Page 11

Aire

N olan was already there when I arrived at the townhouse. I came in as Magnus was leaving, which didn't make me feel good. I would have preferred if someone else was around, so I wouldn't be alone in his presence.

"Had a productive day?" Nolan asked as soon as he saw me enter the kitchen. I was thinking of my grumbling stomach as I made a beeline for the fridge, so I didn't see him until he spoke. He looked at home in just his pants and shirt with the two top buttons undone. He was standing behind a counter with a pot full of mixed vegetables, another full of rice, and a wok brimming with chicken breast surgically cut into cubes. Nolan systematically filled four neatly arranged clear Tupperware boxes with rice, vegetables, and chicken breast.

Of course, Nolan was a meal prep guy. Even the way he was doing the prep was so methodical as to be downright psychopathic.

"Something like that." I took out the first thing I found in the fridge, which was one of four sandwiches in paper wrapping, neatly placed in a row on the top shelf.

"Although I don't get why you want to change your decor. It's lovely as it is." I gestured at the food. "Don't you have Magnus to do all that for you?"

"He wanted to leave early so he could attend his kid's recital. And he has a few days off because his wife is sick."

The thought of the big tattooed Nordic chef being domestic was hard to imagine. He had the energy of someone who spent his nights with his garage rock band, not reading bedtime stories.

I bit into the sandwich. Holy shit, he had a fantastic chef. It looked like a typical ham and cheese sandwich, but Mangus must have used high end ingredients or added some secret third thing, because this was delicious.

"Does that mean I have to endure your cooking? "

He glanced in my direction and resumed packing. "I thought it was the wife's duty to cook?"

I scoffed. "It's not the fifties anymore, buddy. Do I look like I cook?"

He looked at me as though he was actually contemplating the question. It was a piercing gaze that made my stomach tumble in a way that had nothing to do with hunger or the food.

Nolan shook his head. "Neither can I, frankly, but you can rest easy because Magnus had already made supper before he left."

"You should give Magnus a raise. He knows his shit." I raised the sandwich.

Nolan's eyebrows shot up. "That's mine, by the way. I was supposed to eat that tomorrow."

Ah. So that's why there were four identical sandwich boxes in the fridge. The sandwich became hard to swallow and my appetite zapped as guilt gnawed at me. I didn't mean to take his neatly packed delicious sandwich. Even if he wasn't angry, he looked agitated that I was eating it. "I'm so—"Aelin would never say sorry. In all my years of knowing her, she's never uttered the word."I didn't see your name written on it. Besides, what's yours is mine, dear husband."

I bit into the sandwich again, forcing myself to swallow. I waited for him to get angry, but instead, a small smile formed on his lips. He seemed amused.

"Anything funny?"

He shrugged. "It's an act."

"What?" The food in my mouth almost fell out. I gulped, my heart hammering against my chest as I waited for the sword of Damocles to drop.

"Your whole thing. You remind me of my sister. You want everyone to think you're strong willed and unaffected, but deep inside, you're desperate to please people."

"You couldn't be more wrong. Relief washed down my back. He hadn't clocked me yet, but he was too perceptive for my liking. Maybe not as perceptive as he thought he was, though.

"Am I? I don't know. I know you're hiding something about yourself. Not sure what it is, and neither do I care honestly," he said as he snapped the lids of the Tupperware boxes shut, "but you're not the carefree, unbothered person you pretend to be."

He stacked his lunch boxes and marched over to the fridge. I was still too shocked by his dressing down of me or rather of my poor performance as Aelin, I froze until he gestured to the fridge at which point I jumped out of his way.

Nolan put his stacks of pre-made lunch in the freezer perfectly in a row and closed the door. "Do you still want dinner?"

"Why not? "

"From the little I know about women like you, more food would ruin your calorie deficit."

"All that arrogance and you still don't realize that some of us aren't calorie counters. I want my chef Magnus made dinner."

"Huh."

"Surprised that your neat assessment of me is off?"

He grunted. "You don't get a body like that by eating a lot."

True. And I hated the grueling gym regimen my grandfather put me under in a short period, just so I could be the same weight as Aelin. The trainer he hired gave me a workout schedule and a diet plan, but I was in a rebellious mood. I hardly followed it.

"I eat whatever I want."

He seemed impressed. "Cool. Set the table while I reheat the food."

We ended up eating in the kitchen and basically self-served directly from the pots, pans, and trays. I made sure to sit opposite him. I did not want to sit next to him. There was an energy I sensed whenever I was near Nolan and I wanted to put as much distance as I can between him and I. However, having a slab of stone between us did little to dampen the electricity that flowed between us. I noticed it when we both grabbed for the chili spoon and I pulled my hand away too rapidly, making Nolan pause, yet he said nothing .

"We're going to a charity event the day after tomorrow. I'm the guest of honor, so make sure to wear something presentable."

"I thought you didn't want our relationship to be public?"

"That was before you told the world about our marriage."

"I didn't call the press. It was only a joke." I cursed my grandfather for that little trick.

"Sure."

"Believe me or not. I don't want this relationship to be public as much as you don't."

He paused, his full fork hanging midair. "Then who did if not you?"

Maybe I should have told him it was my grandfather, but I wasn't sure if he would believe me. I shrugged. "There were a lot of people at the courthouse. Maybe one of your assistants did. There are a lot of suspects."

"I trust my assistants."

"More than you trust your wife, obviously."

We ate in silence for the rest of the dinner and when we were done, I offered to do the dishes. He froze, and I immediately realized my mistake. Aelin would never offer to clean up. She would have complained about the lack of maids or something.

"You know. Like a good little wife," I added.

"Do you even know how to operate a dishwasher?"

I got up and began collecting the dishes. "I am not as useless as you think I am."

Nolan remained seated as I removed all the dishes off the counter. His presence wouldn't have bothered me if I hadn't sensed his gaze following my every move. There's something about him that turned me into a bundle of nerves whenever I was in his presence.

There weren't that many dishes to clean, thankfully. I could be done and out of this kitchen as soon as possible, but when I finished loading it and tried to close it, it failed. The door jammed and refused to budge. The longer I struggled with the door, the more foolish I seemed. There must be something I must be getting wrong, but I wasn't sure what.

I felt him come to stand next to me as I closed the dishwasher. A faint scent of cardamom and musk wafted into my nostrils, making me aware of him. My entire body froze as his hand reached from behind me and pressed a button. "You press that to close," he said in my ear. He was standing close. Too close to me.

I turned around to get away from him and stumbled into hard muscle. My hands spontaneously moved to his chest, sensing the hard body beneath, and I forgot the almost fall as I perceived his power.

My gaze traveled from his chest to his face, where he was staring down at me. I gulped as I wondered what his lips would taste like. We didn't kiss in court. Did he specifically ask the judge to remove it or did it just so happen coincidentally?

Subconsciously, I licked my lips. He took a harsh intake of breath. An electric charge coursed down my spine. He stooped. Or did I raise my head? Either way, the space between us reduced to inches.

Nolan's phone rang, piercing through the passion bubble. He cursed and reached for his phone on the counter. His voice sounded harsh when he answered the call. I dashed from the kitchen to the safe haven of my bedroom. I didn't want to know if his harsh voice was because of his anger at being interrupted before he could almost kiss me. Or if it was harsh, because he almost kissed a woman he hated.