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I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, just as Lisa had taught me, and smiled a small smile. “It’s okay.”
“Is everything okay? Do you want me to get Gunner?”
I shook my head slowly. “No. I was hungry and thought I’d make myself a sandwich or something.”
He grinned. “I’ll make you one.”
I pushed off the wall and stepped forward. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I was going to make something for myself and the boys in the garage anyway, so it’s no big deal. What do you like?”
“I hadn’t really thought that far yet.” I shrugged. “Maybe just peanut butter and jelly.”
His eyes widened before he shook his head. “Nah, I’ll make you something better than that.” He pulled out a small round stool and pointed. “Sit. You can keep me company while I make it.”
I moved slowly to the stool and sat down, watching him bustle around the kitchen and pull things from the refrigerator. He grabbed a bowl sitting on a shelf hanging over the island that held the stovetop before turning his attention back to me. “Do you like Caesar dressing?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had it.”
He looked up from where he was cutting a chicken breast and studied me for a moment. “You’ve never had a Caesar salad?”
“I always just bought things I’d had before so I wouldn’t waste anything, and Snake didn’t like salad or salad dressing, so I couldn’t buy it.”
He nodded, but his expression lost some of its ease. “Do you like anchovies?”
I made a face without thinking about it, and he chuckled. “I’ll take that as a no.”
“Snake liked them on pizza, but I never did.”
I watched him add seasonings to the chicken and turn one of the knobs on what I assumed was the stovetop but had grates. “Is that a grill on the stove?”
“Yep.” He kept moving around the kitchen, but I lost track of everything he was doing. He had so many things out to just make a sandwich, and he was mixing ingredients in a bowl when he started speaking again. “You’re actually going to be my taste-tester today.”
My eyebrows rose dramatically. “Me?”
He grinned in my direction. “Yep. I just came up with a new sandwich recipe for the restaurant where I work, and I haven’t added it to the menu yet, so you can taste it and tell me what you think.”
“I don’t know if I’m the best person for that job.”
“I think you are,” he said adamantly. “What are some of your favorite restaurants?”
“I’ve never been to a restaurant.” I admitted quietly.
His knife paused over the bread he was cutting into thick slices, and his eyes snapped up to mine. “Never?”
I shook my head. “No.”
He blinked slowly. “We’re gonna change that, sweetheart. As soon as you’re ready, I’m gonna have Gunner bring you to my restaurant, and I’ll make you the best meal you’ve ever had.”
I smiled softly. “You already have. Becs brings me stuff you make all the time.”
He flicked his hand in the air. “That’s bar food. I mean something really special.” He went back to work, but then stopped again. “Wait, if Becs has been bringing you food I made, how have you not had Caesar dressing?”
I rolled my lips together. “I’m not very adventurous. She’d give me options, and I always picked what I’d had before.”
He made a face of disappointment, and I giggled softly before he spoke. “We’re definitely gonna change that.” He gestured toward the refrigerator. “Why don’t you get yourself a drink?”
I stood and slowly made my way to the refrigerator, instinctively reaching for a bottle of water, but then saw a bottle of Gatorade and grabbed that instead. I sat back down and took a few sips of my drink, watching Ritz work. He had a hand towel slung over his shoulder, covering a portion of his dark blue T-shirt. His jeans were old and worn but looked comfortable, and he had on black motorcycle boots, which seemed a contradiction to the job he was doing.