For once, sleep claimed her easily.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“OH, MY GOD, IT smells amazing in here.” Kelsey lifted her head and sniffed, like a dog getting a whiff of a hamburger. Only this was not hamburger. It was chicken. And wine. And Theresa. And the combination was strangely intoxicating.
“Why, thank you,” Theresa said with a little bow. “Hopefully, it will taste as good as it smells and you’ll enjoy it.” She was relaxed, which was nice to see given how busy her week had been. Her cheeks had a lovely pink blush, her blue eyes were bright as she met Kelsey’s gaze. She’d had time to change into jeans before Kelsey arrived and they looked worn, soft, and perfect for her. A royal blue tank was covered by a black apron. Her feet were bare, red polished toes waving at Kelsey from under the cuffs of the jeans.
“This is for you,” Kelsey said, handing over the bottle of Cabernet. “I think white probably goes better with chicken, but this is a really good one.”
“It’s perfect. There’s white in the chicken, so we’ll drink the red.” Theresa took the bottle and gave Kelsey a quick peck on the lips. She pulled back before Kelsey could even register it, which was probably a good thing, and stepped aside, waving Kelsey in with a flourish. “It’s good to see you. Follow me.”
Kelsey closed the door behind her and followed Theresa from the foyer past the living room to the kitchen in the back of the house. She hadn’t had a lot of time to take it in during her last visit, so she scanned slowly this time. White cabinets and a black and gray granite countertop in a large U-shape anchored the room. The floor was a light hardwood, the fixtures on the cabinets and sink a deep, brushed ebony. All the accents in the room were black: utensil holder, towels, canisters, and the appliances were stainless steel. It was an average size house, but Theresa had filled the kitchen with top-of-the-line stuff.
“What can I do to help?” Kelsey asked as Theresa returned to the salad she’d been apparently making.
Theresa opened a drawer in front of her, pulled out a corkscrew, and handed it to her. “You can open the wine. I’m ready for a glass. It’s been a week.”
“I hear that,” Kelsey said, and did as she was told. Theresa pointed to her left and up before Kelsey could even ask, so she opened that cupboard and found a beautiful set of lead crystal wine glasses. She filled two, then sidled up next to Theresa and leaned a hip against the counter. “Cheers,” she said, handing over a glass.
Theresa took hers, touched her glass to Kelsey’s, and sipped. “Oh, that’s yummy.”
“I know.” Kelsey watched as Theresa chopped celery. “I was wondering if you’d be able to get out at a decent time tonight.”
Theresa glanced at her. “I wondered the same about you.”
“Jeremy’s great in the evenings. Unless he gets totally buried like he did last night, I can usually stay in the office or even leave. He calls if he needs me.”
“He had to call last night?” Theresa picked up her cutting board and scraped the diced celery into the salad bowl.
“Yeah, he got slammed around seven.”
“And where were you? With Hannah?”
It wasn’t at all a trap or a test—there was nothing suspicious or sinister in Theresa’s tone or in her face when she glanced at her—but Kelsey felt both anyway. “Yeah, at that bar her softball team goes to,” she said, after a pause.
“Ah.” Theresa nodded. “Point Blank.”
“Right.”
“I like it there.”
“Me, too.”
There was a pause in conversation, no sound but Theresa’s knife against the plastic cutting board. Finally, Theresa spoke. “Did you guys...talk?”
Kelsey wanted to be completely honest with Theresa. Always. It was imperative if this was going to go anywhere. At the same time, it made her feel the tiniest bit uncomfortable. “We did. Didn’t really get into anything in depth, but...it was fine.”
Theresa made a sort of soft grunt of agreement, but didn’t say any more. A part of Kelsey really wanted to dive in, to pry open that vault and make her talk. Better yet, she’d like to make Hannah and Theresa sit down together, each with a cocktail, and just talk it out. But the other thing she really wanted was a peaceful, enjoyable, maybe a little bit sexy evening with Theresa and throwing her sister—sorry, half-sister—into the mix was probably not the smartest of moves to make that happen.
“Tell me about your day,” she said instead as Theresa finished up the salad, wiped her hands on her apron, and picked up her wine.
