The American Roommate Experiment (Spanish Love Deception #2)(18)

He smiled, and once more it was big and happy and… trouble. So much trouble, I seemed to realize as I stared at those lips of his. I was in sticky, up-to-my-knees trouble if he really planned to flash that smile like it was nothing.

“So, how’s your dad?” he asked again, offering the platter of sautéed rice.

Taking it from him, I served myself a big spoonful. “He’s okay. He has a bad hip. He tripped on one of the creepy yard gnomes he loves so much.” I let out a soft snort. “But luckily, he’s fine. Just a little sore. It could have been so much worse. The gnome was the only casualty.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Rosie.”

I was, too. And for some reason, I doubted Lucas had said it just to be polite.

“Thank you, Lucas.” Looking to occupy myself with something that wasn’t his face, I reached for a slice of bread and brought it straight to my mouth. “Oh my gosh.” I pretty much moaned the moment I tasted the first bite. “What did you do to these peppers? They taste—Whoa. They’re amazing.”

“I caramelized them with red onions and a few spices I found in Lina’s cupboard.” He winked, biting into his slice, too. “The rest of the groceries I bought with my change and some of what you gave me.” His expression turned hesitant. “Rosie, I feel like I owe you—”

“Don’t worry about it, okay?” I told him before he could even try to explain himself. “I’m more than okay lending you a few bucks until you get your replacement. You don’t know anyone in the city and it’s really the least I can do. Plus, you’ve invited me to eat.” I gestured at the absolutely moan-worthy feast he had served. “So, I hardly see how this isn’t a good deal for me.” I spooned some of that gooey and shiny Feta cheese onto my plate. “I’d do outrageous things for cheese like this.”

“I’ll make sure to remember that. For next time.”

Next time. Did that mean—

No. It was just something people said.

He continued, “Cooking—followed by eating what I cook—is one of the very few pleasures capable of taking my mind off things when I’m having an off day.”

I readjusted the napkin on my lap and returned all my focus to my food. “I can really see why, Lucas,” I told him, keeping myself from asking about the off day and assuming he was talking about last night’s mess.

“So, Rosie,” Lucas said after a couple of minutes. “I’ve heard all about how you and Lina met and I’m going to be honest, I’ve been dying to hear your version of the events.”

Frowning, I sneaked a quick glance at him. That big, distracting smile was there again. Dammit. I returned my gaze to my plate. “My version of the events? We met during Intro Week at InTech.”

“Oh, that’s so not what Lina has been telling around.” He chuckled, and it was low and deep and… knowing. “You’re kind of a legend back home.”

“A legend?”

“Yeah, it’s not every day that a kind soul pulls my cousin out of the way of an escaped horse and saves her life.”

“A what?”

And just like that, the events he was referring to flashed through my mind and the only logical response to them was triggered.

A genuine deep belly laugh burst out of me.

“That’s what Lina told everyone?” I asked, and Lucas nodded. “Unbelievable. Well, actually, I should have expected that from Lina.”

“You’re telling me my very low-key, absolutely not-dramatic cousin embellished a little?” He laughed. “You know, she even describes in terrifying detail how her life flashed before her eyes.” He tilted his head. “All of it before opening them and finding her green-eyed guardian angel standing before her.”

I scoffed. “I guess that explains why your grandmother cried when we met.”

Without taking his gaze off me, Lucas pushed the cheese platter in my direction. “Are you really telling me, then, that there was no horse dramatically rearing?” When I didn’t serve myself, he reached out and spooned a piece onto my plate. “No you swooping in and saving her life?”

“Well,” I said, watching him retrieve his hands with a satisfied look. “Are you familiar with the horse carriages in Central Park?”

Lucas nodded, reaching for one of the last slices of roasted bread.

“They are mostly for tourists, or the occasional grand gesture date, which is a little… unoriginal, if you ask me. I have nothing against gestures, of course. But romance—big, grand gestures—should be about something personal. Well thought out, like—”

Our gazes met again, bringing my words to a stop when I spotted the amusement in his eyes.

“Anyway.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Don’t ask me how, but one of the horses was loose and marching across Central Park at the slowest pace known to… well, horses. Enter Lina, headphones on, clearly lost, looking at Google Maps app on her phone.” Only later, I had learned my best friend had no sense of direction. “That same morning, I had seen her spill a pot of coffee on someone’s pants, so I knew her basic reflexes weren’t exactly super sharp.”

Lucas snickered. “Oh, definitely not her forte.”

“Right?” I chuckled. “Anyway, I yelled for her to watch out, and when she didn’t move, I just went and pulled her out of the way.”