Chapter 7
Killian
The next day, Celani’s normally chatty personality is more subdued. She doesn’t come downstairs at her normal time in the morning, and I finally make my way upstairs to her room to make sure that she’s ok.
I knock on the door before cracking it open and find her room is still wrapped in darkness. She gives me a muffled response when I call out her name saying that she is about to get up, so I reluctantly close the door and pace at the bottom of the stairs for her.
Once she finishes eating breakfast, she tells me she has no plans to go into the city for any errands or shopping today.
She spends most of the day watching cooking shows in the living room while I get some work done on my laptop.
I steal glances at her in between emails, and see her engrossed in her shows, taking notes on the recipes.
Around 4pm, she starts rifling through her fridge and pantry for ingredients listed on a piece of paper she keeps looking at on the island. I watch her as she gets busy chopping vegetables, and preparing chicken before everything goes into the oven.
She turns on some music and gets busy cleaning while the pot on the stove simmers. It feels odd not having her talking my ears off today, or showing me any new recipes she wrote down from her shows. But I give her the space she needs, not wanting to push her into any conversation.
She’s putting together a salad when her phone rings. She glares at the screen for a long moment before finally picking it up.
“Yes?” she answers dryly.
She stares out of the kitchen window and gives a few mumbled responses before sighing. “Right. I’ll see you whenever you’re home then,” she says, before hanging up.
Her head turns towards the stove and she looks at the pot sitting there. Her eyes find mine and I hold her gaze as she walks over to me and gives me a tired smile.
“Would you like to have dinner with me tonight, Killian?”
Her words take a moment to register in my brain, and I tilt my head at her.
“Dinner? With you?” I ask dumbly, as if I’ve forgotten basic comprehension skills.
The corner of her mouth lifts and her eyes light up for the first time all day.
“Yes, dinner together. Pierce said he has some emergency meeting at work, so he won’t be here until late and they are ordering in food,” she explains, motioning over to the food on the stove. “It’s just some Italian chicken and garlic mashed potatoes. If you don’t want to I totally understand-“
“Yes,” I cut in, standing up. “Let me just update my team, and then I’ll help you get everything together.”
She nods. “Ok. You can get us something to drink and I’ll plate the food. Just grab whatever you’d like from the fridge and I’ll have the same.”
I tap my watch and quickly update my team, and then carry out my task getting us both soda, then take the glasses into her dining room. I set our glasses next to each other at the table and stand by her seat waiting as she walks in with our plates.
She smiles at me as she sets them down, and whispers a ‘thank you’ when I pull out her chair for her to sit down.
“I hope you like it,” she says, looking nervous as she picks up her fork.
“I know I will,” I say, waiting for her to take her first bite before I have mine.
I take a bite of the chicken and close my eyes as the flavors dance around enthusiastically in my mouth.
“Good?” she asks, sounding uncertain.
I swallow and nod. “More than good. It’s amazing, Celani. Really,” I respond.
She smiles shyly and goes back to eating her food while I try not to shovel all of mine down too fast.
We eat quietly and I try not to glance over at her too much. I thought that it would be strange sitting here with her at the same place she and Pierce probably share a meal together most nights, but it feels like we’ve done this a million times.
When we finish, I insist on taking care of the dishes just like I did the last time we ate breakfast at her island together. She cleans up the leftovers and wipes down the counters until everything is back in place.
I dry my hands and look around the kitchen, unsure what she will want me to do next. Normally by this time I’m back in the guest house eating with the rest of my team. I prepare myself for her to tell me our time together is over, and that she wants to be alone.
But instead she comes over to me and gives me a crooked smile.
“How about we take a walk?” she asks, fidgeting with her necklace.
My heartbeat picks up but I keep my expression neutral. “Of course. Would you like me to call Asher? We can drive you to the park,” I suggest.
She looks out of the large kitchen windows and shakes her head. “No, I just want to walk here on the property with you. I mean..if you don’t mind walking with me?”
The thought of spending more time alone with her has me moving to grab my jacket before she can even finish her sentence.
“Of course. Let’s go.”