Page 51 of Defying Ella
Jared rolled his eyes but the dark clouds faded and his shoulders relaxed. He turned back to the hob and started whisking whatever sat in the pot with rigour.
“What are you making?” I tried to peer around him, as if I could with his height and the kitchen island between us.
“It will be rice pudding when it starts behaving.”
I sniggered and Jared turned back to me with his eyes narrowed.
“Oh, c’mon. You can’t expect me to not laugh when you talk about food like it’s an errant toddler.”
His lips twitched before he dragged a hand across his face. “You’re right.” He kneaded his forehead until his erratic breaths evened out. “It’s just dessert.”
His entire body relaxed, and my head tilted in fascination. With the erratic air and the biting tone, I’d fully expected him to go off on one like usual. Instead, he smiled.
I blinked at his now calm expression, both confused and intrigued by his sudden control.
Is it a him thing or a me thing?
I almost rolled my eyes at myself. As if I could influence his anxieties. Jared Michaels would always be a law unto himself.
But what if?
No, I refused to fixate on his behavioural changes as if my mere presence could be responsible. As long as he stopped hurting me with verbal barbs, he could keep being his manic, unpredictable self. I would not try to change him, even if it worried me. He’d figure out how to help himself on his own time.
Focus on something mundane.My gaze fell to the steaming pot on the stove.
“So you’re making dessert on the hob?”
“Yeah, I needed to do something with my hands.” Jared turned back to the pot and started stirring again, standing in a way that allowed me to see his face and his hands working magic.
My brows furrowed as I continued staring at the pot. “But you can’t bake on a stove top, can you?”
Jared’s hand froze with a rubber looking spatula embedded in the gelatinous contents. One glance at his face and I wanted to smack myself in the forehead.
“That a challenge, Sparky?” he asked, his tone far lighter than I expected from the way his green gaze drilled into mine.
Then he smirked, and my stomach somersaulted. The bugger was enjoying himself, while I fought an internal balancing act to stop myself falling off the edge of his unpredictable moods.
My eyes narrowed. “Yes. It is.”
He nodded, excitement burning in his gaze before he switched the hob off and turned to face me. With his forearms resting on the island counter, he leaned towards me, that fire of challenge lighting up his features.
“What do I get when I prove to you that I can make your new favourite dessert in a pot on the gas?”
“What —” I stopped, swallowing hard against the sudden dryness in my mouth. “What do you want?”
His gaze scanned down my yoga and tank top covered body and his eyes darkened. He bit his lip before returning his focus to my face.If he kept staring at me like that, my clothes might start falling off.
“For you to play a game of Monopoly with me, start to finish.”
My brain couldn’t connect the look on his face and his words. All thoughts crawled to a screeching halt while I tried to figure out if Monopoly was code for something else.
“Monopoly?”
“Yes, it’s a board game.” He smirked. “I know you’ve heard of it, Els.”
“Of course, I have, you sod.” I shook my head at him, barely containing my own smirk.
“Does there have to be an explanation for everything?”
