Chapter 14
14
Lainey opened the door and burst out laughing. She couldn’t even see Matt’s face, what with the bouquet of pink, yellow, orange, red and white Gerber daisies in front of his face.
“I think you went a tad bit overboard,” Lainey said when she could catch her breath.
Matt peeked around the bouquet. “It’s just some daisies.”
“Come on in. I’ll see what kind of container I can find for the world’s largest bouquet. You had to have paid some Annapolis florist’s mortgage this month.”
She hustled her way to the kitchen, trying to think of something big enough to house at least three dozen flowers. She couldn’t help but take in the other six flower arrangements that graced her living and dining room. That didn’t even count the beautiful stargazer lilies that she had by her bedside. Thank God she wasn’t allergic!
She heard Matt chuckle as he walked behind her. “I think I might have gone a little overboard.”
“Ya’ think?”
Lainey fished out a pitcher that she used to serve iced tea and started filling it with water. She pulled out her vinegar from a cupboard and her sugar, then put a little of each into the pitcher.
“That’s ingenious,” Matt complimented. “The sugar will give the flowers nutrients and the vinegar is basically an antibacterial agent. How did you know to do that?”
Lainey shrugged. “It’s just what our housekeeper always did at home. She said it kept the flowers fresh. You, being a chemist, would know all the details. I just know to do it.” She set the daisies on the kitchen island.
“I love the smell around here. Thank you, Matt. But you didn’t need to go to all this trouble.”
She watched as his cheeks flushed.
“Yeah, I did. I acted like an ass. It wasn’t just the presentation that had me leaving so abruptly.”
Lainey leaned back against her kitchen counter and crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t say. Care to enlighten me?”
“I’ve never been on a date with a woman like you before. It was disconcerting.”
She didn’t respond. He was going to have to do better than that.
“You specifically made cookies I would like. You were easy to talk to about anything. I found you… I mean, I find you immensely attractive.” He stopped talking.
Lainey waited a little longer, but he didn’t continue. She knew men like Matt, but he had to be one of the worst cases she’d ever met. Talk about not being in touch with your feelings!
“Are you saying that last Saturday night when you bolted, you realized you liked me? I mean, really liked me?”
She watched as his eyes widened. “Yes. That’s it exactly.”
“And that scared you?”
He straightened up to his full height and his presence seemed to get larger. “No, I wasn’t scared. I’m saying this all wrong. It was disconcerting,” he said again.
Lainey struggled to keep a straight face.
“Is it because you’re a scientist? Did you need to maybe take some time and analyze what was happening?”
At first, he frowned, then she watched as a slow grin spread across his face.
“Yes, that’s it. And you’re right, I needed time to think about what was happening.”
“Did you figure it out?”
“I did. I realized I liked you more than other women. I realized I really wanted to date you again. But then I realized I had totally fucked up. So, I talked to my friend Kostya’s wife. She suggested I send you flowers.”
Lainey bit her lip. “Flowers, huh?”
Matt nodded.
“A bouquet?”
“She said, based on my level of fuck-up, I should send a big bouquet. So, I figured big and more would be best.”
Lainey rolled her eyes. “When I studied to be a banker, I had to take a lot of math classes. Did you know that?”
“No, but that makes sense.”
“Do you know who else takes math classes?” Lainey asked.
“Bankers?”
Lainey could barely keep a straight face.
“Engineers. I think scientists and engineers are a lot alike. You’re going to have to loosen up, Matt.” She pushed away from the island and took the four steps necessary to stand in front of him. “I think you need a hug.”
“God, yes. I could really use a hug about now.”
How in the hell was he channeling his brother Luis so well? Mateo was laid back. He was not a stick-up-his-ass engineer/scientist type of guy. He was a take risks kind of guy—well, that wasn’t totally true. He would follow a plan down to the letter if necessary.
This whole thing was just plain weird.
