22
Rounding the house to the main entrance, Zoë smelled grilling meat and figured Ethan must be barbecuing their dinner. True to his word, he’d insisted on preparing the meal and she was looking forward to it, curious as to what he’d serve. After breakfast, when Zandra began cleaning the house, he’d pulled Zoë aside for a furtive kiss. It was deep, sensual, and promised future encounters like the ones they’d shared so far. Then he informed her that he had work to do but would prepare dinner as promised.
After letting herself in the house, she entered the dining room to see Ethan placing cutlery on the table. A bottle of red wine and two goblets sat out. He looked to her and smiled his lop-sided smile.
“Great, you’re here. Take a seat, I’ll be back in a flash with our food.”
“What are we having?”
“Steak, mashed potatoes, and a salad. I’m not much of a cook so the mashed potatoes came from a box. That’s okay, right?” As she tried to prevent her nose from scrunching in disdain, he laughed. “I’m kidding, I’m not that incompetent. I also didn’t make mashed potatoes. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them on the grill, too.”
Smiling at his ongoing playful mood, she then asked a question she dreaded hearing the answer to. “How did you prepare my steak?”
“Rare.”
“Oh, thank God.”
“Well, I figured if you wanted it cooked more I could toss it back on the grill.”
“Good thinking, but my preference is rare.”
“It’s the only way to eat steak as far as I’m concerned. Okay, get comfy, I’ll be right back.”
In complete agreement with his views on steak, she took a seat at the table. He was back in a few minutes with their plates. As he placed the food before her, she looked over the plate. The steak had perfect cross-hatched grill marks on it, the split potato was slathered in butter, and the salad contained more seasonal vegetables than she’d expected. Huh, maybe she was rubbing off on him. Breathing in the scent of the meal, she detected the wondrous smells of grilled beef, butter, which he’d also spread on the steaks—a steakhouse trick she was impressed he knew—and she smelled garlic, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and dill seed, all components of a popular steak seasoning blend. While she wasn’t surprised he’d employed it, she was a little shocked by the cumin and coffee she detected. Apparently, he knew a bit about cooking too, in addition to everything else he excelled at. He really was an impressive man.
When she’d tasted everything on her plate, she met his eyes. He wore a curious but guarded expression. She smiled sweetly, glad to alleviate his apparent worry. “This meal is lovely, truly. I really like it. You grilled the steak perfectly, and everything is seasoned well. Kudos on the made-from-scratch salad dressing, it’s great.”
A huge grin spread across his face. “Well, coming from you that’s a huge compliment. Thank you.”
After they’d both finished their meals, he motioned to her wineglass. “Let’s enjoy our wine and relax a bit. Then, I’m taking you out for dessert.” At the inquisitive cock of her head, he shook his. “Don’t worry, it’s not a date. I just thought you might like to grab an ice cream cone in town. The ice cream festival starts today and runs through the entire summer. Each year, Dean and Cookie Patton, who own the diner, offer handmade ice creams. I thought you might be keen to try one. Besides, it’s the event of the year in town.”
She couldn’t suppress an amused snort. “Ice cream is the event of the year?”
“In Bison Bluffs, yes.”
His lop-sided smile was back, coupled with a bemused twinkle in his eyes. While she would have welcomed just heading to his bedroom for a repeat of last night’s fun, her curiosity over the ice cream won out. It was her weakness, and homemade ice cream appealed to her chef side. Hoping there would be an ambitious offering, she nodded.
“Yeah, I’d like to do that. It sounds like fun.”
He seemed pleased with her acquiesce as he sipped from his glass. While she enjoyed his new gregarious nature, she hoped he didn’t view their outing as an actual date. She’d been serious about the sex-only arrangement and had thought he was as well. His actions tonight were a bit concerning but maybe she was overreacting. Having a lovely dinner with wine wasn’t necessarily a date. Neither was heading into town for some ice cream. He was just being friendly. After all, it would be weird if they slept together and then completely ignored one another, considering they were the only two in the house.
Heading into town brought a slight risk of exposure but she believed it was nominal. She’d researched Bison Bluffs before responding to Ethan’s ad and hadn’t seen anything that would place it on Rosati’s radar. She was sure it was safe. Besides, she’d already been to the grocery store and would undoubtedly be making many trips to town at some point. It made sense she’d end up checking out more of the town, so why not tonight? She couldn’t think of a better way of seeing the sights than with Ethan at her side.