the dining room where they set out two place mats, dishes, cutlery and glasses and he set out the food.
“I got plenty of vegetables. I know you had steak last night, but don’t know how often you eat it.”
“As often as I can. Love meat,” she said, watching as he unpacked the food. “I like everything that’s here.”
He looked up at her and gave her a rare smile. It was good that he smiled so seldom because his smile was almost blinding and a reminder — as if she needed it — of just how handsome he was. Wow.
“Not picky, eh?”
“What?”
“Well, most women your, uh, size, are uh, your size because they are incredibly picky about what they eat or they eat very little or both.”
She scowled, hands on hips. “By, uh, my size, are you saying I’m scrawny?”
His face was covered in blond scruff but she could swear that he blushed. Though that couldn’t be, could it? Warriors didn’t blush.
“God no!” he blurted. “You’re perfect! You’re gorgeous. I didn’t mean at all —”
Hope laughed. “Just messing with you. I’m ‘my size’ as you put it, because I often forget to eat. I love food, and will eat most anything. But if I’m lost in work, by the time I’m really hungry, it’s late and I know by experience that the places that provide food after midnight suck. And it comes cold and greasy. And I always forget to shop. I have some staples like milk and cereal that my fridge automatically orders every week, but my pantry is pathetic.”
He looked at her curiously. “You don’t cook?”
“At all,” she said cheerfully. “Never learned. My … mother didn’t cook. I don’t think I ever saw her in the kitchen. We had a cook who wouldn’t let anyone in the kitchen. Then I spent most of my growing-up years in boarding school, and in college and in most of the places I worked at after that, they had canteens. And of course —” she gestured at the table — “there’s always takeout. Do you cook?”
“Absolutely.” Luke was still removing the containers from the large insulated bag. “When my mom died, Dad had to learn to cook for me. There sure wasn’t money for a cook and anyway he became a pretty decent cook, but with a limited range. It was fine for what it was. But I like lots of different cuisines so I learned how to cook Italian and Mexican and Thai, mainly. At a very basic level, but still. I felt like Italian tonight so that’s what we’re having. One of the Black Inc guys I trained with particularly recommended an Italian restaurant they use when in the safe house. Traditional, but really good.” He leaned over the table of containers and breathed in. “Mushroom risotto, fried polenta, sautéed wild greens, chicken cacciatore, tagliata steak, tomato salad with basil olive oil, panna cotta. Good stuff.”
She leaned over, out of politeness, hoping the smells of food wouldn’t nauseate her. It happened sometimes, when she was overtired, no matter how hungry she was. Food just made her stomach close up into a tight cold ball.
And she was overtired. Exhausted, really. Her emotions had been stretched thin to the point of shattering. She was too tired even to take stock of the day. Of the mind-bending nature of the visit to the trailer park. How she had this knowledge of the park. Somehow, crazy as that sounded, she’d been there before. The information was simply there, in her head, and she had no idea how it was there.
It felt like being tossed around in a stormy ocean.
Her stomach was already tightening when she leaned over the table top and — the smells were absolutely amazing. You’d have to be dead not to respond to them. Her stomach just opened right up and stretched out virtual fingers, curling up. Gimmee. Now now now!
“Wow,” she breathed. “That smells awesome.”
Luke looked up from carting out the food boxes, lifted a corner of his mouth and winked. “Right?”
Oh God. Luke shouldn’t do that! Shouldn’t give that wildly attractive half smile and a wink, drawing attention to those sky blue eyes. Nope. She was rooted to where she stood, her terrible day and the luscious food all forgotten. All she could do was stare at him, all thoughts gone from her head. No thoughts, just hormones, all suddenly alive and kicking, swirling around in her bloodstream.
She’d been chilled just a moment before, thinking she should have taken a