“You mean you have food in your house?” he asked with astonishment, then picked her up and placed her beside him and out of his path to the kitchen.
Darcy stood where he had placed her for a moment, shocked. Had he really just picked her up and moved her out of his way? She wanted to laugh out loud for some reason. No man had ever felt so at ease with her, so familiar that he would do something like that. She felt a warm glow form somewhere inside her despite the realization that she shouldn’t let him man-handle her like that.
Then she saw him about to open the refrigerator. “Please don’t do that,” she called out, racing for the oven. “Please,” she whispered.
“What’s in the oven?” he asked sharply. He looked around the kitchen. “Where’s the romantic place settings?”
Michael tried to tamp down the feeling of rage. She was having another man over for dinner!
Then he saw the list on the refrigerator. He normally didn’t read other people’s refrigerator lists, but the ‘sky diving’ line caught his attention. He pulled it out from under the magnet and started reading the lists. “What’s this about?” he asked, curious.
Darcy tried to pull the list out of his hands but he just lifted it higher and, since he was so tall, she couldn’t reach it. In a whispered voice, she explained, “That’s my to-do list. I’m going to do every single thing on that list, thanks to your advice.”
Michael read all the items, raising his eyebrows at some, smiling slightly at others. It wasn’t until he came to the last item that his rage reappeared. “Who is he Darcy?”
Darcy was taken aback. “Who is who?”
He turned the list around, pointing to the last item on the list. “Who’s they guy? Who are you cooking for? What’s all this about?” he waived his arms at her cozy kitchen filled with new furniture and curtains and the smell of something wonderful cooking in the oven.
Darcy squinted as she read the last item. “What’s wrong with my list?” She read the words, wishing she had her glasses. Then she remembered what she’d written. ‘fall in love’ was the last thing she’d added. Her face turned red and she glanced down at the tile floor. “That’s just something I added on a lark,” she whispered.
He didn’t believe her. “Who is he? Don’t you know office romances are frowned upon?” he said, moving closer.
His words sparked a fire in her eyes. “Is that why you keep kissing me?” she asked, pushing against his chest again. She wanted to hit him but was afraid she’d hurt herself more than she’d hurt him. He was so covered with muscles her measly punches would just bounce off him. “Is that why you keep butting into my business?”
“You bring the remains of your last date into the office, you’re always leaving the office at night so you can rush off to some secret place, you have a new car, you’re trying all these new things and putting yourself in danger and now you’re cooking a romantic dinner on a Saturday night. Who is he, Darcy? Give me his name.”
She crossed her hands over her chest and stood her ground, not willing to be intimidated by his anger or his superior height. “I’m not giving you anything. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I haven’t had a date in months.”
“Then why were you cooking quiche the other night? Where do you go every night after work? What are you cooking tonight?”
Darcy didn’t want to admit she was cooking for herself. It was too embarrassing knowing that he probably had beautiful women throwing themselves at him while she cooked large meals, just to bring them in for her co-workers. “I don’t answer to you,” she said, tossing her head back to stare up at him.
“Oh, yeah?” he said softly, taking a step closer. “Yeah!” she repeated, standing her ground and trying to convince herself that she wasn’t nervous.
“Well, you’d better change your attitude because you definitely do report to me. I can make it a direct report if you’re not careful,” he said, moving closer.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said, but even she could hear the quiver in her voice.
“Who is he Darcy?” he demanded quietly.
His face wouldn’t give an inch and Darcy slowly lost the battle of wills. “No one,” she whispered.
She saw the surprise on his face, then the disbelief. “Don’t believe me. What do I care?” she said and stepped around him as the buzzer went off.
Putting on her oven mitts, she opened the oven door and then gasped. “Oh no!” she said and stepped back as the cloud of black smoke filled the small kitchen. A moment later, the smoke detector in the kitchen went off, followed by three others as the smoke slowly filled the house.
“Open the windows!” she called to Michael who was already moving to shut off the smoke alarms.
Once all the windows in the house were opened and there was silence again, Darcy looked at the charred remains of her soufflé. “What happened?” she asked, discouraged by her first complete cooking failure.
Michael came back into the kitchen after turning off the smoke detectors. He walked up beside her and stared at the black casserole dish. “Hmmm…what was it supposed to be?” he asked, happy now that whatever she had been cooking for some other man was ruined.
Darcy shrugged and tried to appear non-challant as she tried to hide the tears welling up behind her eyes. “Cheese soufflé,” she said softly.
Michael glanced over at Darcy and noticed the tears she refused to let fall. “Is he that important?” he asked, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat and the rage that threatened to overwhelm him.
Darcy picked up the casserole dish and set it in the sink, letting water pour over the mess. “You keep referring to someone but I’m not sure why. Who do you think I’m cooking for?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.” Her shoulders slumped and she leaned against the counter. “No one. I made a cheese soufflé just to see if I could do it. Obviously I can’t yet.”
Michael watched her delicate shoulders as they shook with the effort to control her emotions. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss away this discouragement, but he knew she was off limits to him. He couldn’t help being around her though. “Can I take you out to dinner to make up for it?” he asked.