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“That sounds wonderful. I hope you don’t mind that I looked around.”

“Of course not. It’s your house, Becca.”

Rebecca bit her bottom lip. “I saw some of your paintings in the other room. I didn’t touch anything,” she said quickly. “But what I saw was beautiful. You’re extremely talented.”

Cass smiled. “Thank you. And seriously, there’s nothing off limits in this house, Becca. If you want to go through paintings, papers, closets, or whatever, do it. I have nothing to hide, and everything in this house belongs to you as much as it does to me.”

Rebecca tilted her head, studying Cass. “Why is the room down the hall locked?”

Cass’s brows rose. Well, shit. How the hell do I explain this? “Oh, um, we have a service that comes out a couple of times a week. We keep that room locked so they won’t go in there.”

That was the dumbest non-answer in the freakin’ world, but it was all Cass could come up with that wouldn’t cause Rebecca to go screaming back to Aunt Wills.

“Hmm.” Rebecca chewed her lip as she considered what Cass told her. This must be one of those things Rebecca wasn’t ready to know. She trusted Cass enough to wait, right? As she looked into those kind, bi-colored eyes, Rebecca knew the answer. “I’ll only be a few minutes getting changed. Then I’ll help you with the food.”

Cass released the breath she’d been holding. Rebecca obviously knew there was more that Cass wasn’t saying about the room—their playroom—but she graciously let it go—for now. “Take your time. I got this,” she grinned.

The flames of a low fire danced on the walls, beckoning Rebecca with their rhythmic swaying. She almost expected music to be playing, matching their motions. Instead, the TV was on, the sound muted, illuminating a massive blanket with delicious-smelling food spread out. The scene, with Cass as the focal point in shorts and t-shirt, was decidedly romantic. Oddly enough, that didn’t bother Rebecca one bit.

“This is quite epic.” Rebecca’s eyes twinkled with delight.

Cass beamed with pride, gesturing to the empty space across from her. She twisted the cap off a sizeable green bottle that hissed as the pressure was released. Pouring clear, bubbly liquid into a wine glass, Cass glanced at Rebecca. “Perrier,” she explained as Rebecca watched her. “I hope you don’t mind. Alcohol was one of the items that should be avoided during recovery.”

Ah, yes. Recovery. Rebecca was on the verge of forgetting about the tumor, the surgery, the memory loss, and recovery. Why couldn’t this be a simple date?

“And that’s the last time we reference anything about that,” Cass announced. “Tonight is about the present.” She lifted her glass. “Here’s to a beautiful night with a beautiful companion.”

Rebecca only hesitated for a split second before touching the rim of her glass to Cass’s. How did Cass seem to always know what Rebecca needed? She loves you. Rebecca’s eyes fell on Cass’s full lips on the glass, blushing at the thoughts the sight conjured up. She drained her glass in one big gulp, holding it out to Cass for a refill.

Oh, Cass didn’t miss any of that, including the desire in Rebecca’s eyes. Let it go, Cass. She’s not there yet. “So,” she cleared her throat. “Did you finish the book?”

“Mmm, yes! It was intelligent, entertaining, and so hot!” Rebecca laughed as she picked up a sausage roll and popped it into her mouth. “This food is fantastic, by the way.”

“Yeah, Ellie is freakin’ awesome. You tell her what your plans are, and poof! The perfect meal to take your plans to the next level. Here, try this.” Cass handed Rebecca a beef empanada. “Don’t forget the chimichurri. Chef’s kiss!” She emphasized the praise by kissing her fingers with an exaggerated ‘muah!’. “And I totally agree with your assessment of the book! What did you think of the twist?”

“I did not see that one coming!” Rebecca answered, hiding her mouth full of food behind her hand. “But I’m reading one of the other books in the series now, and it seems like that’s a theme with her books. I really like that little aspect.”

“Yeah, me too. Are you on the third book?” Cass looked up from picking cilantro off the samosa she was about to devour and saw Rebecca nod.

“Mmhmm. It’s so different than the last one in terms of the spice factor, but it still works, don’t you think?”

“Totally,” Cass readily agreed. “I like how Joslyn Cohan stays true to her characters’ personalities.”

Rebecca watched Cass pick at her food with amusement. “You don’t like vegetables?”

Cass glanced up, poised to flick a bell pepper off a hummus phyllo cup, and grinned. “Nope.”

Rebecca reached over, grabbed the offending bell pepper, and ate it. “They’re good for you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m getting better, but bell peppers are a hard no for me. Ellie continues to put them on my food because you like them.”

“Hmm. Good teamwork.”

“The best,” Cass said, handing Rebecca another bell pepper.

After another hour or so of food and conversation, Rebecca and Cass moved from the picnic to the couch to watch a movie. Cass was surprised and delighted that Rebecca chose to sit close to her, their thighs touching. Even so, Cass was careful with her movements and hand placement. The last thing she wanted to do was scare Rebecca, and really, this was all Cass had needed since Rebecca had surgery—just to be close to Rebecca again, to be home with Rebecca.

Rebecca stretched her legs out, aiming to prop her feet up on the coffee table along with Cass’s. Yet her toes were the only part of her feet that touched the table. That was because she was flexing her feet as much as she could without cramping. She felt Cass’s body shake, and she rolled her head to the side, narrowing her eyes.