Page 46 of Sinister Secrets

“Cassie?”

“Yeah?”

Altering course, I retreat back to the threshold. Jake’s eyes go wide as he scans me from top to bottom. Our gazes lock.

Crossing the distance between us in three long strides, his body crashes against mine, his hands grasping my backside, holding me hard against him as his lips devour mine. Maybe I could get used to wearing a skirt after all…

The front door slams closed just as Chelsea calls out, “Hi, honey, I’m home.”

I growl in frustration as Jake releases me. “I’ll get rid of her.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” he says. Nuzzling my neck, he whispers, “Later.”

But I don’t want to wait. I grit the inside of my cheek between my teeth, wondering how to conjure that whole “rip someone to shreds” look that Director Lopez was talking about. Do my best to level one at her.

She stops short as she enters the kitchen, taking a step back, her eyes going wide at what she sees in my face. Color floods her cheeks as she stammers, “I wanted to thank you guys for being so great, so I thought I’d cook you dinner tonight. Lasagna. Jake said pasta was your favorite.”

Now I feel like a rabid witch.

“That’s really sweet of you,” I say. “But it’s not necessary.”

“Oh. Okay.” Chelsea stares down at the floor, looking like she’s trying not to cry. “Another time, maybe. Or you guys can go ahead and make it if you want. I already went to the store and bought all the ingredients.”

I slide a look over at Jake. He gives me a small nod.

“In that case, lasagna sounds amazing. Thank you, Chelsea.”

“Awesome. All you guys have to do is sit back and relax. I’ll have it ready in a jiffy.”

I wonder if she’s ever made lasagna before, because jiffy isn’t the word I’d use to describe the amount of time and effort that goes into making it. On the plus side, it means she’ll be occupied for at least an hour before dinner’s ready. I try to catch Jake’s eye, but he’s already settled onto a stool at the counter, his attention on his phone.

Sighing, I settle onto the stool beside him, where I remain for all of thirty seconds before I have to fetch her a knife and cutting board. A pan. A couple of pots. A baking dish. The cheese grater.

She puts ground beef in the pan to brown. Chops an onion. Puts water on to boil. In between each task, she takes a break. It’s clear she doesn’t have much experience in the kitchen and that she’s becoming overwhelmed.

So I volunteer to help… and find myself cooking and assembling the entire lasagna myself, while she takes my seat on the stool beside Jake, leaning over every few minutes to show him pictures she took of the animals today on her phone.

Catching me looking, she asks, “So, Cassie. How was your day? Did you get a lot of work done?”

A curious feeling rises inside me as I realize that I’ve never told her what I do—and that I have no intention of doing so now.

“I met with my supervisor in Miami today,” I say, keeping the answer purposely vague.

“You have a supervisor?” Her eyes go wide and round as she gawks at me.

“I do.”

“Wow.”

“Is it really such a surprise?”

“Well, yeah. I figured you must run your own business or something. I mean, you act like a boss.” She slaps a hand over her mouth, blushing as Jake snorts a laugh. “Sorry if that came out wrong. It’s just, with the trailer not being quite ready, having a helper seems like it’s a new thing. I guess I’m just trying to figure out what changed. Why now?”

Jake quickly steps in.

“It was my suggestion. Cassie’s working on something important that needs her full focus at the moment. I didn’t want her to get run down trying to juggle too much.”

“But you help her, don’t you?”