For Keeps Read Free

and she’d asked herself many times since their breakup what she’d ever seen in him. “I suppose you’re right.” She pressed the steaks into the hot pan and they sizzled and bubbled, the aroma quickly rising. The fan gently whirred to life as she flipped on the range hood.
    Cooper’s presence behind her was evident again and he pressed his hand against her back, but this time it had landed in a decidedly lower spot. A tingle built from the heat of his palm and fingers. She glanced over her shoulder and rolled her neck as if she were working out a kink.
    “I always wondered what a woman like you was doing with a guy like that,” he said in a warm tone, his baritone lazing over her.
    Her heart thumped as he leaned closer. The placement of his hand was exactly what she wanted and completely unfair. She didn’t want to get revved up for nothing. “I should get the salad going,” she said, stepping away to the fridge. “Do you mind getting the salad bowl down for me? It’s on the top shelf of that cabinet.”
    “Sure.” He stretched as he reached for the bowl but it all played out in painfully slow motion. Everything about him was so long—his arms, his torso, his legs.
    Dammit. Stop staring at him. She dumped a bag of pre-washed arugula into the bowl and began slicing a cucumber. “Balsamic vinaigrette or honey mustard?”
    “Balsamic all the way.” He plucked a piece of cucumber from the cutting board and munched on it. “What’s up with you and work?” he asked. “Things must be busy. You brought home fifty pounds of files.”
    Allie’s nose twitched at the hint of a new smell in the kitchen. “Shit,” she said, lunging for the tongs and flipping the steaks, which were now charred around the edges. “I hope you’re okay with blackened.”
    “Sure. I love Cajun food.”
    She added a touch of olive oil to the skillet and adjusted the flame. “I’ll try to keep from burning the other side.” Steam began to escape another pan on the stove. She lifted the lid and pulled out a green bean. “Want to be my official taste tester?”
    He surprised her when he didn’t use his hand when she offered it, but his teeth instead. The motion of his lips, mere inches from her fingers, was infinitely fascinating. Her throat tightened, her chest heaved. “Mmm. They need another minute.”
    I need a minute. Allie checked the steaks again, turned off the heat and transferred them to a plate, covering them with foil. “I need to let the meat rest.”
    He coughed and twisted his lips before reaching for her wineglass. “Let me top you off.”
    They took their meal to the small dining table on the far side of the kitchen, in front of the windows. The sky was a bluish-black, broken by scattered rectangles of light from the building across the street. She’d set out a single candle but stopped short of dimming the lights or changing the music to something seductive. The embarrassment of setting the stage for romance when one person wasn’t interested would last a lifetime.

Chapter Two
     
    Cooper dug into his steak as Allie served the salad. It was the best-tasting thing he’d eaten in weeks and he’d been to top restaurants all over the city. “Allie, this is so good.”
    She smiled and he felt as if someone were yanking a rope tied to his bellybutton. “Glad you like it.”
    “Salad and beans are great too. You’re making sure I get my veggies.” Why the fuck would you say that? The corners of her lips turned down and although the pout of her lower lip was enticing, his heart sank again.
    “I try to eat healthy. I suppose you probably need more to eat than this, huh? I should have made some mashed potatoes or something. I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be sorry. This is perfect. Really.” Time to change the subject, dipshit. “I asked you about work earlier, but we got sidetracked by the steaks.”
    Allie wiped her mouth with a black cloth napkin. She took a long sip of wine, plump raspberry-pink lips