Page 65 of Denial
His deep chuckle rumbles around my stomach. “Of course I am. I’m starving.”
“Don’t start without me!” Nellie swerves around her dad and into the kitchen, the door slamming behind her.
I finish stirring the chicken into everything else. Sutton reaches around me to kill the heat. Despite being this close to the griddle, his body behind mine turns the temperature up to sweltering.
“You taught my girl how to cook.” His voice rumbles low in my ear.
I swallow against a sticky throat. “We needed something to do. She finished her homework early.”
His chest moves behind my back with a large inhale. Not close enough to touch, but enough that the movement reveals how little the gap is between us. “Smells good,” he murmurs and steps back.
I smother my natural inclination to flirt and rile him up. Something shifted between us since the dance. Maybe he regrets being too open. Too vulnerable. Or maybe he’s just settling into whatever this is and has finally resigned himself to this new normal.
The sound of my phone vibrating on the picnic table pulls my attention away from the fried rice I’m scooping from the griddle.Nellie bursts through the screen door, her apron sticking to her knees.
“I’m back! Let’s eat.” She careens to a stop near the plates, chin tucked into her chest. “I’ll get it, Miss Alice.”
“That’s okay, sweetie?—”
“Hello?” She answers with an innocent greeting. Time simultaneously slows to a crawl and moves at max speed. Every muscle in my body tenses in deliberation. Wait it out or make a scene. One that might not be necessary. One that might protect Nellie from whoever is on that phone call. Before I can so much as twitch, she sets my phone back down. “Nobody was there.”
Moving normally requires extra effort. I set down our dinner on the table and pick up my phone with shaking hands. Sutton steps beside me, watching me swipe and remove the missed calls.
I shove the device in my back pocket. “Please ask next time, Nellie, okay? It’s probably best you don’t answer someone else’s phone.”
She slides onto her seat. “Sorry, Miss Alice. I was just trying to help.”
I brush it off with a laugh. “I know you were, kiddo. No worries.”
Sutton doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t move for several seconds before he straddles the bench beside his daughter.
“Who was that?” he asks. Those damn shades mask his eyes, but they can’t disguise the unhappiness in his voice.
I stare at them anyway and suck my teeth. “Probably spam or a forgotten bill from Arizona.”
He holds Nellie’s plate so she can portion her dinner. “Why not block it?”
“I probably should. I don’t think I’ve ever blocked any number before.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. It’s not a big deal. It’s not like I answer unknown numbers anyway.”
Sutton turns the serving spoon my way, saving himself for last. “You should block them.”
I dump a healthy scoop on my plate and hand it back. “Is that an official suggestion, Officer Sunny?”
A muscle jumps behind his stubbled jaw. “Of course not.”
If not a safety suggestion, then why does he appear so irritated?
Heat prickles the back of my neck. The sun behind me doesn’t help.
“Are you going to try some chicken?” Nellie interjects, her messy plate indicating just how much she’s been enjoying her meal while Sutton and I are locked in this silent battle.
Sutton scoops a forkful, popping it into his mouth without hesitation. I follow with a much less indulgent scoop. The salty flavor explodes on my tongue, just managing to avoid being obnoxious.
“This is a winner, Buttercup,” Sutton announces, immediately digging in for another bite. “Can you make this every day?”
