Chapter 6 #3
Boone rose from the couch, bypassed his bedroom, and walked over to the kitchen drawer where he kept the medicine. His hand was fucking throbbing. Grabbing the bottle of ibuprofen, he popped a couple in his mouth and washed them down with a glass of water from the tap.
He turned when he heard a brief knock on the front door, followed by the sound of it opening.
“Sadie?” Mila called out, stopping when she spotted him in the kitchen. “Oh, Boone. I didn’t realize you were home.” She glanced at the door she’d just walked through, as if he’d be mad at her for coming in without waiting for an invitation.
Despite the fact he’d just told himself he needed to keep his distance from Mila, there was no denying the way his crappy attitude gave way to happiness the second he saw her.
Part of his distraction today had been him wondering if she would come tonight, and getting pissed at himself for potentially ruining the cooking lessons with that kiss.
Boone held up his injured hand. “Cut myself at work. Maverick told me to take the rest of the day off. Otherwise, I was just going to keep splitting it open and bleeding all over the place.”
Mila crossed the room to the kitchen, taking his hand in hers, instantly concerned. “Does it need stitches?”
He shook his head. “I’ve squeezed the skin together pretty good under that butterfly bandage. It’ll be fine. I…” He hesitated. “I wasn’t sure you were coming tonight.”
“It’s Tuesday.” She was smiling, but Boone got the sense it was a bit forced.
“Sadie asked if we could make homemade pizza.” Mila lifted a canvas bag he hadn’t noticed her carrying.
“I grabbed some of my sauce and I’ve brought some veggies, pepperoni, sausage, and shredded mozzarella.
Oh, and yeast. The rest of what we’ll need, you already have. ”
“Which means flour and water, right?”
Mila snickered. “Yeah. Pretty much.”
“Let me give you some money toward the ingredients,” he insisted.
Mila shook her head. “Nope. Tonight’s dinner is on me. You’ve provided all the ingredients for our last few lessons, so it was time for me to take a turn.”
Before Boone could argue, Sadie came out of her room. “Hey, Mila.”
Mila must have noticed the less-than-enthusiastic tone. “You feeling alright, sweetie?”
Sadie shrugged casually. “I’m fine.” She disproved that assertion by shooting an angry look his direction. Boone narrowed his eyes in warning. The last thing he wanted was for Sadie to start up their argument in front of Mila.
Mila glanced from Sadie to him and back, forcing that cheerful smile again as she started unpacking her tote bag. “Good. Because we have a lot of work to do. I thought you and I would make the pizza dough first, since it has to rise.”
Mercifully, Sadie perked up as she took in the vegetables and meats now covering the island. “That sounds cool.”
Mila reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a beer, offering it to him. She’d been in their kitchen enough to feel at home, and he liked it way too much. “Why don’t you relax on the couch? I’m worried about your hand.”
Her comment captured Sadie’s attention. “What did you do to your hand?” For the first time since arriving home, his daughter noticed his bandage.
“Just a little cut. It’s fine.”
“I wondered why you were home early,” Sadie mused aloud.
If Mila was curious why the two of them hadn’t already discussed that, she didn’t let on.
Boone took the beer from her, popping the cap on the bottle.
Then he scooted behind her, trying to hide the impact her close proximity had on him when his chest brushed her back.
“What about you, ladies? I’m not going to be much help on the food prep tonight, but I’m willing to serve as bartender and deejay. ”
Mila laughed. “I’d love a glass of wine.”
Sadie climbed on one of the stools by the island. “Sprite, please.”
Boone poured their drinks before claiming his own stool next to Sadie, fiddling with Spotify until he found Mila’s favorite seventies playlist.
Despite the music and Mila’s lesson, Boone still felt the strain between him and Sadie.
Things had been so good since moving to Gracemont that it was hard to return to the hell that was their previous fall.
He’d lived through months of his daughter’s anger and silence, and he’d genuinely believed they’d turned a corner.
Wishful thinking on his part.
He should have realized it was a honeymoon period.
Leave it to Lena to fuck things up.
While the pizza dough was rising, Mila and Sadie chopped the green peppers, onions, and mushrooms, discussing their favorite toppings.
Boone chimed in whenever they asked him a question, otherwise, he simply sat and listened to them chat. Between his hand, Sadie being pissed at him, and this unending internal battle he continued to wage over his feelings for Mila, he was too out of sorts to be good company.
Once the pizza prep was over, Mila and Sadie went to her bedroom to work on the scarves they were crocheting for the underprivileged.
Boone was usually at work during this time, so it was interesting to see the routine Mila and Sadie seemed to have established.
