Moonlight Over Manhattan(39)

He wished he’d thought this through more carefully before asking Harriet to move in.

“My day was busy.” He threw his coat over the back of the nearest chair, trying to work out the best way to handle this. “I see you’re all settled in.”

Madi uncurled herself and trotted across to greet him, tail wagging.

He’d returned home to a woman cooking in his kitchen, and a dog.

He hadn’t seen so much domesticity in one place since the last time he’d been home to visit his parents. And that had been a while.

“She’s been good today, but she’s been glued to my side for most of it.” Harriet lifted the lid off the blue pot and stirred.

Ethan lost his train of thought. Whatever she was stirring smelled fantastic.

His mouth watered and his stomach reminded him he hadn’t eaten since lunchtime.

“I wasn’t expecting you to cook. You didn’t have to do that.”

She glanced at him, puzzled. “Excuse me?”

He decided to be honest. “Look, I appreciate the whole ‘homemaking’ thing, but that wasn’t part of the agreement we had. Your job is to look after the dog, that’s all. Not me. I’m not part of the deal here.”

“The deal?”

“You only need to feed the dog. I could have been late and then the wonderful meal you’ve spent hours creating would have been ruined.”

Comprehension dawned. Understanding was swiftly followed by annoyance.

There was a little flare of anger in her eyes. The same anger he’d seen the day he’d shouted at Madi. “You think I did this for you?”

“Didn’t you?”

There was a pause, and he had the feeling she was choosing her words carefully.

“I’m cooking because, believe it or not, I have to eat. I have a physical job and I work long hours, often outdoors in the cold. I need fuel. And I mean real fuel, not the nutrition-free takeout food you live on that is loaded with salt, sugar and not much else.” She turned away and put the spoon down on the saucer, slowly and carefully, as if she was having to fight hard not to throw it at him. “And when we made our ‘agreement,’ it didn’t occur to me that I wouldn’t be allowed to use your kitchen. I’m new to the rules of dog sitting, but I was assuming I could treat your home as my own for the duration of the job.”

Realizing he’d made a huge mistake Ethan made what was intended to be a placatory gesture, but she wasn’t looking. “Of course you’re allowed to use my kitchen. That’s not—”

“That’s not, what?” She turned swiftly. “That’s not what you meant? Then what did you mean? What’s the problem?”

The problem was that he should have kept his big mouth shut. Again. “I may have misread the situation.”

“May have? Just to clarify, you thought I was turning this into some sort of romantic evening with you in the starring role, is that right?”

Definitely should have kept his mouth shut. “You mentioned that you were doing online dating, that’s all, and I thought—” Aware that he was making it worse, he stopped talking and she lifted an eyebrow.

“You thought? You thought I was desperate, is that right? You think you tick all the boxes if a woman is looking for a guy.”

If he’d thought he was in trouble before, he was in even bigger trouble now.

He was starting to understand why she was so good at dog training. That raised eyebrow alone made him want to take refuge in the crate.

“Harriet—”

“You’ve had your say, now it’s my turn.” She turned the heat off under the pot and lifted a deep bowl from the cabinet. “If you think me cooking myself something to eat in your apartment is a sign that I’m making a move on you, then you’ve definitely misread the situation.”

That was becoming abundantly clear. “Perhaps I should—”

“Firstly, I signed up for online dating not because I am desperate to meet a man but as part of Challenge Harriet. Between now and Christmas, I’m trying to challenge myself to do things I find difficult. Dating is something I find difficult. It’s about me, not you. Nothing to do with you.” She spooned the thick, fragrant casserole into the deep bowl and then carved herself a hunk of bread, the movements of the knife so vigorous that if he hadn’t already realized he’d upset her, he would have then. It made him relieved he had chosen to speak from a safe distance.

“If we could maybe—”

“Secondly, why would you assume this meal is for you? Women do cook for themselves you know. You think when we’re on our own we sob into a lonely bowl of cereal? This may come as a surprise, but cooking isn’t something we only do when there is a man around.” She took a plate and a spoon from one of his cupboards, added both to her tray with a clatter.

It was the most inviting, perfect-smelling, stomach teasing, tray of food he’d ever seen in his life.

Ethan had to stop himself ripping it from her hand.

“Thirdly,” she said, as she added a glass of water to the tray, “even if that part of Challenge Harriet hadn’t ended and I was still thinking of dating someone, you would be right at the bottom of my list.”

“Why?” He asked the question before he could stop himself.