Reckless (Mason Family #3) - Adriana Locke Page 0,20

your feelings hurt that I’m not talking to you in a love language?”

I think about this. “Yes.”

“You know,” she says, resting her head on the door. “You’re more offended about this than the fact that I broke into your house yesterday.”

“Because this is more personal.”

“More personal than your personal space?”

I nod. “Yes. My personal space is space. My love language is my person. Or about my person. You know what I mean. It cuts deep that you refuse to consider that you’d talk to me in a love language.”

“Well, genius, I don’t love you. Speaking to you like that wouldn’t be necessary, now would it?”

Good point.

She laughs and pulls the door open. “Do you want to come in and get this food or not?”

“I would love to.” I lift my chin and walk inside. “Because I’m not afraid of love things.”

She snorts but otherwise ignores my poke at her.

We move through the foyer and into Libby’s kitchen.

“What the hell happened in here?” I ask, taking in the destruction in front of me.

The kitchen looks nothing short of a culinary war zone. The counter on either side of the stove is covered in debris. There are pots and knives in the sink and spaghetti sauce sticking an empty box of garlic bread to the kitchen island. A bundle of carrots leans untouched against a bag of onions, and all I can think of is that I hope she has a Janey.

“I told you,” she says. “I cooked.”

“No, I think you said you tried to cook, and now I understand why you chose those specific words.”

She scoffs as she grabs a lid off the counter. “Fine. Then I’ll keep my house … warming? Breaking? Gift to myself.”

I join her at the stove. “Let me get this straight. You made me dinner as a house-breaking gift?”

She snaps the lid on a giant bowl of pasta. “I did.”

I look around once again. It must’ve taken her a while to make such a mess. And, although it’s a giant disaster, a lot of thought had to have gone into this.

For me.

And that’s pretty damn sweet.

“That was awfully nice of you,” I say, leaning against the counter.

She looks down. A strand of hair falls into her face. She doesn’t look up, but I can tell she appreciates the comment.

“It might not be fit to eat,” she says. “I’m not the greatest cook.”

“It’s the thought that counts, right?”

“Right.”

She takes a plastic bag out of a drawer. I move to get a better view of what she’s doing when my back suddenly feels damp. I pull away from the counter and notice that I’ve leaned against something wet.

“Here.” She tosses me a kitchen towel.

I grab it out of the air and press it against the spot on the small of my back. “You didn’t have to do all of this, you know.”

“I know.” She sits the bag down by the garlic bread. “But when someone does something nice for you, you should do something nice back.”

“Or you could just accept it and be happy.”

She looks at me like I’m joking. “Yeah.”

I furrow my brow and wonder what that look was about. There’s something to unpack there. But, if I poke around too much, I run the risk of making her wish she hadn’t made me dinner. I don’t want to do that.

“Let this bread cool down another second, and I’ll put it in here for you,” she says, laying her hand on the bag.

I toss the towel next to the sink. “Or, since I’m already here, we could just grab some plates and not bother with packing it all up to take to my house.”

“I was taking this to you. For you. Not … us.”

She says it like she never considered that I might assume she cooked for me and her. How could that be possible?

“Do you have plans or something?” I ask.

“Well … no.”

“Have you eaten dinner?”

She hems and haws around before finally admitting the truth. “No.”

“So, why are we not eating together?”

She almost smiles. That’s what gives her away. It’s such a subtle gesture that most people would miss it. Being the youngest sibling out of five means I don’t miss anything.

I give her an out. Just in case I’m wrong.

“Do you think Libby will mind if I eat here with you?” I ask. “I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble with Teddy.”

“Ted can screw off.” She rolls her eyes. “I'm pretty sure that Libby would be over the moon if she knew we were