Addicted (Ethan Frost 2)

“No reason,” I tell him, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he plops the box down on the counter, then does the same with the three Whole Foods bags he has dangling from his wrists. “Tori’s just super clumsy, so she has an obsession with insuring everything.”

My roommate chokes on her orange juice. “Yeah, that’s what did the Vitamix in. My clumsiness. Not, say, your prowess with a hammer.”

Ethan glances at me in amusement. “Do I even want to know what happened to that poor blender?”

I think about it for a second, then shake my head. “No, probably not.”

“That’s what I figured.”

He starts unpacking the groceries, and it’s my turn to be amused as he piles fruit, vegetables and a couple of nice cheeses on the counter.

“Tori and I are capable of feeding ourselves, you know.”

“Hey, speak for yourself.” Tori wanders in and grabs an apple from one of the bags. “If a handsome man wants to bring me food, I am more than happy to let him. Oh, and, Ethan, for future reference, Gala apples are my favorite.”

He grins at her. “I’ll remember that.”

“Please do.”

I roll my eyes. “He’s not going to be buying us any more groceries, Tori.”

“Why not? It makes him feel good and it saves us the trouble of going to the store and having to cart a bunch of bags up to the apartment. I say it’s a win-win situation for everyone.”

“You would.”

“So, who wants a smoothie?” Ethan asks, unpacking the new blender and rinsing it out in the sink as Tori wanders back to her spot on the couch.

“Are we seriously going to do this again?” I ask him, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing kisses between his shoulder blades.

“Do what?” he asks innocently, as if he doesn’t know.

“Fight about this totally extravagant gift that you insist on giving me a second time.”

“Tori, please explain to your roommate that a blender is not an extravagant gift. It’s actually quite practical—a good breakfast is very important.”

“I can have a good breakfast without making it in a very extravagant, four hundred dollar blender!” I tell him, completely exasperated.

“Again. Not extravagant, Chloe. A car is an extravagant gift. A trip to Paris is an extravagant gift. A—”

“Forty thousand dollar platinum and diamond belly chain from Tiffany’s is an extravagant gift,” Tori continues for him.

“But not a blender, Chloe. Geez, you need to chill out.” But the blender is now the least of my worries. “Forty thousand dollars?” I squawk, my hands going to the jewelry I haven’t taken off since the night we had our talk. “My belly chain cost forty thousand dollars?”

Ethan shoots my roommate a dirty look. “Thanks a lot, Tori.”

She shrugs, then takes a bite of her apple. “At least she’s not bitching about the blender anymore. Perspective, man. Perspective.”

“What the hell, Ethan? Are you kidding me with this?”

“I don’t see what the big deal is—”

“Forty thousand dollars is the big deal. My car didn’t cost that much.”

“Believe me, I am well aware of that fact.” His look says he’s far from being impressed by the knowledge.

“Hey! My car is fine.”

“I didn’t say otherwise.” He pulls a large basket of strawberries out of one of the bags and starts washing them carefully.