“It wasn’t bad.” Theresa took a sip of her wine, then reached across the two feet that separated them to wrap a lock of Kelsey’s hair around her finger. “Given how busy the week was, today was pretty bearable.”
“What’s made the week so hard?”
“My boss is a fan of throwing several things at his employees at once, which means once I start on a project, no matter how big it may be, I know in the back of my mind that another one is probably coming shortly.”
Kelsey cocked her head. “I would take that to mean you’re good at your job and your boss knows it.”
“Oh, I am and he does.” Theresa tugged the lock of hair playfully, then let it go. “He just doesn’t always think about workloads and such. Since I’m not married and don’t have kids, he assumes I have nothing in life but my job. Which isn’t far from the truth.”
“Until now,” Kelsey said softly, then wondered how the hell that had escaped her lips.
But Theresa was undeterred, amused even, given the arch of her eyebrow. “Until now.”
Their gazes held for a beat before Kelsey broke it and asked, “How did this happen?”
Theresa evidently didn’t need explanation. “I’ve wondered the same thing.” She set down her wine and kissed Kelsey a second time. This was more than a peck, though. Not demandingly sexual, but tender and definitely intimate. Then she turned to another part of the counter near the stove where she had a battering station all set up. “Come talk to me while I cook the chicken.”
Kelsey was happy to oblige. In fact, there wasn’t much she’d rather do. “You caught my eye immediately in that Starbucks,” she said as she watched Theresa turn on the burner and place a pat of butter into a frying pan.
“Oh, I know.”
Kelsey slapped playfully at her arm. “Shut up.”
“I totally busted you looking.” Theresa dredged a chicken breast in flour, then in an egg wash and repeated the process with a second one.
Kelsey covered her eyes with a hand. “I know. So embarrassing!”
“I thought it was cute. And kinda sexy.” Both chicken breasts went into the frying pan, sizzling as they made contact with the heat.
“You did?”
“Absolutely,” Theresa said with a nod.
“Well, that’s a relief.” Kelsey sipped her wine and watched Theresa’s beautiful hands as she worked. “Where’d you learn to cook?”
“My mom’s a chef,” Theresa said. “Didn’t I tell you that?”
“Nope. That is something I’d remember. Plus, last time we were together, we were a little...busy, if you recall.”
“I recall.” The heated expression Theresa shot her way made Kelsey’s knees go weak for a moment.
“What restaurant is she at?”
“None.” Theresa flipped the chicken so the golden brown side was facing up. “She’s a personal chef.”
“Like, she goes to people’s houses and cooks for them?”
“Exactly like that, yes.” Theresa watched the chicken as she spoke. “She learned this dish when she was working for a guy from upstate New York when he requested it. It’s really popular there, but if you go a little ways west or south, people have never heard of it.” She pushed the chicken a bit with a fork, picked an end up to check the bottom. “I used to love shadowing her in the kitchen and she taught me how to cook from a pretty young age. I made my first Bolognese sauce when I was eight.”
“I’m impressed.” And Kelsey was.
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“Don’t be,” Theresa said, leaning close and lowering her voice to a whisper. “It’s super easy to make.”
“Maybe you could teach me sometime.”
Theresa smiled at her. “I’d be happy to.” She removed the chicken from the pan and put both pieces in a small baking dish. Then into the frying pan went more butter, some lemon juice, chicken stock, and a little bit of white wine from an open bottle Theresa pulled from the refrigerator. “You’re supposed to use sherry for this, but I like white wine better. Gives it a nice tang to go with the lemon juice.”
“It smells like heaven,” Kelsey said, inhaling deeply. “I mean, you had me at butter, so...”
Theresa chuckled as she finished up the sauce and poured it over the chicken. Then she covered the dish with foil and put it in the oven. “I’m just gonna let it warm through in here. About fifteen minutes and we’ll be ready to eat.”
Dishes were brought down from a cupboard and Kelsey helped set the table. “Are you and your mom close?” she asked.
Theresa nodded. “Very. You?”
Kelsey bobbed her head from side to side. “Fairly close. She had a hard time with me moving here.”
“Understandable. You have siblings?” At Kelsey’s head shake, Theresa said, “Yeah, that’s why she had a hard time. Her only baby moving, what? Four states away? Five? That’s got to be rough on a mom.”
