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She loved being in the kitchen. It was her favorite place to be. Even when a recipe was a disaster, she always tried to find a reason to learn from it. Life and cooking were about learning from it.

“This is so damn good,” he said.

She finally got to eat a plate of pancakes as Grim was on his third round. He put the knife and fork down and picked up his mug of coffee.

“I’m staying for breakfast every morning.”

“Every morning?” she asked.

“You’re going to need your sleep, and I’m going to need those pancakes.”

“I could make you something different. It doesn’t have to be pancakes all the time.”

Grim looked at her. “Now we’re talking. Variety?”

She smiled. “Do you have any allergies?”

“Nope. Cook for me until your heart is content. What are you doing today?” he asked.

“I have to go grocery shopping. I’ve got a couple of videos planned and I kind of need to work on them.”

“You want some help?” he asked.

“You want to come grocery shopping?”

“I don’t see why not. I’ve got nothing else to do, and besides, I might be able to convince you to let me stay for dinner.”

“I would be happy to cook for you. I just need to check with my aunt. This is her house,” she said.

“I know, and sure, go ahead, but I am good to be fed.”

This made her happy and a little nervous. Her aunt loved her food, and most of the people she cooked for, including guests, loved her food. She had also entered her recipes into local competitions, anonymously, and it always did well.

Grim wasn’t just anyone. He was the guy who saved her, and she would be lying if she didn’t admit she also had a little crush on him. It was ridiculous. She’d never been close to any guy. At twenty-five years old, she knew it was silly. Boys and sex had never been easy for her. It’s why she had also stopped having anything to do with her mother and came to live with her aunt. Her mother and aunt didn’t exactly get along. They had a difficult relationship.

Pulling out of those thoughts, she smiled at Grim and felt happier he was going to spend the day with her.

****

Grim fucking hated grocery shopping. It was a fucking tedious job, and one he tended to fight to get out of. It fucking sucked. Going up and down the aisles, picking food for recipes you didn’t know if you were going to cook or not. He was even willing to clean toilets rather than go grocery shopping.

However, shopping with Betty was not grocery shopping. It was not a boring or tedious job. First of all, Betty smelled like vanilla. Soft, subtle vanilla, not overpowering, and he found himself leaning in close, just so he could get a smell of her. He knew it was fucking crazy of him to even be doing this, but his mouth watered for a taste.

Next, Betty was fun to be around. She would hold vegetables up and explain what she had planned. This was why he stumbled onto her cooking channel, and he’d watched close to all the videos as he was on the verge of obsessed.

She wasn’t confident or cocky, but friendly. And damn, he was constantly blown away by her smile that had the tendency to light up her whole face and make his heart sing. He loved to make her smile. Especially as he knew for the past year she’d struggled.

She had a few videos lined up and scheduled before she was taken, and then nothing. People had been worried that she had just disappeared. He understood it. And now she was back, and he loved those videos as well.

By the time they got to the baking aisle, her cart filled right up. They were soon to be entering fall, and he’d seen some of the Halloween items set out, including decorations and special cutlery. Betty looked a little giddy, and now he saw some of the specialty baking ingredients as well, including sprinkles.

“Everything always looks so good,” she said, clapping her hands together, but not in a silly way. It suited her.

They made their way to the checkout, and he saw a couple of the women opening up their shirts, showing off their breasts. There were inviting smiles, which he ignored, and instead, he got to bagging up Betty’s food haul. She had her own bags, which he loaded up. She helped him, and within a good twenty minutes, they were out at her car, which he opted to drive. Betty, of course, insisted she could drive. He didn’t doubt her, but he wanted to take care of her.

Once the car was loaded up, he drove them back to her aunt’s home, and Martha wasn’t back yet. He helped her unload everything, and he noticed there were many items she left on the counter.

“Where do these go?” he asked.