His Assistant - Alexa Land Page 0,64
I said, “It looks delicious.”
“You’re lying, but thank you for trying to spare my feelings.”
“You’re doing great. You even got the power back on,” I said.
“Yup. I found the fuse box hidden inside one of the closets.” He put a champagne flute in front of me and grinned as he said, “Here’s another thing I got right, the mimosas.”
The chicken wandered into the kitchen, spun around, and wandered out again as Harper darted to the stove. He removed a smoking pan from the heat and exclaimed, “Shit, not again!”
“What’s wrong?”
“The pancakes keep burning on the outside and staying raw in the middle.”
“Let me help.”
I got up and took a look at what he was doing. Then I found a new pan in the cupboard and turned the heat down to medium. The batter was really thick, so I added a splash of water and gave it a stir, and he said, “My cooking skills are hopeless. I can’t even make pancakes from a mix.”
“Sure you can. Try it now.” He ladled four pancakes onto the pan. After about ten seconds, he picked up a spatula, and I said, “Patience, young padawan. Don’t flip them until the edges start to look dry and the top is covered with bubbles.”
He grinned at me. “I appreciate the fact that you went for a ‘Star Wars’ reference, as opposed to ‘Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition,’ although that’s pretty apt.” I brushed his hair from his forehead and kissed him, and he leaned into me as he said, “I hate the fact that I’m terrible at this.”
“You’re not terrible, you’ve just never been taught how to cook. If you want, I’ll teach you. Not that I’m an expert or anything.”
“I’d like that. Maybe that can be one of our projects this week.”
“One of our projects? What happened to relaxing?”
He smiled at me. “That’s another of our projects.”
I gestured at the pancakes. “Go ahead and flip them, they’re bubbling.” He looked so happy when he managed to turn them over and discovered they were golden brown. I told him, “You’re doing great.”
“Now that you’re helping me.” He draped his arms over my shoulders and kissed me. “See why I need you, Phee?”
I grinned at him. “Because your pancakes would never survive without me?”
He gave my ass a playful slap and grinned too as he said, “Yes. That’s obviously what I meant.”
A few minutes later, we sat down to breakfast together. As we ate, he said, “I want you to do something for me.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Say yes to all my ideas for, let’s say, the next four hours. Even if you think it’s stupid or a bad idea, say yes anyway.”
I asked, “What exactly will I be agreeing to?”
“It’s a secret.”
“But what if I’m agreeing to skydiving, or bungee jumping, or something I have absolutely no intention of doing?”
“I will be asking you to take a leap, but not like that. Please just trust me.”
I thought about that as I fidgeted with my coffee cup. Finally, I said, “Okay, fine. For the next four hours, I’ll say yes to whatever you suggest.”
He beamed at me and said, “Excellent.”
“Any clues about what you have up your sleeve?”
“You’re going to want to say no, but just remember one thing. I want to give you the world, and this is how I can make it happen.”
I told him, “I have absolutely no idea what that means.”
“I know.” He winked at me and went back to his pancakes.
After breakfast, he exercised his short-term control over me by refusing to let me help clean the kitchen. Instead, he sent me outside with a book and instructions to relax.
The sun had come out, and I sat on the porch railing and took in the incredible view of Hanalei Bay for a while. It was bracketed by craggy, volcanic mountains which were lush and impossibly green. The water also looked like something out of a dream. It was turquoise closer to shore, and then it gave way to a deep sapphire blue.
I was lost in thought sometime later, when Harper appeared beside me and nuzzled my cheek. “We’re going for a short walk,” he said. “But first, we need that hammock.”
I helped him take down my makeshift bed, and he rolled it up and tucked it under his arm. He was carrying a canvas tote bag, and when I tried to take a peek inside it, he snatched it away and told me, “All will be revealed soon. Patience.”
“Fine. Give me a