Page 43 of Worth the Try
“Of course!”
“Grab two plates, will you?” he asks.
I do as he requests, nearing his spot behind Rosalie. He pulls me to him, nuzzling my neck and palming my side as I barely suppress a squeal, biting my lip and smiling as I push him away. “Stop,”I mouth.
He waggles his eyebrows and tries to grab me again, but I sidestep him. He smacks my bottom in retaliation, and my cheeks burn as I gape at him. Rosalie could have heard that.
“Quit it!”I mouth again.
“Never,”he mouths back. Aloud, he says, “What’s taking so long with those plates, Elodie?”
I glare at him. “Sorry. Gotdistracted.”
Chuckling, he pulls the skillet off the stove and scoops scrambled eggs onto the plates, a much larger portion for him than for me. “I made extra bacon if you want it. I know you’re not big on pancakes. Want some avocado toast?”
I stare at him. “I…”
“I’m making some for myself,” he clarifies.
I’m about to say no, but the reality is that yes, Iwouldlike some avocado toast, and in the spirit of chipping away at Nice Girl Elodie, I smile. “Yes, please.”
He grins, thoroughly pleased. “Grab the Everything Bagel seasoning from the cupboard,” he says. “That’s my go-to when I don’t have time to chef it up.”
“This isn’t ‘cheffing it up’?” I ask, putting the seasoning beside him as he plucks two avocados from the bowl on the island.
“Nah,” he says. “If I really wanted to go all out, I’d put some pickled onions on here, a bit of olive oil, some arugula, then some yellow and red tomatoes.” He pauses. “On some good bread, maybe with some eggs over easy on the side so you can run the bread through the yolk.”
My stomach growls.
He laughs and nods. “Exactly.”
“You’re a really good cook,” I tell him.
“Not really.” He waves off the compliment. “I just do what the trainer tells me to and then add things around the edges to be sure a certain five-year-old will eat it.”
He finishes slicing the avocado and places it on the toast, then sprinkles the seasoning. I go to take a bite, but he stops me, grabbing a fresh lemon slice from the bowl he keeps in the fridge and squeezing it on top. “There.Nowyou can eat it.”
I laugh. “I would have just slathered the avocado on the toast and eaten it like that.”
He blanches. “But why, when another minute can make it so much better?”
I take a bite. Dang it, it’sgood.And he barely did anything to it. “You know what? You’re right. Never again.”
Satisfied, he turns to his meal. He makes quick work of it, and I have to practically shove him out the door to keep him from doing the dishes. The man would do everything himself if it were up to him.
“Beat it, mister.” I accept a quick kiss in the foyer and barely manage to keep myself from smacking his rear as he opens the door. “I’ll handle this.”
“Bye, Daddy!” Rosie calls.
Later, after Rosie and I have gotten the outside of her puzzle put together and she’s watchingBravefor the millionth time, Kari FaceTimes me. Because I know she’s prone to all kinds of inappropriate language, I leave the room.
“Hey, girlie!”
“Hey yourself,” I say, then squint. “Are you up in the lounge at the stadium?”
She smiles and flips the camera, zooming to the pitch. “I am. Figured you might want to see your man in action.”
“He is not my man,” I protest.
