“I can always go back to bed after you leave. It’s not that serious. I’ve learned in the last couple of days that I can easily fall asleep anywhere at any time when needed. As for lunch, what time do you usually come in for it?”
“Around eleven thirty. Dinner’s usually around five thirty in the winter.”
“Okay.” She’s making notes on a notepad I keep on the fridge. It came free from the local bank, so I stuck it on there just in case I needed to write something down. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Please. Anything cold will hit the spot.” I dig into the food. She pulls out a glass of tea.
“Thank you.” I take a drink and groan. This is some damn good tea. Seriously, John’s going to get a raise for this.
“Do you want more?” she asks, reaching for my empty plate. Hell, I didn’t even notice that I finished it all.
“Please.” She plates another round for me. I’m going to have to work hard after this meal.
“I just made enough. Perfect.” She takes the pot and sets it in the sink to rinse. I’m a little heartbroken that it’s all gone.
“Says you. I could eat this every day.” Okay, maybe not every day; I love steak as well.
“Well, I’ll keep that in mind, although I’m going to need to go to the grocery store before the year’s out. You’re out of a lot of things to make more of this pasta. Although, there are plenty of other meals I can prepare until then.”
Immediately I think about her out on the roads, driving and crashing on the ice. “No problem. I’ll take you into town as soon as the roads clear up.”
“You don’t have to do that. You’re busy. I brought my car with me, so I can drive into town,” she says while wiping down the kitchen island.
I reach out and stop her movement. “I’m not going to let you drive on these roads in this weather.”
“I thought the storm passed.”
“For the most part it will be entirely drivable in another day or so, but we’re still talking lots of ice on the roads and you’re not from around here, right?” I know that she’s from Indiana and that I’ve never seen her before the video, but I want her to tell me. If we’d met, I would have made her mine a long time ago.
“Okay. Well, I don’t need to go tomorrow, but at least in the next couple of days. So whenever it works best for you.” She shrugs, looking adorably sweet.
“I’ll let you know by lunch. How does that sound?”
“Great.” She begins to wash dishes while I finish my food. I would tell her not to, but I’m greedily focusing on her ass. Fuck, I nearly choke on my noodles. She turns. “A little too much.”
I take a drink of my tea to clear my throat. “Went down wrong.”
“I’m trying to off you on your first day back. Rogue noodles.” She smirks, pretending to be sneaky.
“You’re not getting away from me that easily.”
A blush comes over her face before she says, “You have me for three months.”
“Why three months?”
“It will be my birthday.”
Please tell me she’s over eighteen. She looks young, but I didn’t think she’d be a minor. “Which birthday?”
“My twenty-second.”
“Wow. So I know that John says you want to keep everything under the table because you don’t want someone to find you. I have to ask. Did you commit a crime?” I’m simply curious. Even if she did, I’d still protect her. It’s insane how I’d do anything to keep her safe.
“No. I’m not wanted by the police. I’m going to bed so I can get a decent amount of sleep. Do you need anything else?”
“No. Thank you, Ava. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Tobias.”
Chapter Four
Ava
I can feel his eyes on me as I leave the kitchen, and damn, those are some gorgeous hazel eyes. My heart’s racing so fast that I’m surprised I was able to keep any conversation with him. I had to keep looking away because Tobias is gorgeous from head to toe.
He’s tall, muscular, and big like a football-player. His short hair is messy from the winter hat he had on. The man screams sexy to the point that I feel like I still can’t catch my breath. I don’t know how I make it through watching him eat with his strong jaw, chewing. His large forearms rested on the table, and I could see the corded muscle when he rolled up his sleeves.
The one thing I thought of when I saw him wasn’t fear, but a sense of safety, which is strange because we don’t know each other. For the supposed curmudgeon he came off very nice, especially someone who had no idea I was even here. He should have been ready to toss me out on my ass, but he didn’t.