* * *
I entered my house in a foul mood that night. All I wanted was a cold beer and to zone the fuck out in front of the television for a few hours. I wasn’t even sure if I’d make it over to see Tatum after that. It was probably safer to stay away with the mood I was in. However, my plans were turned on their head when I walked into the kitchen to grab a beer out of the fridge.
“Nitro.” Tatum sat at the island bench and smiled at me while Dustin stood on the other side cooking.
He glanced up. “I’m making Tatum’s favourite dinner.”
I lifted a brow, confused as fuck as to what was going on here. Dustin never cooked. I wasn’t even sure if he knew how to. He usually existed on takeaway or two-minute noodles. Continuing to the fridge, I reached in for the beer. “Are we celebrating something?”
Dustin ignored my question. “Do you know what Tatum’s favourite meal is?”
I leant against the pantry. “Can’t say I do.” Jesus, I needed to shake this shitty mood; otherwise, I’d piss everyone off.
Dustin smiled triumphantly, as if he had the secrets of the world locked away in his head. “It’s nachos, steak, mashed potato and porridge.”
I just about spat my beer out. Shooting my attention to Tatum, I found her trying to hold back a laugh. My lips twitched and my mood shifted. “You don’t say?” I said, not letting her eyes go.
She hopped off the stool and walked to where I stood. Sliding her hands around my waist, she planted a kiss on my lips. “Did you have a bad day, grumpy?”
I hooked my arm around her and dropped my hand to her ass. “Nothing that your favourite dinner can’t fix,” I murmured.
Laughter escaped her lips. “Good.”
Dustin eyed us as he wiped his hands on a tea towel. “I’ve just gotta go grab my phone. Can you guys watch the potatoes?”
I nodded. “Yeah, buddy.”
After he had left us, Tatum whispered, “Dustin asked me what my favourite things to eat were. He didn’t tell me what he was planning so I just rattled off the things I like the most. Now he thinks that I eat them all together for dinner.”
I chuckled, feeling some of the tension in my shoulders easing. “He has a soft spot for you so I’d expect to be eating that dinner often. I’ve gotta say, I’ve never seen him cook before. Is there an occasion?”
“If you’re asking me why I’m here for dinner, the answer is because Dustin wanted to thank me for helping him ace his interview today.”
The moment sat between us. Things were shifting fast in our relationship, and I had feelings rushing at me that were so foreign I didn’t know what to do with them. I decided at that moment just to give her my honesty. My truth. And she could do with it whatever she chose.
I took a swig of my beer. “I like that you’re here for dinner.”
Her arms tightened around me. “I like it, too,” she said softly and fuck if that
didn’t hit me right in the gut.
“We’re here!” Renee’s voice filtered into the kitchen, and I jerked my head up to see her and Marilyn join us.
“The whole fucking family, huh?” I said.
Tatum laughed and moved out of my embrace. “Yeah, Dustin said he wanted to cook for everyone.”
“Hi Tatum,” Renee said, hitting her with a smile. “This is my mum, Marilyn.”
I watched my sister. She and Renee had moved back home just over two weeks ago, against my wishes, but we’d been arguing about it for weeks so I’d given in. She’d been seeing her shrink and doing the work, but she’d retreated. She hadn’t returned to work after time off while she’d been in hospital receiving treatment, and I was concerned that the longer she stayed away, the harder it would be to go back.
She smiled at Tatum. “Hi,” she said hesitantly.
Tatum returned her smile, magnified. I knew she was trying hard here because she didn’t usually smile that brightly. “Hi, Marilyn. It’s lovely to meet you.”
Dustin returned to the kitchen and resumed cooking. Renee and Tatum discussed an assignment Renee was having hell with—a legal studies essay, which was right up Tatum’s alley. Marilyn’s shyness kicked in, but she joined in every now and then. And I watched my family begin to get to know the woman I’d let into my life. It was the oddest fucking night of my life and yet one of the best.
* * *