Cream Puff Murder (Hannah Swensen, #11)(77)

Hannah felt so good she almost skipped down the stairs. It was amazing how invigorated she felt after a full eight hours of sleep, and a massage in the surround shower. She burst into the kitchen, hoping that Norman had left some coffee in the pot for her, and stopped short as she saw that he was sitting at the kitchen table.

“Norman!” she said, completely surprised. “I thought you’d left by now.”

“And miss the chance to show off my cooking skills by making your breakfast?” Norman laughed and rose from his chair.

“But I can’t eat anything good.”

“You mean you can’t eat anything fattening,” Norman corrected her.

“Same thing.”

“No, it’s not. Hold on for a second and I’ll show you. Everything’s ready, and it’s in the warming oven. While I’m dishing it up, have some coffee. I just made it fresh, and your mug’s on the counter next to the coffeepot.”

Hannah honed in on the coffeepot and poured some coffee for herself. Then she took a seat at the table and hoped that what Norman had made for her wouldn’t irretrievably blow her diet. She was going to eat it, even if it meant she’d gain weight today. Having breakfast served to her in the morning was a real luxury. It made her feel special, and pampered. The clock on the kitchen wall read eight-thirty, and Hannah gave an exasperated sigh.

“What’s the matter?” Norman asked her.

“I really ought to call Andrea on her cell phone. I’m sure she’s wondering what happened to me.”

“No, she’s not. I talked to her last night when I walked her to her car, and she urged me to keep you here. Both of us agreed that you were too tired to drive home by yourself.”

“So Andrea knows I spent the night with you?” Hannah asked, a bit nervously.

“She knows you might have spent the night with me, but I told her that if you insisted on going home, I’d drive you there.”

“Oh.”

“So nobody knows, not even Michelle, because she stayed with your mother. You can say anything you like about where you spent the night, Hannah.”

Perhaps it was only her imagination, but Hannah thought that Norman looked a bit disappointed. Perhaps it was a guy thing, and it would be a blow to his ego if she lied about spending the night with him. “If anyone asks, I’m going to tell them exactly where I spent the night,” Hannah said, “unless you don’t want me to, that is.”

A smile spread over Norman’s face, and Hannah knew she was right. It was definitely a guy thing.

“Whatever you decide is fine with me,” Norman said, walking over to set the plate on the place mat in front of her.

Hannah glanced down at the plate. “A popover!” she said, and immediately, her mouth began to water. “It looks delicious.”

“That’s not all,” Norman told her. “Take off the top and see what’s inside.”

Hannah removed the top, which had been sliced off and then replaced, almost like one of her cream puffs. “Eggs. And bacon. And…” Hannah stopped and took another sniff. “Parmesan cheese?”

“That’s right. There’s a little freshly chopped parsley in there for color, too. You’ll see when you start to eat it. Do you want to know the calorie count?”

Hannah was almost afraid to ask, but obviously Norman had totaled it up. “Yes, I want to know. How many calories for the whole thing?”

“I’ll break it down for you. Seventy calories for the popover, one-ten for the egg, thirty-seven for one slice of crumbled bacon, and seven for the sprinkling of fresh parmesan. The parsley is negligible. That’s a grand total of under two hundred and twenty-five calories. And it’s good, isn’t it?”

“Mmmmph,” Hannah said, even though she could have swallowed and then answered his question.

Norman laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Hannah was amazed at how fast she ate the breakfast that Norman had prepared. It really was good, and she was hungry. When her plate was empty, she got up to refill their coffee cups and sat back down again. “That was the best breakfast I’ve had in a long time! You’re wonderful, Norman. You thought of everything to make me comfortable; my own sleep shirt, a fire in the bedroom fireplace, warm towels for my shower, a new toothbrush, and on top of it all, a gourmet breakfast. I could get used to being treated like this.”

“That’s the general idea.”

He was smiling at her in a way that let Hannah know he was about to say something about sharing their dream house again. It was time to change the subject unless she wanted to say yes. And she did…at least part of her did. But the other part still wasn’t sure she wanted to give up her independence. “I still can’t believe you went to all the trouble of figuring out the breakfast calories.”

“It wasn’t any trouble. I just looked up the ingredients online. There are a couple of Web sites with free calorie counters.”

“Well…thanks. I really appreciate it. The breakfast was great, and the shower was heavenly, and the towels were splendid, and your bed is magnificent. I think I got the best night’s sleep I’ve had in years!”

“Under any other circumstances that last comment might not be a compliment.”

Hannah laughed. And then she blushed slightly. It was best to change the subject again. “What are your plans for today?”