“Well, where else am I gonna cook you dinner, gingersnap,” Wyatt said teasingly. He pulled up to the front of his house and jumped out and was at her door before she even got her belt off.
Walking in the unlocked front door, Jinger turned in a circle. Vaulted ceilings, gleaming wood and it smelled like pine trees inside. It was beautiful, and very masculine with just a hint of style. Throw pillows and some very stylish art deco lamps to accent the rustic charm.
“It’s beautiful, Wyatt,” she said turning to him.
“Thank you, I worked on it for two years. With my brothers’ help, of course,” he said with clear pride.
She should have known he built this stunning house. It looked like him, strong and beautiful.
Jinger held back the sigh that she wanted to release. She felt like a dandelion in a hothouse full of orchids. She didn’t fit in here, she was much more generic than this. Her home was straight out of the boring side of the Ikea catalog.
Wyatt got her settled onto a stool at the counter of his kitchen. It was nice and big with a large stainless steel stove and matching fridge. She tried to help, but was quickly rebuffed.
“I’m cooking for you, tonight. Next time you can cook for me, assuming you can cook,” he teased.
Hah, joke’s on him, she thought. “Does microwaving count?”
“Hmm, yes, as long as you can at least work the oven to cook pizzas, we won’t starve,” he answered.
“Great, problem solved,” she smirked.
Wyatt was cooking steaks, baked potatoes and was busy chopping up salad fixings when he wasn’t popping out back to the deck that Jinger assumed held a grill.
The smell of charred meat was making her mouth water. She was hungry, the donuts having worn off a long time ago.
“Really, isn’t there something I can do,” she called out as he headed back to the deck.
Jinger watched his head pop around the corner of the doorway, “Plates, napkins, silverware, dig around until you find what you need,” he called turning back to his meat.
Jinger hopped off her stool and started opening cupboards and drawers. Figuring they weren’t going overboard in the fancy department she set the dishes on the high bar where she had been sitting.
She also filled two glasses with water and set them by each plate.
Wyatt returned carrying a plate of grilled steaks. He set them on the counter and turned to pull out the potatoes from the oven. His last stop was the fridge where he managed to grab, butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon bits, along with a bottle of wine all in one trip. He set them down on the bar with a proud expression.
“One trip wonder, huh,” Jinger asked. She got a wink in return.
Wyatt’s last stop was to grab a bottle opener and two glasses. Gesturing to Jinger to take a seat he made quick work of uncorking the wine.
“You do drink wine, don’t you,” he asked, realizing she might not be a drinker.
“Yes, I like wine, thanks,” she assured him.
Pouring them both a glass, Wyatt sat down next to her and grabbed her plate. He filled it and set it in front of her. It was heaping and Jinger could help but ogle at it. There was a steak weighing at least twelve ounces. Half the plate was salad and the baked potato was big enough to feed three people. He at least stopped before adding anything to the potato. Jinger looked up at him in astonishment.
“Problem?”
“Um, whose plate is this,” she asked mockingly.
With a confused look, then the lightbulb clicking on, he said, “Yours, we don’t belong to the clean plate club. I won’t hold it against you if you can’t finish it.”
“Good thing, I can eat with the best of them, but this is record setting level.”
“Well, I didn’t want you to go home telling everyone I starved you and that was why you wouldn’t see me again. Or maybe it was my master plan to get you so full you’ll accidently fall asleep on my couch and have to spend the night,” he teased with a wink.
“Huh, um,” was all Jinger could manage with the idea of spending the night spinning in her head.
“I’m just teasing gingersnap, dig in,” he assured her.
Jinger decided eating was the better option than continuing down any further uncomfortable topics.
She doctored her potato like she liked and watched in awe as Wyatt manage to double the size of his potato after adding butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, and bacon bits. He also dumped about half a container of ranch dressing on his salad. He must have an incredible metabolism she thought.
The steak was amazing and Jinger couldn’t help but close her eyes and let out a soft moan. That man could cook a steak! Opening her eyes, she saw Wyatt watching her with a hot intense gaze. Swallowing her bite, she saw his eyes follow her movements down her throat. She could have sworn she heard him growl. But she must have been mistaken.