Second Chance Family - Cindy Kirk Page 0,35
are for tomorrow.”
While she watched, Cole had the audacity to snag another olive.
“I thought Lexi had the food covered?”
“She does, but I hate the thought of going to a holiday dinner empty-handed. My mother always said—” Meg heaved an exasperated breath when Cole filched a piece of stuffed celery from the tray.
She opened her mouth to give him the dressing-down he deserved, when a look of pure delight blanketed his face.
“Wow, this is good.” He chewed thoughtfully for another second then lifted a brow. “Do I taste crab in this?”
Meg nodded. “Along with chive cream cheese, onion salt and a few other ingredients.”
“My mom used that store-bought pimento stuffing which I liked. But this—” he lifted up the last bite of celery “—this is an epicurean delight.”
“I’m glad you like it.” A wave of pleasure washed over Meg. “Travis told me Lexi is into gourmet cooking, so I wanted to bring something extra special.”
Cole grabbed another celery stalk, resisting her attempt to snatch it from his hand.
“Sure you don’t want to leave the tray here for the three of us to enjoy?” he asked.
The three of us.
The phrase had such a nice ring. Of course, nice ring or not, the current arrangement was temporary. Before long, Cole would be able to care for Charlie on his own. There would be no more nights of board games and popcorn. It would be Cole and Charlie. Or her and Charlie. Not the three of them.
Though Meg tried to tell herself that getting her own place would be a good thing, at the moment she had no burning desire to leave.
“I recognize that smile,” Cole said. “I know what you’re thinking.”
Dear God, she hoped not.
“Tell me, oh, wise one,” Meg managed to shoot back.
He lifted a radish she’d carved into a rose and bit off a petal. “You’re thinking we could keep the tray and bring a bottle of wine instead.”
“You know me too well.” She breathed a sigh of relief, popped the lid on the tray, then slid it into the refrigerator.
“That I do.”
The slightly mocking edge to his voice was back. Was sarcasm Cole’s way of keeping women at arm’s length?
Had someone hurt him the way he’d once hurt her? Was that the reason for the “I don’t trust you” vibe she’d been getting from him since that first meeting in Ryan’s office?
Although they now lived under the same roof, Meg realized she had very little knowledge of Cole’s personal life since he’d left Jackson Hole. In fact, for all she knew, he could have someone special waiting for him back in Texas.
Meg slammed the refrigerator door shut with extra force and whirled. Telling herself to play it cool, she sauntered across the kitchen and stopped in front of him. She lifted her chin. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Way to play it cool, Meg.
His lips twitched. Apparently he found her blunt question amusing. “Does this curiosity have anything to do with your thwarted attempt to seduce me?”
“What?” Meg took a deep breath and lowered her voice. “For the record, you were doing the seducing, mister. And you still haven’t answered my question.”
“I’m not involved with anyone,” he said in an annoyed tone. “If I was, I wouldn’t have touched you.”
Relief rushed through Meg.
He narrowed his gaze. “What about you? Do you have a doctor or lawyer waiting for you back in Omaha?”
“My last relationship ended over a year ago.” Meg lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “We were engaged but I broke it off when I realized I didn’t love him. Not enough.”
“Janae mentioned a couple of months ago that you’d never married,” he said, as if talking about her marital status with her best friend wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. “Coming from that big family, I thought you’d have settled down and had a half-dozen kids by now.”
“That was the dream,” she said with a wistful sigh. “But I learned long ago that life doesn’t always turn out like we plan. That’s why being able to be a mother to Charlie is such a blessing. He’ll probably end up being my only child.”
Cole shifted from one foot to the other and grimaced. From the pained look that crossed his face, she guessed his knee was giving him trouble.
“You say you’re not involved with anyone at the moment.” Meg had her answer, so there was no need to go further. Except now he was back in her life and she was curious what he’d been up to all these years.