Playing For Her Heart - Megan Erickson Page 0,49
Ethan how she felt. But Grant didn’t want her to think she had to do this all herself. Moving forward, if they were a couple…well wasn’t that what a relationship was about?
Grant hadn’t had a real partnership in years…or maybe he never had one? His feelings for Sydney’s mother were purely platonic after that one drunken evening together. And now they only talked when it was necessary for Sydney.
He wanted that with Chloe, though. He wanted to help her with her life and get the same back in return. Sure it was selfish, but he wanted a part of her heart for himself. And in order to do that, he needed to show her how much of his she already had.
After he packed his toiletries into his bag, he zipped it up and headed downstairs. Sydney was at the counter smoothing batter into a pan. She looked up as he walked in. “Hey!”
He stood next to her and peered into the pan. “Hey yourself. What’re you making?”
“Well I already had butter softening on the counter, so I whipped up a quick pan of chocolate-chip-cookie bars. How does that sound?”
Oh shit, he loved these things. It’d be a miracle if he didn’t eat the whole pan on the way there.
As if sensing his thoughts, Sydney scowled. “Don’t you dare eat all these in the car.”
He laughed. “You know me so well.”
She huffed and handed him the spatula to lick, which he happily did as she placed the pan into the preheated oven. She set the timer and announced, “You can leave in fifty minutes.”
What the hell was he going to do for fifty minutes? But Sydney was so pleased with herself, cheeks flushed, that he resigned himself to wait around until the damn things were done.
He helped her clean up and as she was loading the dishwasher, she tossed her braid over her shoulder and looked at him. “She emailed me, you know.”
“Who?”
“Miss Talley!”
“Oh, right. Emailed you about what?”
“The recipe for the chicken fajitas.”
Grant’s mouth watered. “Please, please make them.”
Sydney smirked. “If you convince Miss Talley to call you her boyfriend, then I’ll make you chicken fajitas.”
He gasped in mock outrage. “Bribery.”
She giggled. “I think that’s excellent incentive.”
He wasn’t going to tell Sydney the best incentive, which was sex with Chloe. Although, admittedly, fajitas were like sex in his mouth.
They spent the next forty-five minutes or so playing Aric’s Revenge. Grant loved to watch Sydney play, her tongue poked out the corner of her mouth as her brow furrowed in concentration. She’d forget to blink, so then she’d have to rub her eyes and blink them rapidly to get the moisture back.
The oven timer beeped at the same time a knock came at the door.
“I’ll get the cookie bars!” Sydney announced, running in to the kitchen.
Grant let in Ethan, who spotted Grant’s bag inside the front door. He didn’t say anything, but he did smile.
Grant hadn’t worked this hard for a woman’s family approval in…well, ever.
When they walked in to the kitchen, Sydney was staring at the pan. “I was going to cut them into squares and put them that cute tin I have, but they aren’t cool enough for that.”
Grant and Ethan just stared at her.
She rolled her eyes. “Well, at least I used my nice maroon stoneware.” She pulled out the tinfoil and rolled out a piece, laying it on top and crimping the edge. “Okay, so you’ll just have to let it cool on the way and then you can cut it there. Make sure you use a sharp knife and—”
“I planned to just stick my face in the pan and gnaw on it,” Grant said.
Sydney glared.
He bent down and kissed her cheek. “Be good, kid. Be nice to Ethan.”
“I will; have fun and drive safe.”
She was such a mother hen already. He tugged her braid and then turned to Ethan. “Take care of my girl.”
Ethan gazed at him steadily. “Will do. Take care of mine.”
Chapter Thirteen
The only sound in the kitchen was the scraping of utensils on plates. When the clock on the wall chimed, Chloe startled, the sound cutting through the deafening silence.
She’d arrived at her parents the previous night, slept in the next day, and now it was lunch.
A silent, awkward lunch.
It’d been too long since she visited. Everything she wanted to talk about involved Ethan but the sound of his name made her parents bristle. Which in turn made her feel guilty.
She stuck a forkful of macaroni and cheese in her mouth and chewed,