Page 61 of A Shot at Love
He took a quick glance at himself in the bedroom mirror and nodded, determined to keep himself in check now. He knew he could do it—he had to.
The smell of tomatoes simmering hit him the moment he opened the bedroom door.
“It smells great out here,” he said.
Gemma turned from the stove, continuing to stir a steaming pot of something, and in that moment he knew he’d just lied to himself yet again. There was no way he could keep his body, mind, or imagination from reacting to her.
She’d pulled her bangs off her face with a headband and for the first time he realized she had a well-defined heart-shaped peak on her forehead, the base separating her face into two perfect sections. Her features were so symmetrically balanced, if she weren’t the one taking photographs, he could see her in front of the lens, gracing the covers of beauty magazines.
“I found a box of pasta and what I’m pretty certain is a quart of Kandy’s homemade sauce.”
Ky moved to stand next to her and dipped his head to get a whiff of the sweet-and-spicy smelling brew. Gemma gave a little jump when his shoulder bumped her arm, but Ky just closed his eyes, ignoring it, and took in the heady aroma.
“If this tastes as good as it smells, I’ll need the recipe for my mother.” When he turned his head and opened his eyes she was staring at him. She was eye level since he’d ducked his head, and all it would take was a subtle shift on either of their parts to bring their lips together.
Her gaze flicked to his mouth and it took every ounce of will Ky possessed not to move in and discover exactly how she tasted.
He pulled upright and sidestepped away from her.
The little shudder he caught her make solidified in his mind how she felt about him.
He watched as she took a breath and flexed her neck from side to side in a move that had his mouth watering. She’d done the same thing that morning before proving what a good marksman she was, and it elicited the same reason from him now as it had then: he went concrete hard.
“You’re out of luck with that request.” She went back to stirring the sauce. “This is one of those recipes of Grandma’s that Kandy will never share. It’s strictly for family.”
Something he wasn’t and never would be.
She’d set the table and put bottled waters at each place setting.
“There’s no wine,” she said as she poured the sauce into a serving bowl. “I really wish there was wine.”
He grinned at the wistfulness in her voice. “Water is fine.”
He waited until she had everything ready, then sat with her.
“This is beyond delicious,” he said after his first forkful of the sauce-laden linguini.
“No lie.”
They ate in silence for a few moments, the only sounds the movements of their forks across the plates.
Raised in a family with six brothers and a sister, Ky was used to mealtimes being loud and lively. At the safe house, Jon had always been able to keep the conversation flowing, eliciting responses from Gemma without any effort. Sitting here quietly, just enjoying the meal was a rare treat. He wondered if she felt awkward with the silence, but when he stole a glance at her, she seemed content enough.
After a while she cleared her throat. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ll be honest with me in your answer?”
Taken aback by the question and the hidden implication behind it, he said, “Of course I will. I’ll always be honest with you.”
Gemma considered his words, then nodded. “How much longer do you think we’ll need to stay here?”
The question wasn’t what he expected, but she’d asked for the truth, so he gave it. “I wish I could tell you, give you an exact date and time, but I just don’t know. My division is doing everything it can to find Ritandi, but until he’s in custody, he’s a threat to you, so we have to keep you out of sight. I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer.”
Her shoulders fell as she stared down at her plate. “I figured as much.”
His heart broke at how resigned she sounded. They ate the rest of the meal in silence.
“Since you cooked, I’ll clean up,” he told her once they were done.
