“It’s fine.”
“Good. Donna’s worried about her staying with you. I’ve told her there’s nothing to worry about. I remembered you before when you actually cared.”
“I don’t care,” Henry said, lying.
He cared way too much, which was why he tried to keep as far away from temptation as possible. Lydia was a big temptation to him, one that he’d been denying himself for some time now.
“You can lie to everyone else but not to me. I’m not in the mood to be lied to. We both know how attached you become to others.”
“I’ve got to go.”
“I’ll let you know when Elijah wants to take out Drake once and for all.”
“Sure.” He hung up the phone and stood watching Lydia. It was about time they took Drake out. The little fucker didn’t know when to stay away. He was pissed off that the little shit had gotten to him. It wouldn’t have happened if he’d not been so fucking jealous of that bartender eyeing up his woman.
Fuck, when had she become his woman?
He didn’t know when he’d gotten to thinking about her as his.
She turned her head to glance back at him. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, Donna’s worried about you being alone with me.”
Lydia smiled. “She thinks you hate her.”
“I don’t hate her. I just don’t think she’s right for Caleb.”#p#分页标题#e#
“He loves her.”
“She’s too sweet, and he’s anything but sweet. This life is not for the easy loving people.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “Are you hungry?”
Lydia nodded.
“Donna’s wrong.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I don’t hate Donna. I just don’t think this life is the right one for her.” He headed toward the kitchen, pulling out the packet mixes he’d picked up at the store.
“What are you cooking?” She walked slowly toward him, taking her time to get there.
He lifted the packet and gave it a shake. “It’s the best I can do.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Can you cook?”
“Yeah, it’s probably the only thing I can do well. Maybe when I’m better I can treat you to a dinner.”
“I’d like that.” He liked the idea of that way too much.
Henry felt her gaze on him as he moved around the kitchen. It took him several minutes of opening cupboards and drawers to find the saucepans.
Lydia giggled as he struggled to find what he was looking for. By the time he was set up, they were both chuckling.
What was worse, he couldn’t remember when he’d had this much fun. What had happened to him in the last few years? It felt like he was unrecognizable. Lydia was making him see the difference in his life. The whores were a convenience, and his life had become one long line of conveniences.
Once he finished making their food, he sat beside her at the counter, staring at the mess he’d made of his kitchen.
“I’ve not had this much fun before in my life, thank you.” She touched his shoulder, and he didn’t know why but Henry felt like a changed man.
There was no way he could go back, not after this.
The whores were gone, finished, and so was hiding. He wasn’t going to hide from his life anymore, and it was all because of Lydia.
****
One week later
She’d been confined to his apartment for the last week, but instead of being close to losing her mind, she was thriving in the space. Henry had bought her several cookbooks along with a few of her pans from her apartment. When he’d turned up with her equipment she’d been so surprised and had hugged him. Her ribs were feeling much better, and so he was letting her do odd jobs around the apartment. He wouldn’t let her overexert herself, which she liked.
Henry still made food for them, but he allowed her to play at baking cookies. She was sure in the week alone she’d put on over a pound of weight with how long she’d been sitting on the sofa. He left every day to go to work. She didn’t know if he was going to the women he liked to pay for, but she never called him out on it. The way he’d taken care of her she had no reason to complain. Neither of them had taken it any further. She was scared of what his almost kiss meant.
Standing at the counter she stared into the fridge. It was past five, and she didn’t want to wait around for him to come home to eat. Deciding to surprise him, she grabbed the fresh ingredients she needed, and she took her time to make them some chicken with marinara sauce and pasta.
Her ribs were a dull ache. They no longer hurt so much.
Thirty minutes into cooking she heard the door open and close. Henry appeared in front of her. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked.