they were the perfect crunchiness.
Throughout all this, she had to keep pushing Hassan’s hand out of the way since he continuously tried to swipe the chopped vegetables or just get in her way. She thought about putting her hands on his waist or shoulders and moving him out of the way, but that was much too forward. She didn’t have the courage to touch him in that way. Which wasn’t to say that she didn’t want to. That was a no brainer!
When the meal was finally cooked, she placed it on a plate with a heaping serving for him. “Are you sure you want this for dinner? I’m sure whatever the chef is cooking for you would probably be better.”
“Come along,” he said and took the bottle of wine and glasses in one hand and his plate in the other. He led the way out of the kitchen, down one of the ornately decorated hallways and into a small sitting room she’d never seen before.
“What is this?” she asked and hesitated to sit in one of the luxurious looking chairs.
“This is my private sitting room. Relax,” he said and gestured for her to take a seat in one of the large, overstuffed chairs. “Let’s eat,” He sat down across from her and poured both of them a glass of white wine.
The meal was just as delicious as she remembered it but she was worried when he took his first bite, wondering how anything she could cook could possibly compete with something one of his Cordon Bleu trained chefs would prepare. But the surprised look on