Page 65 of The Roommate Problem
Chapter Nineteen
The oven timer beeped loudly over the music Mo had put on while she was tidying up the kitchen. She paused her music and grabbed the oven mitts from the drawer. Popping open the door, she smiled as the delicious aroma of cheese and marinara wafted out from the warm oven. Once she slipped the mitts on, she grabbed the lasagna, placing the hot dish on the potholder she’d set out on the counter.
August was going to be so surprised. Heck, she was surprised. A quick Internet search had led her to a fairly easy recipe for zucchini noodle lasagna. Normally, she’d gag at the thought of replacing deliciously carb-loaded pasta with zucchini, but since eating some of the meals August had been making, she’d discovered zucchini was actually quite good.
Didn’t mean she was giving up her bread products in entirety, but she could handle a substitute now and then. Besides, there was a crunch that came along with the zucchini that made it kind of fun. And Mo was all about the fun. In food, in life…in the bedroom.
And boy, oh boy, did she have some bedroom fun planned for dessert.
Agatha’s friend Patricia had called earlier and let Mo know that Agatha had come through the surgery with flying colors and was now at home resting. Mo offered to come over, but Patricia lived in the complex and had promised to stay with Agatha for the night. She was so relieved everything had gone well. Now, in a few days, Agatha could share her surgery with August, and Mo could stop keeping this secret from the man she suspected she was falling for.
Ha!
Was? Like she would go out of her comfort zone to make zucchini lasagna for a man she hadn’t already fallen for. Yup. It was time to admit this fun little chemistry thing with August went deeper. She was pretty sure he felt the same way. He hadn’t been complaining as much about the city lately, and his talk about selling the shop had almost vanished. Good thing, too, since Agatha was submitting the loan application next week.
“You need to tell him, Moira.”
Lilly’s words still bounced around in her brain, but she hadn’t had the chance to tell August of her and Agatha’s plan yet. Liar. Okay, so she’d chickened out on telling him. But only because she thought she and Agatha should do it together and Mo wanted to wait until after the woman’s surgery. No need to add the stress of arguing with her grandson over a business loan when she had her health to focus on.
But now everything was okay. Agatha was back home resting, and soon they’d loop August in on their plans. He might not agree at first, but she was sure once she and Agatha pointed out the logic of their plan, he’d have to agree. He’d get his land for a flower farm, the shop would get a new supplier at drastically discounted rates, Agatha could stay in the city she loved, and best of all, August could stay with her.
Everybody wins!
It was the perfect solution to all their problems.
“And this will be the perfect zucchini lasagna,” she said with a smile. It looked perfect and smelled perfect, so logically it had to taste perfect, too. She hoped. Even if it didn’t, at least she’d tried something new.
Letting the hot dish cool, she tugged off the oven mitts and placed them on the counter, cleaning up the last bits of dirty dishes she’d used in making dinner. She couldn’t wait to see the look on August’s face when he came home and she not only had a semi-healthy dinner ready but had cleaned the place, too.
Mostly cleaned.
More than she normally would have anyway.
Heavy footfalls sounded from the corridor outside the door. Mo’s heart rate kicked up, nervous anticipation filling her chest. She gave one last glance around the kitchen to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, satisfied to see she hadn’t. The metal key fitting into the lock had her bouncing on her toes. As the door swung open and August stepped through, she flung her arms wide.
“Surprise!” She waved her arms around, showing off all her hard work. “I made dinner and I cleaned. Well, actually, I just put all the dishes in the dishwasher, but aren’t you proud?”
Her bright smile slipped as she glanced at the unhappy scowl on August’s face. Uh oh. Something was wrong, something big. She hadn’t seen him looking this upset since the night she tried to take him out and get him laid. Oof, what a mistake that had been. She was so glad she hadn’t succeeded in that little plan.
“Is something wrong?”
“Yes, Moira,” he growled. “Something is very wrong.”
She jumped as he slammed the door. The loud sound echoed in the stillness of the apartment. He stormed into the kitchen area, and she backed up until her butt hit the lower cabinets. She didn’t think August would physically hurt her, but she’d never seem him so mad. Anger radiated off him in waves, and beneath that there was something else…pain. He was hurting, and for some reason, it appeared he thought she might have something to do with his suffering.
Impossible.
She’d never hurt August, or anyone for that matter. Not knowingly. So why was the guy staring at her like she stole his puppy and sold it to Cruella de Vil?
“You want to explain this?”
He thrust a paper under her nose. It was clutched in his fist and so crinkled, she’d guess he’d been gripping the thing tightly ever since he found it. She peeked down at the paper, glancing enough of it to read the words Loan Application. Guilt churned in her stomach. Crap! August had discovered her and Agatha’s plan.
Okay, this was bad. But she could fix it; she just had to explain to him about—
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Grumpy Gus Gus had turned into Asshole August. He might have a right to be pissed, but no one talked to her that way. Crossing her arms, she pushed away from the counter, lifting her chin to stare into his furious eyes.
