“They don’t really care anything about us, Katy.”
“I know.”
“They’re not even respecting our privacy.”
“I know that too.” She let loose a long sigh. “And when the next breaking story hits, we’ll be forgotten like yesterday’s newspaper.”
“Well let’s hope that happens sooner rather than later.” He slid his hand across the table. “At least it’s good to see the townsfolk trying to protect you. They care.” Which made him feel secure in the knowledge that no one from Whispering Cove would have alerted the press to her return. Unless, of course, they wanted Katy to realize who she could count on and exactly where she truly belonged.
She gave him a warm smile, then blinked and looked past his shoulder. The pot on the stove and the aromatic scent wafting through the kitchen seemed to draw her attention. She inhaled. “What are you cooking?”
“It’s a new seafood primavera.”
Katy climbed from her seat and walked to the stove. “Trent, this smells amazing.”
“Want to try?”
He grabbed a spoon and gave her a taste. Her eyes widened in delight. “This is delicious. When did you learn to cook?”
“Well, my ex-girlfriend is a famous celebrity chef. And because of that, the guys around here expect me to know my way around a kitchen.” Trent watched her, gauging her reactions and giving her an opening to correct him on the ex-girlfriend comment. She didn’t. Instead she took another bite and looked over the ingredients.
“Will you teach me how to make this?”
Trent straightened. As he stared at her, he jammed his thumb into his chest. “Me? Teach the Kathleen Wilson how to cook?”
“I think this would go over great at the restaurant.”
He pulled a towel off the counter and tied it around his waist. “Okay,” he agreed. “On one condition.”
Incredulous, she clutched her chest and feigned surprise. “You have a condition?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, what is it?” she conceded.
He gave her a devious wink. “Today we cook in my kitchen, tomorrow night we cook in yours.”
“Same old Trent.” Katy rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Do you ever give up?”
“No, Katy,” he answered honestly, and something warm and intimate moved between them when his glance locked with hers.
A long moment passed as they stared at each other. “I’m glad,” she finally murmured in a soft voice that had his heart pounding and his body aching to make love to her on the firehouse floor.
Needing a distraction before he did just that, he handed her the wooden spoon and instructed her to stir the sauce while he took a moment to pull himself together. In no time at all, the two fell into an easy camaraderie, enjoying themselves and the few stolen moments together. Out on the streets, the cameras were still rolling, but here, alone in the firehouse and cloaked in a cocoon of intimacy, they could talk quietly and touch freely.
The next hour flew by as Trent and Katy experimented with new menu ideas, and he couldn’t help but think how much it felt like old times. Before he knew it, her lunch break had come to an end and she had to return to the restaurant. Once she was gone, he tidied up and stored the sauce in the fridge. Katy had added a few touches of her own to the sauce. The men working the graveyard shift were in for a real treat tonight. Once he had the kitchen in order, he pulled his cell out of his front pocket and put in a call to Brody.
“Hey, Trent,” Brody said when he answered the phone.
“Hey, just checking to see if you had any information on the cottage.”
“Yeah, looks like a few of the cedar boards over her door came loose. They were banging in the wind. Nothing serious.”
Trent considered it for a moment. Brody’s theory was possible, but still he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that someone had been outside.
“You’d better get them fixed up before they cause any real damage.”
“I’m on it.” Trent checked the time and heard Adam outside shooting hoops. He’d come in early, which meant that Trent could get him to cover for the next few hours so he could do the repairs himself. He was about to hang up but then another thought struck. “What’s happening with the damn camera crew?”
Jesus, he hated the paparazzi, and the last place he expected to find them was in Whispering Cove. How the hell had they found out about Katy and him? He knew there was a part of her life that was public, but over the last ten years she’d kept her private life…well, private. Why were the media suddenly so interested in her, and her love life now?