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By the time we were done, my stomach was growling, and we soon found ourselves in my kitchen searching for post sex snacks.

“This is like déjà vu,” Garrett comments as I pull all the ingredients out for the dinner on my meal plan.

“The only difference is that we’re not leaving the kitchen while this is cooking. I’m not ruining another dinner.”

Garrett chuckles. I’d be lying if I said that the first meal we attempted to cook together before getting distracted in the hot tub was the only one we’ve destroyed since he started spending his evenings here.

“You know, I’m going to start to think you can’t actually cook soon.”

I scoff at his comment. “Hey, you said my lasagna was the best you’ve ever tasted,” I argue, mentioning the one dish that we managed not to decimate recently. “Or were you just saying that so you could get back into my pants?”

When I glance over my shoulder, I find Garrett smirking at me.

“I wasn’t lying,” he confirms after a few seconds. “It was incredible.”

I don’t think anyone has praised my cooking before. But…I like it.

I’m also discovering that I’m really enjoying cooking for someone else. On the couple of occasions we’ve actually sat down to eat the meal I’ve prepared, I’ve gotten a serious kick out of him enjoying it. Cooking for one gets boring fast. If it weren’t for the strict diet I need to be on for optimum performance, I’d have given up a long time ago and just lived on takeout.

As the salmon grills, I finish up the side salad before plating the rice and getting the sweet potato wedges from the oven.

“Smells amazing,” Garrett announces from his spot at the island, where he’s patiently waiting with a glass of water. I offered him something stronger to go with his dinner, but knowing that I wouldn’t be drinking, he refused.

Once the fish is done, I add it to the plate and carry everything over.

“Enjoy,” I say before taking my seat beside him.

Silence falls between us as we begin eating.

“Who’d have thought that Cooper Nash would be such an incredible cook?” Garrett eventually says.

I certainly didn’t not so long ago.

“Why, what do they say about my culinary skills online?”

Garrett chuckles. “Literally nothing. There’s barely anything about you online. Unless it’s hockey related.”

“Just the way I like it.”

“You must pay someone a lot of money to keep your life out of the media.”

My mouth opens, but no words break free.

It’s true. I do have a publicist who I trust to ensure nothing about my family or my personal life is posted online. And as much as I love her for that, she’s also always hounding me to actually do something she can allow online.

I don’t know what her problem is. I do stuff.

I went to that family event the other week…

A sigh falls from my lips. Who am I kidding? My life revolves around playing hockey and hiding at home. It’s just a little more exciting right now, because I get to fool around with Garrett while I’m doing the latter.

“I don’t want everyone knowing the ins and outs of my life.”

“Yeah, I get that when it comes to the media. They can be brutal. But what about those closer to you? Don’t you think you should let some people know you a little better?”

“I’m letting you get to know me.”

A smile twitches at his lips, and his cheeks heat.