But he sure as hell would take a hug. Especially from Lainey. When she didn’t make a move toward him, his blood heated. He liked the idea of taking charge. He really liked that.
He reached out and lightly touched her waist. She stood still, then he stroked down until his hand curled around her hip, and his other hand moved around her back and he took a step forward, so that his leg was between hers.
He pulled her in and brought her chest to breast.
God, she was soft, in all the right places.
Then she did something wonderful. Lainey wrapped her arms around him, then rested her cheek against his chest and sighed. He could read so many things into that sigh, and he did. Enjoyment, relaxation, but as she snuggled closer, he felt a wave of contentment coming from her that settled back to him. How long had it been since he had felt the beauty and comfort of a genuine hug?
Too long.
His arms spasmed and she let out a whimper. He immediately relaxed his hold, worried that he had held her too tight.
“No,” she breathed out the word. “Don’t let me go.”
Where was this coming from?
He didn’t care. All he knew was he needed this. Long moments went by. Then Lainey tipped her head back, and he looked into blue eyes that now seemed navy. Her lips were parted, and now he wanted that kiss they’d talked about the other night. He needed that kiss.
His hand drifted up and threaded through her lush hair as he cupped her head and tilted it so that she was at the perfect angle for his first taste. When his lips brushed against hers, once, then twice, his eyes closed and the essence of Lainey burst through his senses. He needed more. Slowly, he licked against the seam of her lips. She opened for his tongue and he entered the heated cavern of her mouth.
He groaned as he tasted something better than any dessert he’d ever experienced. Lainey’s tongue tangled with his as his other hand drifted down to cup her bottom, loving the round, soft bounty of this sexy woman.
Lainey’s whimper was masked by his mouth, but the way she rubbed herself against him, he knew she was just as lost in the kiss as he was. Mateo felt the bite of her nails on his sides and he broke off the kiss as he grinned.
“Mmmh mmmh,” she protested. But he wasn’t done. He was only starting. He peppered kisses down along her jaw, to the back of her neck, until he softly bit, then laved her earlobe. Lainey went lax in his arms.
“Oh God. Again.”
He grinned, then moved to her other ear. Then moved back to the slick beauty of her lips. There was just so much to enjoy. He heard Lainey humming against his mouth. It was a constant buzz that just told him how much she was reveling — “Matt,” she pushed at his chest, as she broke away from his kiss.
“Hmmm?”
“The timer.”
He frowned. Then he heard it. How in the fuck had he missed it? Jesus! How had he missed the timer going off? What in the fuck was wrong with him?
“The empanadas are done. I don’t want them to overcook.”
“Empanadas?”
“Yeah, beef and cheese. Plus, I have cabonada in the crock pot. I didn’t follow that recipe exactly. I didn’t make it with beef since we were having the beef empanadas. But I did some taste testing, and I think it’s okay.”
Mateo felt his eyes widen. “I thought I was taking you out to dinner.”
“After the fourth bouquet arrived, I decided to cook.” Lainey laughed as he followed her into the kitchen. It smelled like heaven. Almost as good as having Lainey in his arms.
Almost.
She cooked, baked, wanted to help the disenfranchised, and graduated with honors. What the hell wasn’t she good at?
He watched as she pulled the empanadas out of the oven. The crust was a perfect golden brown. She then fished out two hollowed-out small pumpkins and put them on plates.
“I was supposed to heat these up, but I figured that with the heat of the stew, that they’ll heat up just fine. I also bought some fresh bread from my favorite bakery. Do you mind setting the table?”
“Hell no. I’d feel better doing something than having you wait on me.”
She smiled. She nodded to a drawer. “Silverware is in there, and I just use paper towels for napkins.”
“Since that’s my SOP, I think I can handle it.”
“SOP? What does that stand for?”
“Standard Operating Procedure.”
“Huh, that sounds almost military.”
Mateo inwardly winced.
Focus!