They talked too quietly for Boone to hear them from the living room, though he picked up bits and pieces, mainly Sadie talking about her school day.
He didn’t know if his daughter was filling Mila in on his perceived unfairness over not letting her miss school.
Part of him suspected if Sadie did, Mila would be on his side because—unlike Lena, who said she’d help with homework but never followed through—Mila was never too busy to tutor his daughter in history and science, or proofread a paper she’d written.
Boone had turned on the TV, though he kept the volume low, uninterested in the repeat of a sitcom he’d seen a million times.
Eventually, Mila and Sadie returned to the kitchen, and he followed in their wake, watching as the two of them rolled out a crust for each of them. Mila covered the crusts with her delicious-smelling sauce and cheese, then he and Sadie each decorated their own before popping them into the oven.
Boone refilled all the drinks as Sadie set the table. Dinner had been quite lively and fun the past few weeks, but tonight, it seemed neither he nor Sadie could kick their foul moods, so it fell to Mila to keep the conversation rolling.
As soon as the table was cleared, Sadie excused herself to go do her homework. Mila wiped the counter, then turned.
“I’m going to head out.”
The two of them usually had a drink on the couch after dinner, and despite the fact he was probably coming across like a bear with a thorn stuck in his paw, Boone didn’t like the idea of her skipping out early.
“Stay for a drink.” As always, he intended his words to be an invitation, not a demand.
Yeah. So much for that.
Of course, it hadn’t escaped his notice that Mila responded better to the demands. “Are you sure? If your hand is hurting—”
She was blaming his bad mood on pain. “It’s not.
My hand is fine. I took a couple ibuprofen earlier, and they’ve kicked in.
” Rather than wait for her to respond, he walked to the fridge to pull out the wine she’d been drinking.
Filling her glass, then pouring one for himself, he gestured toward the couch.
Mila took the glass, thanking him as she walked to what had become their usual spots. Each of the three weeks prior, he’d made sure to keep a proper distance between them, but tonight, he was feeling contrary and ornery enough to shrink it.
So much for learning from his fucking mistakes.
“Is everything okay?” Mila asked. “Did you and Sadie have a fight?”
“Lena called this afternoon. She’s going to be in Virginia in March and wants to see Sadie.”
“Oh. That’s cool. Sadie has been chomping at the bit to show her mom the farm and—”
Boone cut her off. “She’s staying in Williamsburg with her sister, so we’re meeting halfway, and Sadie will visit her there.”
“Does Sadie not want to go?” Mila asked, clearly confused. “I got the impression she and her mom were close.”
Boone didn’t even know how to reply to that.
He was sure Sadie did think she and Lena were close, but that was only because the relationship they shared had always been like this, with Lena making time for Sadie when it was convenient for her.
Since moving to Florida, that had been reduced to Lena calling or FaceTiming once every couple of weeks and the way-too-occasional visits.
“They are,” he lied, not wanting Sadie to overhear what he really thought about her relationship with Lena.
He’d decided a long time ago he needed to love his daughter more than he despised his ex.
While it was sometimes difficult to temper his tone, especially today, when Lena had gone out of her way to push all his buttons, he thought he’d done a decent job of following through when it came to hiding his true feelings for Lena.
“The problem is, Lena wanted to take her out of school for a week.”
Mila’s wince proved Boone right. “That’s a long time. Wouldn’t Sadie miss a lot?”
“That’s what I said, which is why I agreed to only let her miss two days. I’ll drive her down on Wednesday after work and pick her up on Sunday.”
“That sounds fair enough,” Mila said.
Boone chucked mirthlessly. “Tell that to my daughter.”
Mila grinned. “Given a choice, kids will always choose to miss more school.”
“True. But as you can see, I’m currently the villain, a role I’m getting damn tired of playing.”
“I don’t see a villain. Just a good father. Give yourself a break, Boone. You’re doing terrific with Sadie.”
He was grateful for her words, unaware until she spoke them just how much he needed to hear that.
Mila twisted on the couch to face him more fully. “Take it from me, divorce isn’t easy on kids.”
Boone frowned, confused, because it sounded like she was talking from experience.
He’d learned from Maverick that Mila’s parents had been killed in a car accident.
Since Mila had never mentioned her folks, that was all he knew about them.
Regardless, he wasn’t sure how to broach the subject, in case it was hard for her to talk about.
Mila saved him from having to try. “My parents were in the midst of getting a divorce when they were killed in a car accident.”
Jesus.
As he looked into Mila’s pretty brown eyes, he saw the compassion she felt for him and Sadie, despite how much she’d suffered herself.
His heart swelled and broke at the same time.
He’d known Mila Storm was dangerous, but he didn’t realize just how much.