the rock-hard ribs with my hands on my hips and tried to think of a smooth recovery move I could make. There were places on the island that did delivery and there was no way I’d be able to whip something up out of what was in my fridge.
I’d gone to the market that afternoon but hadn’t bothered with a real grocery shop. Instead, I’d picked up the ribs, some greens, and some potatoes, which were boiling in a pot on the back of the stove.
It wouldn’t do to serve Katie potatoes and veggies for dinner with no protein.
I was about to call her and fess up to my blunder when I heard tires out on the gravel driveway. With one last sorrowful look at the ribs I’d spent the last four hours babying, I moved through the living room and out onto the porch just as the taxi came to a stop and Katie got out of the back seat.
She smiled as soon as she saw me.
She was nicely dressed in a knee-length, red summer dress that tied up behind her neck. She’d paired it with white sandals and small gold hoop earrings, and her hair was half pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head while the rest of it hung down around her shoulders.
She hurried over to meet me with a kiss. “Hi, handsome. I’m happy to see you. I’ve had a day and a half.”
I grimaced. “I have bad news.”
“Oh God, I don’t know how much more of that I can take. What is it?”
“I ruined dinner.”
“Ruined it? How?”
“I burnt the ribs.”
“Ribs,” she said a little desperately. She placed a hand on her belly. “That sounds so good. Are you sure they aren’t salvageable?”
“Would you like to come look for yourself?”
“Sure, I’ve been known to work miracles in the kitchen. I mean, those miracles only ever applied to burnt grilled cheese sandwiches, but I’m not afraid to try.”
I chuckled and stepped into the cabin. Katie followed on my heels, and as soon as we walked in, it was like walking through a wall of smoke. She coughed and fanned in front of her face while muttering a string of curses.
“Oh my God, Peter. What happened?”
“I had the broiler on,” I said dejectedly.
She made an uneasy sound in the back of her throat and went to the stove, where she looked down at the ribs. She poked one of them with her fingers. When it had no give, she picked up a knife on the counter and whacked one of the ribs. It made a loud, solid sound like she’d hit the counter.
Katie giggled. “I don’t think there’s anything I can do here. The damage has been done.”
“You think?”
Katie took my dish towel from where it hung on the handle of the oven and draped it over the ribs like she was covering the corpse of a person who’d died a horrible death. “There,” she said. “Now we don’t have to witness the massacre that took place on this day.”
“I’m glad you find this humorous.”
“I do, just a little bit.”
“I slaved over those for four hours for you.”
She grinned and turned to me, her hands clasped in front of her. “I still feel special, even though I won’t be able to eat them.”
“You know, your endless optimism is a huge turn-on, but I want you to feel a little sorry for me right now.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” she pouted, coming to stand in front of me and press her hands to my chest. “What can I do to make you feel better?”
I grinned. “This is helping.”
Katie stretched to the tips of her toes and cupped the back of my neck to press a sweet kiss to my lips. She ran her fingers through my hair and stayed there balanced on the balls of her feet like a ballerina. “Maybe this was meant to be. I’ve been craving pizza all day. With chicken and pineapple and onions and green peppers.”
I arched an eyebrow. “I don’t think this relationship can continue. Pineapple? You’re one of those freaks?”
“Damn straight I am. I’m an island girl at this point, Peter. Come on. Keep up. Of course, I like pineapple on my pizza.”
“Blasphemy.”
She giggled and finally went flat on her feet. “I’ll call and order from my usual place. What do you like?”
“I’m boring.”
“So pepperoni?”
I chuckled. “Maybe.”
Katie gave me a knowing smile and stepped out of the smoke-filled cabin to call the pizza place. While she did that, I opened