Page 19

Mila

“How do you feel about salads?” Mila asked as she scrolled through the app on Carter’s phone.

“I’m pro-salad if there’s lots of stuff in it,” Carter said.

He was laid out with his head on her lap watching a movie while she shopped.

The tray she’d brought with more cinnamon rolls, sausages, scrambled eggs, and coffee was empty.

She still couldn’t believe how much Carter ate.

She reminded herself he was a big guy with lots of muscle.

He probably had to eat a lot on a regular basis.

While he was healing, she’d need to make sure he got enough protein along with the sweets he seemed to love.

“Stuff?” she asked, adding romaine, spinach, and other greens to the order.

“Yeah, like nuts and that stinky cheese that comes in little chunks,” he said.

“Blue cheese?” she guessed.

“Sure,” he agreed. She added a container of blue cheese crumbles.

She’d tried to start with a menu, but Carter didn’t respond well to complicated meal choices. It was easier to narrow things down to individual items. It took longer, but she was getting a good idea of Carter’s preferences.

He liked beef. All types of beef, cooked in just about any way. A close second was chicken and potatoes. She suspected he and Gio didn’t get enough fruits, vegetables, or complex carbohydrates in their diets. She’d make sure they had meals full of all the nutrients they needed.

Although she shouldn't be letting one of her employers rest his head in her lap, Carter was still recovering so she allowed it. In the future, she’d need to be strict with him about boundaries.

Sleeping with them was completely out of the question now. The incident in the kitchen made her realize she couldn’t have any kind of relationship with these men while working for them. She didn’t need to make another mistake.

Even though she’d only met them a day ago, she knew it would be all too easy to fall in love with Carter and Gio. It would be devastating to lose her home, job, and heart all at once.

With Brad, it hurt, but looking back, she could easily see she was looking for a change. She’d never really loved him. It would be different with Carter and Gio.

“When you go out for lunch, which sandwich do you order most often?” she asked. Carter didn’t respond. She leaned over to see that his eyes were closed, and his mouth was open a little. He was sound asleep.

That was fine, she had a feel for what Carter liked now, and he’d told her that Gio had his same tastes. She added a few more items and completed the order. In a few hours, she’d have plenty to make at least a week's worth of meals.

Tossing the phone onto the couch next to her, she tried to figure out where to put her hands so they weren’t resting on the sleeping Carter. It was impossible and one arm ended up resting on his side.

He mumbled something in his sleep and reached up to grab her hand and put it to his face. She thought he’d woken up but no, he nuzzled her hand and went right back to sleep, snuggling her hand to his face like it was a very small stuffed animal.

Babette was fast asleep and snoring where she’d wiggled herself between the backs of Carter’s bent knees and the couch.

Despite the noisy action movie playing on the TV and the coffee in her system, Mila felt sleep tugging at her.

It was hard to stay awake when you were on a soft, comfy couch, warm, fed, safe, and surrounded by happily sleeping partners.

Giving up, she let her head fall back and drifted off to the sound of aliens dying.

She was jerked out of a sound sleep when the doorbell rang, sending Babette into a flurry of movement as she pulled herself out from her sleep spot and ran to the front door barking furiously.

A groggy Carter sat up. “Whas goin’ on?”

“Someone’s at the door,” Mila said. With Carter sitting up, she was able to stand.

“Door?” Carter repeated, not looking awake at all.

“It’s probably the groceries,” Mila said, excited to fill the empty fridge and pantry. It went against all her instincts for them to be empty!

“Oh,” Carter said, slumping back down. “I’ll help in a minute, k?”

She smiled down at the large man and resisted the urge to pet his buzzed head. “I’d like to take my time organizing the kitchen so stay out.”

He huffed and then went back to sleep. She tucked the throw blanket back around him and headed to the front door. It was a delivery, but not groceries. As she opened the front door, Babette shot out to sniff around the stacks of boxes in front of the door.

Beyond the stacks, a man wheeling a dolly full of packages from his truck to her.

“Hi!” he called. “I can bring these ones inside.”

What had Gio or Carter ordered? She probably shouldn’t be nosy, but she couldn’t keep from asking. “What is all this stuff?”

“Kitchen items mostly,” the guy answered, bumping the dolly over the threshold and into the house. “Mixer, bowls, things to measure with, stuff like that.”

“If it’s for the kitchen, then I guess it should go in there,” she said, pointing to the arched entry.

The guy grunted and headed that way. She grabbed a box and followed him.

He left the stack just inside the kitchen and headed back out.

After setting her box on top of his, she followed him back out.

He was already coming back up from the truck with another stack of boxes!

“How many more are there?” she asked when he got to the door.

“Only three more,” he said. “After I finish unloading the truck, I’ll move these others inside.”

“Thanks!” she said, thankful she’d set aside one cinnamon roll.

After all the boxes were inside and the driver left with the last roll, she stared at the boxes and fought the urge to start opening them.

The doorbell rang again. She swung the door open, expecting to see the driver again, but this time it was a young woman with her hands full of grocery bags.

“I’ve got your order,” she announced cheerily.

Babette was jumping around making excited sounds as Mila reached out to take the bags. “Thank you!”

“I’ll get the rest,” the girl said, making Mila notice the hatchback in the driveway.

Mila rushed to put the bags in the kitchen and met the girl in the foyer with more bags. By the time they were done, the island and all the countertops were covered in bags.

