Page 57 of Drop Pass

I kept my back to her as I turned on the stove, smiling to myself. She was stubborn, but I liked that she was independent. She was unlike any woman I’d known before. Women back home expected me to take care of them, to pay for them, to make their decisions.

Elena was the opposite. She was strong and driven and wanted to be an equal. It took me a while to adjust to that when I first met her. I expected her to chase me like girls and women had in the past. I thought she was just after my name or money. It didn’t take long for her to prove me wrong—in the best way possible.

“You can chop up the lettuce for a salad.” I nodded in the direction of the head of romaine I’d left near the sink.

She slid off the barstool and smiled at me. “Thank you.”

I laughed. “Thank you for helping.”

She stood up a little straighter and nodded. “It’s all I want to do.”

I let her words wash over me. She was right. That’s all she’d been doing since I met her. She jumped into the group and rather than expecting perks or handouts, she stepped in and picked up the slack wherever she could. She was a real team player.

I chuckled to myself. I doubted she wanted to hear me call her that. Not exactly the most romantic thing you can say to a woman you’ve just started dating.

Soon, we had dinner finished and I plated the pasta and walked them out to the table where she was waiting. She looked hers over after I sat in front of her and beamed. “This looks amazing, Nikolay.”

“Try it before you give out compliments.”

She smiled and lifted her fork, taking a large bite. Her eyes widened and as soon as she swallowed, she started gushing. “Seriously, this is the best pasta I’ve ever had! The sauce is amazing.”

I shook my head, keeping my smile to a minimum. “You need to get out more. This is nothing.”

She reached over and took my hand, making me pause and look up at her. “Really, this is great. Thank you for cooking for me.”

Her words were so earnest, the only thing I could do was nod.

Maybe I wasn’t the only one experiencing something new. Maybe Elena was as independent as she was out of necessity.

I cleared my throat. “Have you never had someone cook for you before?”

Her eyes dropped to her plate before she shook her head once. She met my eyes. “Not since I lived with my parents.”

I let that sink in. I knew she’d dated before, been in relationships, but obviously they didn’t deserve her. They didn’t know how to treat someone as special as the woman in front of me.

“Their loss.”

She stared at me for a few beats before smiling. She didn’t say anything else while we ate, but the look of pure contentment never faded.

I was washing the dishes when all the lights went out. The floor to ceiling windows that made up an entire wall facing the city let in the glow of the moon, but that was the only light I had to see by.

“Elena?” I called and hurried to the bathroom. She’d just walked in and I could hear her laughter.

“Perfect timing.” She opened the door shaking her head. “The storm is here.”

We moved to the windows and looked across the street. Everything was dark. Almost all of downtown was blacked out. Several blocks away I saw restaurant and hotels signs lit up, but they were blurred by the snow coming down in waves.

“I haven’t ever seen snow like this.” Her voice sounded mesmerized.

“I didn’t think it snowed this much here.” In fact, I’m pretty sure my agent promised it didn’t. He said it was just a few inches a year in the valley where I lived. Liar. I thought I was getting away from crazy weather.

“The storm is supposed to be record breaking.” She said in a hush tone.

I glanced at her and laughed at her bright smile. “I don’t think most people are excited about that.”

She glanced up at me and winked. “Most people aren’t meteorologists.”

We stayed like that, watching the snow cover the streets and cars in silence for several minutes. There was something peaceful about it. Soon, there was a pristine white blanket covering the city.