Six

Nessa stared at the piece of paper, perplexed by the swift return of her offer of food to the big bear upstairs. “Not hungry,” was all it said.

Not hungry, her ass. She knew what a hungry bear looked like, and Gaius looked ravenous pretty much every time she saw him. Well, that’d teach him to turn down her food. She wasn’t likely to make the offer again if he intended to disregard it out of hand.

She removed the plate and the note from the dumbwaiter and set it on the kitchen island, confident it wouldn’t go to waste. Not two seconds later, Levi buzzed in, filled with more energy than a hummingbird.

“Ig wants to know if your last list of kitchen equipment is final. He’s approving orders for all of it today. Oh hey, what’s this?” His attention immediately diverted to the burger.

“Your lunch, if you want it,” Nessa said, waving at the food.

“Sweet! Thanks, Ness!” She’d barely given him the go-ahead before the lanky young man grabbed the burger and inhaled half of it before she could blink.

While he chewed, his eyes settled on the scribbled note on the countertop. He pointed a potato wedge at it. “Gaius?”

Nessa nodded and Levi chuckled. “Dumbass. His loss!” He grinned around the last bite of burger.

She chuckled at his enthusiasm and was nearly bowled over when he gave her a peck on the cheek with more hearty “thanks” before charging back out the door, leaving her dizzy.

A second later, he ducked back in with a question about to pop from his mouth.

“The list is final,” Nessa said. Levi nodded, smiled, and was off again in a blur.

She washed his empty dish, a little disappointed that Gaius hadn’t accepted her gift. It made no sense, but apparently the man had an issue with her. She just hoped it wouldn’t affect his work. She trusted Ignazio’s opinion of the man’s skill. If he was the professional her friend made him out to be, it shouldn’t make a difference. But she wasn’t going to waste precious energy trying to win the guy over if he was going to be so damned stubborn about accepting her friendship.

She remained aloof to him after that, merely commenting on his work each day in as neutral a way as possible. She couldn’t help but be excited at the progress he was making. By the end of the week, the cabinets and sinks were installed and the pantry was close to completion. He had enlisted Levi’s help laying tile after the energetic shifter ran out of garden work to help her with.

The afternoons were far too hot to work outdoors, though, so she retreated to the old kitchen that was as cool and dark as a cave, with chilled air flowing through from the ventilation ducts. She also felt the need to wallow in sentimental memories down here as much as possible. All too soon this old sanctuary would be torn down and replaced by Ig and Bry’s rehab center. More white tile and stainless steel, if the plans were any indication.

Nessa was a little at a loss this afternoon. She’d finished cleaning up after lunch, and the boys had some kind of weekend-long event they were attending for League Champions, so she had no particular dinner obligations. It was still early afternoon and too hot to garden, but too nice a day to waste holed up with her memories.

She quirked her mouth at the dumbwaiter that sat idle, having only been used the one time for the rejected meal she’d sent to Gaius. Now was as good a time as any for him to tear the thing out.

And who the hell knew? Maybe after a week, the surly old bear had managed to cool off some and get used to her.

She hung up her apron in the pantry and headed outside where the heat blasted her hard enough to make sweat instantly pool between her breasts. She eyed the serene surface of the lake, thinking she ought to take a dip later. Bry and Ig’s event lasted the full weekend, so she was off the hook for meals. After a week of their long-missed banter, she wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself for an entire two days off. Probably work more on the garden and swim, and spend more time in her dad’s old kitchen cooking her own favorite meals instead of the ones on her boss’ special diet.

When she got up to the new kitchen, it was unexpectedly devoid of the sounds of hammers or power tools. She found Levi washing his hands in the big sink and the tilework was finished, but one of her countertop slabs was leaning against the wall and the other was nowhere to be seen. And of course, the dumbwaiter was still there when Gaius had promised he’d get to it by the end of the week.

“Where the hell is he?” she said.

Levi’s head snapped up and he gave her a shocked look. “Who?”

“Gaius. What the hell happened to his stupid schedule? He said he’d have this stuff done. I need him to tear out that dumbwaiter when I’m not cooking.”

“Don’t know,” Levi said with a shrug. “He just got all irritable and grumbly. He isn’t exactly the most articulate guy, you may have noticed. Next thing I knew, he said something about ‘finish if you want, I’ll pay you double’ and was gone. I don’t think he realized that Ig’s the one paying me.”

“Dammit! I need him to at least get rid of that stupid . . . thing!” she pointed at the dumbwaiter, offended by its very presence.

“You can go ask him what’s up, if it’s that important to you. He lives just a few miles up the mountain.” Levi pointed out the door toward the purple-forested peaks that loomed behind the house.

“I think I will. Which way do I go?”

“Take a left out the driveway and keep going uphill until you see a big wooden gate with the Blackpaw emblem. Go through that gate and his is the only place. You can’t miss it.”

She thanked him and stormed out the doors, the heat only adding to her irritation.

“Nessa!” Levi called after her.

“What?” she snapped, ready to get on her way to tell the big bear she didn’t appreciate his attitude. If he was going to bitch at her about interrupting his schedule, he should have the courtesy to stick to it himself.

“You want the keys to the spare transport?” She turned back in time to see him toss the keys to her.

“Thanks, Levi. You’re the best.”