Kelsey gave a quiet sigh. “I know.”
“What about your dad?” Theresa raised her eyebrows at Kelsey’s snort.
“My dad can be kind of a prick.”
A laugh burst from Theresa’s mouth. “Seriously, Kelsey, don’t sugarcoat it or anything.”
Kelsey joined in the laughter. “That was probably a little harsh. He’s not that bad. I’m just in kind of a...” She searched the ceiling for the right word. “Sensitive place with him right now.”
“How so?” Theresa went back to the oven to remove the chicken.
“Without going into long, drawn-out, incredibly boring detail, I’ll just say that he’s a businessman. Has been for decades. He likes to remind me of that and to point out any business decisions I make that he would not have.” Kelsey carried the wine bottle and their glasses to the table while Theresa plated the chicken.
“Ah, I see. And how did he feel about you moving here and opening your own business?”
“Let’s just say, he wasn’t as supportive as I’d have liked.”
Theresa turned to regard her, a small frown on her face. “I’m sorry, Kelsey.”
“Thanks.” Kelsey refilled their wine glasses. “It’s not that big a deal, but I’ve got some changes coming at work and I’m really hoping he doesn’t have an opportunity to say he told me so.” Theresa approached the table with plates. “Anyway. What about you and your dad? I mean, you went to his barbecue, so I’m assuming you get along at least a little bit?”
Theresa gave a slow nod that seemed somewhat uncertain. She went back to grab the salad and returned to set it in the middle of the table. “We do now. It took a long time. But I really like Liz.”
“That’s a plus,” Kelsey said, remembering how nice Hannah’s mother was.
“It took me a while, but I finally realized that my issues with my father aren’t her fault, you know?” Theresa took off her apron, waved a hand for Kelsey to sit, then she did the same.
“I do.”
They dug in and the burst of tangy deliciousness that hit Kelsey’s tongue caused her to hum in delight. “Oh, my God,” she said. “That’s fantastic.”
“You like it?” The smile on Theresa’s face was sweet and slightly relieved, as if she’d been worried.
“I love it. I want to take a bath in this sauce.”
“I’d pay good money to see that.”
Kelsey gave her what she hoped was an expression considered “smoldering,” though she wasn’t sure how successful she was. A glance out the window reminded her of her last visit to Theresa’s house. “How long do you keep the pool open?”
Theresa craned her neck around so she could see the wall behind her where a calendar hung. “The pool guys come in two weeks to close it.”
“Not a very long season.”
“Sadly, no. Not around here. But I’ll take what I can get. I swam in high school, so always promised myself I’d have my own pool one day.” She chewed a forkful of salad before asking in a low voice, “Wanna go for an after-dinner swim?”
“I don’t know,” Kelsey replied. “After I finish making a giant pig of myself, it’s possible I’ll just sink to the bottom. Ask me again in twenty minutes.”
They finished dinner in less than that and cleaned up together like they’d been working as a team for years. Kelsey cleared the table. Theresa rinsed the dishes, and, together, they loaded the dishwasher. It was shocking, companionable, and utterly perfect how well they worked together, and Kelsey didn’t want to dwell on that. Except that maybe she did want to. The same questions kept returning to her brain: How is this possible? How can I be so comfortable with a woman I barely know and have spent less than thirty-six hours with in total? Should I be concerned, or should I run with it?
She had no answers. To any of them. Ignoring them didn’t make them go away, sadly, but she did so anyway. All she knew was that when she was with Theresa, she didn’t want to be anywhere else. She wanted time to stand still so she could get to know this woman without other obligations interrupting the process. Kelsey watched Theresa finish up in the kitchen, watched her wipe down the counter and stove, drape the towel over the handle to the oven, watched her turn to look at Kelsey with a look on her face that could only be described as a little bit hungry, but not for food.
“Feel like watching some TV?” Theresa asked as she reached out to play with Kelsey’s hair.
Kelsey nodded, absurdly happy just being here. They took their wine and went into the living room. The black leather couch was shockingly comfortable, and seemed to almost hug Kelsey as she sank into it. Three remotes lined up neatly and a hardcover by Lisa Scottoline occupied the surface of the glass coffee table. A large flat-screen television sat on another dark table in the corner, and Theresa picked up two of the remotes and hit some buttons. The picture sparked to life.
