Page 52 of The Hook Up
“Oh my God, this is amazing.”
He grinned. “It’s super simple. My grandma had this big cast iron skillet. She’d throw down a layer of the cheese, and then just as it started getting crispy, she’d break an egg on it and let that cook.”
“This is like crack on a plate.” She took another bite and sighed with pleasure. “I wish I’d known about this when I was pregnant with Henry. All I wanted was eggs and cheese, but I never had anything like this.”
Those words should have freaked him out. So should the fact that he was sharing intimate memories of his grandmother. But none of that seemed strange. His pulse kept thrumming along like normal, and it was the most natural thing in the world to sit here half-naked on Ellie’s bed watching her eat a plate of eggs he’d made for her.
A lock of hair fell across her forehead, and Ty reached up to tuck it behind her ear.
God, she’s beautiful.
He didn’t say the words out loud, but she smiled at him as though he had. The loveliness of her expression made his heart split wide open.
When she finished eating, she set the plate aside and grinned at him. “Thank you so much, Ty. For the snack, for—um, for everything else.” Her cheeks pinkened a little, and she gave him a shy smile. “I loved that.”
The words snagged on a corner of his brain, confusing him for a second. It wasn’t for a few more breaths that he realized what she’d said.
I lovedthat.
At first, he’d thought she’d saidyou.
And for the briefest moment, he didn’t hate the idea.
CHAPTER11
Monday morning, Ty sat putting the finishing touches on a new video when his Spidey senses tingled. He was wearing headphones, so it wasn’t footsteps alerting him to Ellie’s presence.
It was something about Ellie. Like he’dfelther somehow, which was dumb.
“Ellie,” he said, annoyed by the happy note in his voice. “Thanks for coming.”
She smiled and strode into the office, flushed and lovely in a pair of bike shorts with a helmet tucked under one arm. “Sorry I’m late.” She moved around the edge of his desk to sit down in the chair he’d pulled up close beside him. “Mondays are the only time I can sneak in a bike ride before I pick Henry up at school.”
“Not a problem. I think it’s great you’re able to find time for stuff like that.”
She looked at him a little oddly, and Ty wanted to grimace at the absurdity of his words. It was just that Ellie didn’t fit the mold of what he’d always thought a single mom would be. Sure, she was doting and kind and the best mother he’d ever seen in action.
But she was also independent and smart and so damn sexy he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Knock it off, Hendrix. You’re ogling a woman with helmet-hair and a sweaty T-shirt.
“You’re so beautiful,” he blurted.
Ellie laughed and rolled her eyes. “You’ve now seen me in a soggy dress and sweaty workout gear. The fact that you can say that with a straight face means you’re either nuts or the world’s best liar.”
Ty grinned, not bothering to correct her. She had to know how stunning she was, right?
“So.” Ellie propped her bike helmet on the desk and smiled at him. “You wanted to see me about the kombucha videos?” Her smile wavered a little. “Wait, don’t tell me they hated them.”
“On the contrary.” He turned and grabbed a basket off the far edge of his desk and pulled it toward him. He plucked out two fancy wineglasses and a brown bottle filled with murky liquid. “Everyone at Mama Jama’s Kombucha totally loved the video. They especially loved your voiceover work. Said you were the perfect sound for the brand.”
“Oh.” She smiled and swiped a strand of damp hair off one cheek. “That’s wonderful.”
“They sent us this gift basket as a thank you,” he said. “It’s a bunch of new flavors they’re testing out. I thought you might like to make a date of it.”
Ellie grinned and grabbed the neckline of her shirt, fluttering it back and forth to get some air. “If I’d known this was a date, I would have washed the mud off my legs first.”
Ty glanced down at her legs and shook his head. “You’re perfect.”