It was only when the girl was driving away that Mila realized she hadn’t tipped her and didn’t even have a baked good to give her.

Feeling guilty, she made a note to ask Carter if he’d tipped the woman through the app.

“I can’t believe I ordered this much!” she declared to Babette who was still having a great time sniffing all the boxes. With a giddiness she hadn’t felt in a long time, she got busy unpacking and putting everything away.

Gio

The moment he was able to get up, Gio rose from the bed. He wanted to rush downstairs, but he was wearing yesterday's clothes, and he needed a shower.

While he waited for the water to heat up in the shower, he put an order in for blood and noticed the order for goods was marked as delivered along with a grocery order he hadn’t put in.

Satisfaction filled him. Mila had ordered food to his home. Carter probably had to talk her into it, but judging by the list of items, she’d picked most of them. The massive amounts of meat screamed Carter’s influence, but he couldn't imagine Carter ordering green onions, shallots, or paprika.

He hurried through cleaning himself and dressed in the only clean outfit he could find that didn’t have paint stains on it. He might need to do some shopping.

He hated shopping for himself.

The moment he opened the bedroom door, various smells of cooking and baking hit him. He didn’t crave food, but he could still remember what good food smelled like, and this was it!

Hurrying down the stairs, he found Mila and Carter in the kitchen. Mila was plating something at the island while Carter sat on one of the stools. While she worked, she laughed at something Carter said.

It was such a perfect picture that Gio paused in the archway to take it in. Now that he was in the same room as Carter, he could feel the link between them humming with contentment.

Sensing his presence, Carter swung around on his stool. “Gio, Mila made steak, potatoes au gratin, and Caesar salad. She made everything from scratch all by herself!”

Mila blushed. “You helped with peeling the potatoes.”

Gio joined Carter at the island, taking the stool next to him. “It all smells wonderful. Hiring you as a personal chef was the second-best thing I’ve ever done.”

Carter gave him a little shove with his shoulder. “Only second?”

“The first was attending the first Unified Packs of San Diego Winter Solstice celebration,” Gio said, unable to keep his hands off Carter any longer.

Grabbing the big wolf by the back of his head, he pulled the larger man down so he could press his lips to Carter’s.

He tried to keep the kiss chaste, but hunger roared to life.

When the kiss ended, he could feel Carter’s lust matching his own.

“That’s where we met,” Carter whispered.

A soft, wistful sigh made both of them turn to look at Mila. She was watching them with wide eyes, flushed cheeks, and a longing expression. “You’re so in love.”

“We have enough love to share,” Gio assured her. “We’ve never invited a third, so our interest in you isn’t something cheap.”

He didn’t expect her to shake her head violently and step back until she bumped up against the counter behind her. “No, I c-c-can’t.”

She looked close to tears, making both him and Carter stand up. He could feel the shifter’s body tremble from weakness. Carter still had a lot of healing to do. That forced him to focus on the wolf first.

Gio grabbed hold of Carter’s arm to steady him. “Please sit before you fall.”

He could feel Carter’s desire to argue, but both of them knew he didn’t have the strength to fight Gio. Carter might be an alpha wolf with all the strength that came with it, but Gio was a vampire. He was an apex predator, and no single wolf could overpower him.

It wasn’t that Carter was worried about Gio hurting him, but both of them knew Gio was the only thing that kept him standing.

With a sigh of defeat, Carter sank back down. “Make her understand,” he demanded.

“Let’s not make anyone do anything,” Gio responded. “I think we should eat this sumptuous meal and talk.”

Mila looked conflicted. “I should serve you two and leave.”

Gio was quick to put a quieting hand on Carter’s thigh before the wolf could say anything.

“You could do that, but it would make Carter and me feel bad. We’d much rather you stayed.

You don’t have to confide in us. We could talk about your wonderful cooking, about the adorable Babette.

But if you leave, we’ll think it’s because we upset you. ”

“I’m not upset.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Then why do you think you shouldn’t eat with us?”

She hesitated a moment before answering. “That’s not what the staff does.”

“Even if that’s true, neither of us are fond of rules,” Gio said. “Now, what can I take to the table?”

She gave in and soon they were all seated.

Carter shoveled food into his mouth, giving Mila compliments between bites.

Gio ate a few bites and made sure to move his food onto Carter’s plate the moment he had a chance.

He was old enough to consume a little food without becoming ill, but much more, and he’d regret it later.

Mila had a hard time sitting still. She kept jumping up to fetch things no one asked for. It made covering his lack of eating easy but made him worry about Mila’s state of mind. She wouldn’t meet their eyes and gave one or two-word answers to all his questions.

The meal passed without any meaningful conversation. If this kept up, Mila wouldn’t let either of them get close. Gio could see her hiding in her room when she wasn’t busy cooking.

A solution came to him as she served the cheesecake. She tried to give Carter a polite slice, but the wolf took the cake from her and cut an entire quarter of the dessert for himself. That made her laugh with genuine amusement for the first time since the meal started.

“You’re fired,” Gio declared, making Carter growl, and Mila fumble and drop the fork she was holding.

She looked devastated. “What?”

“You shouldn’t be fixing food for us, you should be making sweet things to sell,” he said, pushing his plate away so he could rest his elbows on the table and lean forward a little. “You’re fired because I want to go into business with you.”