Page 45 of Untamed Heart

“Uh, hi.”

His smile hit me like a static shock. “Hi back.”

I spotted the bag resting beside the chair he’d been sitting in and pointed at it. “What do you have there?”

He lifted it up, and I noticed a Tupperware container in the bag. “Uh, well... I made you dinner.”

My lips parted, my eyes widening in surprise. “You cooked for me?”

He looked downright bashful as he ducked his head and scratched at his scruffy cheek. “Yeah, well. It’s probably not as good as anything you can make.”

I didn’t care if it tasted like cardboard. He’d cooked for me. I’d never had a man cook for me. The blow of that one shattered the protective wall around my heart to smithereens. There was nothing left standing. He’d managed to decimate it and claw his way right back in.

“Do you, um, want to come in? Maybe share whatever you made with me? I don’t think Dad’s going to be back for some time. Apparently Mrs. Hoffstetter is a fan of tying one on and is funny as hell when she’s toasted.”

Roe chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. I’d really like that.”

I opened the door and he followed me inside. “Give me a second. I need to change into something that... isn’t dripping all over the floor.”

He gave me a tender look, his lips curving up into a grin. “I’ll be here.”

I hurried to the primary bedroom that my father insisted I take over and made quick work of changing into a dry pair of yoga shorts and a T-shirt. I let out a muted shriek when I glanced into the mirror and saw mascara streaked beneath my eyes, making me look like an extra in a zombie movie. I rubbedbeneath my eyes to clean it away, and once I was satisfied, headed back out to the kitchen. I stuttered to a stop at the sight of Roe moving confidently around the kitchen, heating the food in the microwave and plating it up for us.

The familiar smells filled the kitchen, making my mouth water. “Oh my god. Is that butter chicken? I love butter chicken. How did you know?” Indian food wasn’t exactly something my unrefined nineteen-year-old pallet had been able to appreciate, my preference for it developed in adulthood.

“I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t know it was a favorite. I just saw the recipe and thought it sounded really good.”

Speaking of recipes, I suddenly discovered why it smelled so familiar. “Wait a second. Is this my recipe?”

Roe watched me closely, hope and uncertainty swimming in those deep blue eyes. “It is.”

“So, you know about Foodie Bee?”

“I do.” His back was to me as he said that, pulling the plates from the microwave and placing them on the island in front of the barstools. “I couldn’t stand not knowing anything about your life, so a few years ago, I had Bane do some digging. He found your YouTube channel, and I’ve been watching ever since. That’s how I actually learned to cook.” He jerked his chin toward one of the stools. “Sit down and eat. You must be hungry after fighting off all those Dementors.”

I smiled, a giggle working past my lips as I slid into the stool and picked up my fork. I still couldn’t believe this man cooked me dinner. And he taught himself by watching my videos. He was making it damn near impossible not to fall for him all over again.

“Ah, that’s where you’re mistaken.” I speared a piece of chicken with my fork and used it to point at him. “Iwas the Dementor.” I put the bite in my mouth and let out a moan as the flavors exploded on my tongue.

“Oh, wow. Holy shit, Roe. You nailed it. This is delicious.” I stuffed another bite in my mouth before tearing into a piece of garlic naan. Everything tasted divine.

After a few seconds of savoring all the warm spices and rich sauce, I realized the kitchen had gone completely silent. I opened my eyes and found his gaze riveted on my mouth, the black of his pupils swallowing up all but a thin ring of blue around the very edge. His throat worked on a thick swallow as he clenched his hand around the fork into a tight fist.

“Roe?” I asked through a full mouth, and he jerked his gaze back to mine before shoving a bite into his mouth.

“Glad you approve,” he said gruffly a few seconds later before changing the subject. And damn if that twinge of disappointment didn’t reappear. “So... it looked like you were having a lot of fun over there.”

“I was,” I replied on a small chuckle, using a piece of naan to scoop up some of the sauce. It might have been rude to talk with my mouth full, but this food was too damn good to stop. “They’re cool kids. I think Cassi would get along great with them.” Because from what I’d seen, Cassi, as well as the Klein boys, had more than a little wild and untamed in them. “Speaking of, I’m surprised to see you without her today.”

“Today was the first day of wilderness camp, so she’s learning to make a fire, recognize trees, survive off the land, and punch little shithead bullies in the throat.”

A bewildered laugh bubbled out of me, and I had to slap a hand over my mouth to keep from spitting butter chicken everywhere. “What?” I mumbled around my food.

His smile was totally unrepentant as he explained how Cassi had taken down a bullyandmade him pee his pants, and I didn’t blame him one damn bit.

“Man, you might have the coolest kid on the planet,” I informed him sincerely.

He chuckled, reaching back to massage at the nape of his neck. “I tend to think so, then again, I’m a little biased.”