Page 87 of Grizz

“I’m not following,” I reply, turning to face him.

He lifts a skeptical brow, one corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk.“Really?You’re going to play dumb when I know damn well how devious you are.”

I snap my finger, eyes rounding in understanding.I knew this was coming.“You mean the Elias thing.”

He points at me, then taps his nose with his index finger.“Ding ding.”

I groan, sliding the cutlery onto plates.“First, that was not myhistory.That was one specific incident.”

He looks like he’s about to laugh again.“One specific incident where you were a no-show and left me alone with your best friend like it was a social experiment.”

“Itwasa social experiment,” I mutter, because lying is pointless.

His eyes narrow.“I knew it.”

“Oh please,” I say, trying to sound stern and failing because he’s enjoying himself.“You survived.”

“I did,” he agrees.“Barely.”

He snorts, then returns to the plates, adding a final sprinkle of green garnish over the vegetables.Parsley, probably.He’s basically a Food Network regular from what I see now.

“Okay,” I say, more softly now, because the teasing can’t quite cover the truth blooming in me.“This is… really impressive.”

He doesn’t meet my eyes as he slides one plate toward me.“Don’t get used to it.”

“Too late,” I say before I can stop myself.

That makes him glance up, and for a second the kitchen feels smaller, warmer.

Then he clears his throat and lifts his plate.“Come on.”

We walk toward the dining room—the one he almost never uses—and it’s faintly surreal seeing him lead the way as if he does this all the time.Like he doesn’t usually eat standing at the counter or on the couch with a game on mute.

The dining room is dim and quiet, the table too big for two people, the chairs too formal for the way Grizz usually exists in the world.The space seems expectant.

Tonight, it seems, I am that reason.

He sets his plate down and pulls out a chair for me—no fanfare, no performance, just an automatic gesture.Like he doesn’t realize that gesture is doing more to me than any kiss ever could.

I sit, still taking it in.He drops into the chair across from me, posture relaxed, forearms on the table.The apron strings are still tied at his waist, making him look more himself than I’ve ever seen him.

I pick up my fork.“If this is terrible, I’m going to lie and tell you it’s great.”

He smirks.“Liar.”

“Professional,” I correct.

“Eat.”He lifts his fork.“So…” He stabs a piece of zucchini, then looks up.“When were you going to tell me about Los Angeles?”

My fork pauses halfway to my mouth.I’m surprised by the change in subject.I thought he’d hound me about leaving him alone to deal with Elias, although I stand by my decision to do that.Word from Elias was that the evening turned out to be a success.

“Los Angeles?”I repeat, wide-eyed, innocent.I can play dumb in my sleep.

Grizz doesn’t even blink.He chews, swallows, then sets his fork down with a slow deliberation that sends my nerves into overdrive.“The one benefit of you ditching me and Elias is that he mentioned you got a job offer in LA.”

It figures that my sweet, well-meaning, chaos-gremlin Elias spilled an irrelevant fact over breadsticks.

I exhale and take a sip of water to buy time.“That’s… not—” Grizz lifts a brow.It’s not accusatory or even angry.It’s justpatient,like he’s waiting for me to stop performing and start telling him the truth.I set my glass down carefully.“Okay.Fine.Yes.”He keeps looking at me, and somehow that’s worse.“A fashion brand reached out after my former editor put in a good word for me,” I continue.“They offered me a ground floor job in communications.”