Wish Upon a Star

‘I’m cooking tonight.’ Miranda undid her seat belt and wriggled out of the car. Her bump was starting to feel larger by the day.

‘No way.’

‘Jake, you don’t have to wait on me. I want to cook. It’s my turn. Why don’t you have a bath? By the time you’ve finished, I’ll have it ready.’

He opened his mouth to argue and then clearly saw something in her eyes that made him change his mind because he smiled. ‘Good. Fine. In that case, I’ll go for a quick run. I haven’t done any exercise for days. It clears my head and removes the stress.’

‘There’s snow on the ground.’

‘It muffles the sound of my bones creaking,’ he drawled, humour gleaming in his blue eyes. ‘Short run, quick shower then supper. All right with you?’

Miranda took a quick shower herself and changed then wandered into the beautiful, spacious kitchen.

She ran a hand over the smooth work surface, her expression wistful. Who could dislike cooking in surroundings like these?

Pulling herself together, she opened the fridge, pulled out some chicken and vegetables and started chopping.

By the time Jake came back from his run she had garlic and ginger sizzling in a pan and all the ingredients prepared.

‘Smells delicious. ‘He sniffed the contents of the pan and smiled. ‘Stir-fry?’

‘Is that all right with you? It’s just that it’s quick and—’

‘It’s perfect. I’ll be back down in three minutes if I skip a shave.’

She tossed chicken in the hot oil, added water to the noodles and was just assembling everything when he appeared in the doorway, dark hair still damp from the shower. Her heart lurched and her insides shifted alarmingly. Suddenly she wished he’d taken the extra few minutes to shave. Why did the stubble make him more attractive? Was it because he looked less like a respectable consultant and more… dangerous?

She permitted herself a wry smile. All men were dangerous. She knew that better than anyone. Giving herself a sharp talking-to, she rescued the plates that she had warming in the oven and lifted the pan from the heat.

‘Sit down, it’s ready.’

‘I have to confess that I love it when you cook.’ He leaned forward and gave an appreciative sniff. ‘You’re very creative in the kitchen.’

‘I love your kitchen.’ She served a generous portion onto his plate and then took a smaller helping herself. ‘What about you?’

‘I don’t think it’s one of my more obvious talents, but I manage.’

‘Did your mother teach you the basics?’

‘Are you joking?’ He picked up his fork with a grin. ‘My mother doesn’t let anyone into her kitchen. My sister took pity on me after spending a weekend. Or, I suppose, if I’m honest, she took pity on herself. She was fed up with eating my idea of food. How did you learn? Did your mother teach you to cook?’

Her hand froze on the fork. It was a perfectly reasonable question. Hadn’t she just asked him exactly the same one? ‘No.’ She couldn’t keep the stiffness out of her tone. ‘No, she didn’t. I taught myself.’

His gaze lingered on her face for a moment and then he turned his attention back to his plate. ‘You’ve always said that you don’t have any family. What happened?’

She put her fork down, her appetite suddenly gone. ‘I suppose I do have family.’ She almost choked on the word and wondered why she didn’t just lie. ‘It’s just that we’re not in touch any more.’

‘And you don’t want to talk about it.’ His tone was gentle, his blue eyes suddenly intent as he studied the tension in her face. ‘All right, we’ll talk about something else. Are you sleeping better now?’

She gave a faint smile. ‘Hard not to in that amazing bed.’

‘Another one of my sister’s purchases. She always said that since she was my most frequent guest, she was going to buy herself a comfortable bed to sleep in.’

‘You mentioned a niece and nephews, so she’s obviously married.’

‘Oh, yes. To an architect. They worked together on a project, that’s how they met.’ Jake leaned forward and helped himself to more food. ‘And now I have two cheeky nephews and a baby niece.’

Envy sliced through her and she gave a puzzled frown. Why envy? She never envied families. She knew that they were rarely what they seemed. ‘Do they live far away?’