“Any requests?” Theresa flopped down on the couch and sank in next to Kelsey as she hit a button and popped the guide on.
They settled on an episode of Sugar Showdown and laughed and made fun of the contestants when they failed miserably at a challenge. Which was kind of mean, but still fun because nobody knew except the two of them. After the first show and into the second, Kelsey burrowed in against Theresa, snuggling in close like it was something they’d done every day for years. It certainly felt like it was. Theresa’s arm was around her shoulders, and she squeezed, pressed a soft kiss to Kelsey’s forehead.
“This is nice,” Kelsey said quietly, keeping her eyes on the guy making little crowns out of sugar glass, which Kelsey never knew was a thing.
“It is,” Theresa agreed. “Very nice.”
The timing felt right, so Kelsey turned her head so she could see Theresa’s face. “Hey, my cousin is coming to visit for a few days. How do you feel about meeting her?” Kelsey scrunched her nose. “Would that be weird?”
Theresa furrowed her brow. “Why would it be weird?”
Kelsey shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, it’d be meeting family. I wondered if it was too soon.”
“You mean because we’ve had exactly two dates?” Theresa’s half-grin kept the mood light.
“Because of that, yeah.”
“I can tell you, in all honestly, I’d love to meet your cousin.”
“Yeah?” Kelsey shifted a bit so she got a better view of Theresa’s expression, which was open and smiling.
“Mm-hmm.”
“I think you’ll really like her. She’s business-y like you.”
“You’re business-y,” Theresa pointed out.
“No, I’m retail-y. Not the same. You and Chris ar
e, like, corporation-y.”
“I’m a fan of this new vocabulary you’ve created.”
“Good. Most people are just jealous because they’re not as definition-y as me.”
Theresa threw her head back and laughed, which was an amazing sound, like a soundtrack to the picture of her long, elegant throat right in Kelsey’s eye line. Kelsey couldn’t help it; she leaned forward slightly and pressed her lips to that gorgeous column of flesh.
Theresa’s laughter faded quickly and she brought her gaze to Kelsey’s, and just like before, all sound seemed to fade away for Kelsey. There was no television babble, no traffic noise of tires against pavement, no random dogs barking in the neighborhood. There was nothing but Kelsey and Theresa, their quiet breathing and the steady beating of their hearts.
Kelsey moved first, lifting a hand to Theresa’s face, pushing her fingers into Theresa’s hair and pulling her head closer. She kissed her tentatively at first. Lightly. Gently. A simple pressing of lips to lips as she kept her eyes open, studied Theresa’s face. When she pulled back slightly, enough to focus, Theresa’s eyes had gone dark, her lips were parted. The tip of her tongue darted out to wet them, causing Kelsey to swallow hard as a surge of desire tore through her with unexpected force.
She pulled Theresa to her again and this time, there was nothing tentative about it. It was a hungry kiss. Demanding. Kelsey shifted her position so she pushed Theresa to her back on the couch and settled her hips between Theresa’s jeans-clad legs. A thought ran absently through Kelsey’s mind then, a thought that said this was her spot. Her place. Where she belonged and where she was supposed to be. Right here, tucked snugly against Theresa’s body with Theresa’s arms holding her tightly. It was warm and comfortable and sexy and perfect, and Kelsey would be completely satisfied to spend her remaining days right here, just like this.
After two dates. What is happening to me?
Before she could shove the thought away, it was driven out of her head by Theresa, by Theresa’s tongue in her mouth, by Theresa’s hand sliding up the back of Kelsey’s shirt, and Kelsey let herself melt into this woman, let everything go, chose to live in the moment and not sweat the small stuff...or at least save it to sweat over later. The warm palm on the small of her back, the soft-but-assertive mouth on hers, it was bliss. It was heaven. Kelsey redoubled her efforts, determined not to let Theresa wrestle the upper hand from her. There was tandem giggling as Theresa suddenly made an effort to roll the two of them so she could be on top, but Kelsey held firm, didn’t let it happen.
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