Juniper Hill (The Edens #2)(32)

“Are you heading home? Or can you stick around for a while?”

Home was the right choice, but all that waited for me in the loft was laundry and his hated blue-box macaroni and cheese. “Um . . . stick?”

“Good. Come on.”

“What about the candy dish?”

Knox grabbed a handful of bars, grinned and nodded for me to follow.

I fought a smile and walked with him through the lobby, waving at Eloise as she waved back, hanging up the phone to return to her post by the door.

“It’s so quiet in here,” I said as we walked through Knuckles. All but one table was empty.

“First snow. Halloween.” Knox pointed to a booth. “Take a seat. Be right back.”

“Okay.” I picked the table in the farthest corner in case Drake got fussy. Then I set him on my lap, bouncing him lightly and handing him a spoon to grasp in his chubby fist.

It was strange to sit at a table like I was an actual guest. With the exception of fast food drive-thrus on the trip to Montana, I hadn’t been out to eat since New York.

Knox’s menu had the perfect blend of lighter fare and heavy entrées. None of it was in my budget. Not even the McDonald’s dollar menu was in my budget. But that didn’t matter because Knox had been regularly dropping off meals.

He’d worked every night the past week so there’d been no cooking lessons or visits to his home. But each night, after dark, when Drake was sleeping and I was curled in bed, rereading one of the e-books I’d bought in my former life, Knox had stopped over on his way home.

The visits had been wordless. I’d see the flash of his headlights. I’d feel the vibration of the garage door open and close. I’d hear the thud of his footsteps on the steps.

Up, then down the staircase without a knock in between before he disappeared into his house.

The first night, I’d rushed to the door, wrapped in a blanket. He’d already been halfway across the driveway. One glance over his shoulder, then he’d nodded at the to-go container at my feet.

The first night, he’d brought chicken chili. The second, a stew with fresh bread. The list went on. Those meals gave me something to look forward to. Something warm and comforting to greet me at home.

The swinging door to the kitchen opened and he strode out with two plates, each loaded with what looked like pulled pork sandwiches. He set them down, one on my side, one on his, then slid into the booth.

“You looked hungry.” He popped a french fry in his mouth.

“You don’t have to feed me.”

He shrugged. “I tweaked my barbeque sauce recipe. Give me your honest opinion and we’ll call it square.”

My stomach growled, and I shifted Drake to pick up the sandwich. The first bite was . . . incredible. I closed my eyes, savoring the smoky sweetness, and let out a moan. “Wow.”

Knox’s gaze was locked on my lips. His jaw was clenched.

“Sorry,” I whispered.

“You’re apologizing for eating?”

No, I’d apologized for the moan. I had ears. I knew how it had sounded. The last thing we needed was more sexual tension.

“Don’t,” he ordered, shaking his head. “How was your day?”

“Good.” Up until daycare pickup, it had been fine. “There weren’t many rooms to clean today and the other housekeeper wanted to head home early so it was just me.”

“It’ll probably be quiet for a couple more weeks until Thanksgiving. I bet you could take a few days off if you wanted.”

“That’s okay.” I needed the hours. “I’ve been thinking about something.”

“Yeah?”

“Last week, you said I could stay. I’d like to until spring, if that’s okay.” The idea of moving in the winter was daunting. Not that my apartment hunt had yielded any other possibilities.

“Like I said, stay as long as you need.”

Need, not want. I hadn’t realized it until just now, but he’d said need last week too. Not want. Need.

There was a difference. One that caused a stiffness to creep into my shoulders.

I set my sandwich down and sat a little taller. “Then I’d like to pay more rent.”

Knox chuckled.

“It’s not a joke.”

“I know it wasn’t a joke. But it’s unnecessary.”

“Your place is two hundred dollars cheaper a month than any other place I looked at.”

A crease formed between his eyebrows. “I thought you just looked at the one next to Willie’s.”

“I called a few more.”

Now it was his turn to put his sandwich down. “When?”

“Ever since I moved in. The loft was only supposed to be a temporary spot.”

“But you don’t need to move.”

There was that word again. Need. “Then let me pay more rent. Let me make it fair.”

“No. It’s fair already.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Knox scowled. “You wasting money is ridiculous. Save it. Spend it on a Halloween costume or whatever.”

I flinched and stared at Drake. Three of the cotton balls I’d glued onto his hat were coming apart. Maybe that was why Jill had bought a costume. Because she’d had no faith that I could make one on my own.