“My friend Jase was in the Navy. Now he works construction and plays on our soccer team. I must have picked that up from him.” He eyed the paper towel holder under the cabinets next to the crock pot. The crock pot was plugged into an extension cord with multiple outlets. So was her coffee maker, blender, food processor and toaster oven. They weren’t plugged into the outlet that was right there on the wall.
It was a long extension cord. It wound all along the bottom of the wall, going past the sink, until it was plugged into a socket ten feet away, past two other sockets. At least he was ninety-nine percent sure the cord was, since it was covered by silver duct tape.
What the everloving hell?
“Lainey?”
“Yeah?” She didn’t look up from where she was plating the empanadas.
“What’s with the extension cord?”
“Oh, a lot of the electric plugs are broken, so I figured out a workaround.”
Hmmmm.
She finished putting the last empanada on the serving plate, and he was almost drooling. Still, the extension cord. That was just too weird to let go.
“Why not call maintenance?”
“I called maintenance three times. Every time they fixed it, it would last for two or three days, but then it would break again. When I called the fourth time for them to replace them, they said they were working fine. He sounded really exasperated, so I didn’t ask him to come the fourth time. Then I figured out my solution.”
Lainey’s grin was like a beam of sunshine. Mateo couldn’t look away.
“I got an extension cord with multiple outlets, like we use at work, and plugged it into one of the outlets way over here. That one never broke.”
She pointed to the outlet on the other side of the kitchen, with very little counter space.
“I was kind of scared of getting water on the cord, so I used waterproof duct tape and taped it with two layers. It’s really safe,” she assured him.
Mateo glanced at the ‘broken’ outlets and saw the two white test and reset buttons between the outlets.
This couldn’t be real. He went over and tugged at the duct tape. Yep. It was stuck like glue.
He bit his lip.
Well, at least now he knew what she couldn’t do.
“Honey, can you come here a moment?”
“I’m prepping the pumpkin gourds for the stew. Can you hold on?”
“I’ll try.”
He bit his lip harder.
Don’t laugh. Do. Not. Laugh.
He watched as she washed her hands and brought one plate with the pumpkin bowl over to the counter where he was leaning. “Okay, I’m here. Did you want to show me something.?”
“Maintenance never showed you how they fixed the outlets, did they?”
She shook her head as she nudged him out of the way so she could start ladling the stew out of the crock pot and into the pumpkin bowl.
“Honey, can you hold on for a minute? I think I can show you how they fixed it.”
She stopped ladling and turned to him, her eyes bright and excited. “Really? I YouTube'd and everything, but they just showed me pictures of the electrical backing of the surface of the outlet, you know? I figured that’s how they fixed it, but it was too much for me. If you could show me how to fix it, that’d be wonderful.”
God, he hated to do this. She was going to feel so dumb.
“Okay. See this bottom button that’s popped out?” Lainey nodded. “It’s the reset button. Just press it until you hear a click. Now the outlet is operational again.”
“It’s that easy?” Lainey’s eyes were enormous. “Oh my God, that’s wonderful! I mean, the extension cord was working, but getting to use all the outlets instead is great. Do you think this will work for the one in my bathroom too?”
Mateo chuckled. He couldn’t help himself. How in the hell could such a competent woman be so damned inept? “Is there duct tape involved in the bathroom, too?”
“Yep.” She grinned. “You do not know how excited I am. You’re getting two more homemade meals for this.”
He gazed into her excited blue eyes and felt ten feet tall, all for pressing a button. “Calm down, Lainey, this is not homemade meal worthy. Anybody could have done this.”
She giggled. “Obviously not anybody. Now grab the paper towels and set the table so I can bring out the food before it gets cold. I don’t think we want to microwave the empanadas.”
“That would be sacrilege.”
“So, hustle up.”
Mateo opened his mouth to say, ‘aye aye,’ then closed it at the last second.
Dammit, there was just something about Lainey that threw him off his game. Maybe it was because deep down he knew she couldn’t have anything to do with the Kraken. It was just impossible.