Home To You by Robin Kaye Page A

can move back to Harmony just as soon as I give my landlord notice and pack my apartment.” Her eyes sparkled, her face glowed, and she wore a natural smile. It looked good on her. Really good. “I can make my own decisions. I no longer have to live up to David’s conditions. I have options. I can find a new job, try to get a small-business loan to open my own counseling center, or both. I’m a hard worker.”
    “Sounds as if you accomplished a lot on your hike.”
    She shrugged and grabbed the strips of beef she’d sliced, and what she told him was fresh ginger and garlic, and added them to the pan, tossing the contents wildly but with surprising accuracy. Nothing landed outside the pan—amazing. The place smelled like heaven. The next thing he knew, she poured a soy-sauce mixture into the pan. She stirred a good shot of sherry into a cup, mixing in the same white powder she’d rubbed into the steak,and then poured the cloudy mixture into the pan. Within a few minutes, the sauce had thickened and the food she put on the serving plate looked like it could have come out of his favorite Chinese restaurant, the one his sister lived above on Mott Street in the center of New York’s Chinatown.
    Kendall carried the rice and the stir-fry to the table, sat, and reached for his plate. She piled the food onto both dishes without even asking.
    “Thanks. This looks delicious.”
    “You’re welcome.” She shrugged as she took a bite and looked like one of those food judges on the cooking channel. “You watched me throw it together. It’s not difficult.”
    “Not for you. For me, it would be almost impossible.” He took a bite and almost groaned.
    She held up her fork. “I guess I could stay with Addie or my parents until I find a place of my own.”
    “You could stay here for as long as you want. You know, cooking in lieu of rent. I don’t know about you, but this is definitely working for me.”
    He could tell from the look she shot him and the fake laugh that she didn’t believe him. “I’m serious. But if it’s not something you’d consider—”
    “I think my parents would have a hard time with my moving from David’s place to yours—even if we’re only friends. They’re a little old-fashioned. No one would believe a woman and a man could live together as platonic roommates unless one of them was gay—which I’m pretty sure is not the case here. And this is a very small town.”
    He was well aware of that and he was definitely not gay, but he saw her point. It didn’t mean he liked it. Evenhe had to admit that if she were rooming with Jaime, Jax wouldn’t believe they weren’t sleeping together. Just the thought of it made his head ache.
    What straight guy wouldn’t want to have Kendall in his bed? Well, except for him. Not that he didn’t want Kendall in every way humanly possible, and he spent a hell of a long time imagining all the ways he’d take her. Yeah, wanting her was never the issue; deserving her was.
    Kendall deserved way better than a man like David, the narcissistic prick, and she deserved better than a man like Jax. She deserved a man with all his cylinders firing. He might not deserve her, but he could help her, couldn’t he? “Doesn’t the guy who owns this place have about a half dozen other cabins he rents out? I would think he’d give you a screamin’ deal on a rental.”
    She took a sip of her wine and looked at him over the rim shaking her head. “Oh no. There’s no way I’d ever ask a favor of Jackson Sullivan. No, I’m going to do this on my own.”
    Jax refilled her wineglass and wondered what the hell he’d done to make her dislike him so damn much. “You know, Kendall, no matter what you say, I hardly think he’d be doing you a favor. How many of those cottages does he have rented out all year?”
    “None. They rent in the summer, and the same families come year in and year out.”
    “Well, it’s a long time until summer. And if you were to rent one, it