forgetting who gave me the nickname…Other CEOs. The very people I fire.” He frowned. “And we forgot dessert.” He glanced over at her. “We don’t have dessert.”
“You have pudding cups.”
“That’s right! I do.”
He walked to the refrigerator, pulled out two pudding cups and ambled back. “Vanilla or chocolate?”
“Chocolate.”
“Great. Vanilla’s actually my favorite.”
He handed her the pudding cup and took his seat again.
She peeled off the lid, took a bite and groaned in ecstasy. “These are great.”
“No point in having a secret vice if it isn’t great.”
She laughed. “I never thought of that.”
They finished their pudding and she automatically got up to clear the table. “You go make your calls or whatever you need to do.” The baby monitor had stayed silent. Bella was okay. And she could wash a few dishes.
But he shook his head. “I’m not going to leave you to clean up alone. You’re helping me enough.”
Warmth spiraled through her. She’d always known he appreciated her help, but it never hurt to hear the words.
After gathering the dishes, she walked them to the sink.
His eyebrows rose. “You’re not using the dishwasher?”
“For a couple dishes? We can have these done in five minutes. The dishwasher will take forty and tons more water.”
As she filled a sink, he found a dishtowel, slung it over his shoulder, then finished clearing the table.
When the sink was filled to capacity with dirty dishes and sparkling bubbles, she washed a plate, rinsed it and put it in the dish drainer. “Somebody must wash dishes in here. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a drainer.”
“I think my cook prefers to wash the pots.”
She peeked at him through her peripheral vision. “Really?”
“She’s very fussy about her pots.”
“Makes sense, I guess. I don’t cook much.” She glanced at him again. “Not much reason to cook for one.”
“Unless you’re hungry.”
“I eat a big lunch.”
“Oh, so in other words if you ever got married and had someone to cook for, you’d start eating supper and get as round as Bella?”
She gaped at him. “Did you just call Bella fat?”
“She’s not fat. She’s healthy.”
Her eyebrow rose. “And I’m not?”
His mouth fell open. “I didn’t say that!”
She caught a handful of soap bubbles in her cupped hand and flung them at him. She’d intended to hit his T-shirt. Instead, she got his nose.
The expression on his face was priceless. But shock quickly morphed into challenge. “You wanna go?”
She eeked. “No! You’re the one who called me fat.”
“I called Bella fat and you unhealthy. According to you.” He reached down, scooped out some bubbles and flipped them into her face.
She gasped and, without thought, got more bubbles and flung them at him. “You said what you said.”
“You misinterpreted what I said.” He grabbed a bigger handful of suds. With a quick twist of his wrist, he got her hair.
“Hey!” Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t mess up my hair!”
“You weren’t worried about my nose.”
“Okay. Fine. If that’s how you want it, this is war!”
“Ha! You think you can beat me! I know every corner of this kitchen. And my sister Charlotte and I were very adept at avoiding our other sisters when we were younger.” He filled an available cup with water and darted around the table, behind a chair. “Bring it.”
“You wouldn’t throw an entire cup of water at me!”
“Guess again.”
“And who’s going to clean up the mess?”
He shrugged. “Us. When we’re done with our war.”
Her face contorted. “Why throw the water when you end up having to clean it up?”
“For the fun of the war.” He walked from behind the table. “You really didn’t have much of a childhood.”
She shrugged. “Looks like I didn’t.”
“Great.” He dribbled some water on her head.
Expecting his sympathy and getting a shower, she jumped back sputtering. “What are you doing!”
“We’re at war, remember? If I were you, I’d get a cup.”
Her eyes narrowed, but he only grinned. Knowing he wouldn’t stay passive long, she raced to the sink and got a cup of water, but she paused. “This is ridiculous.”
She watched his face sort of deflate. Cup in hand, he walked to the sink, clearly disappointed that he’d failed in getting her to play. When he was close enough, she sloshed the water out of her cup and onto his shirt.
He gasped and jumped back. “You tricked me.”
She refilled her cup and scampered away. “All is fair in love and war.”
“Oh, this is so on.”
She ran to the kitchen island, shielding herself behind it and the rows of pots that hung above it.
“You have to come out sometime.”
“Not really. I think I can safely protect myself behind this island for the rest of the war.”
She bounced out for one quick slosh toward him, the way an Old West gunfighter bounces from behind a tree just long enough to shoot, then was back behind her island again.
He bent away from the spray. “You missed me.”
“I’ll get you next time.”
He nudged his chin in the direction of her cup. “Not without water.” He glanced around. “Let’s see. I have a whole cup of water and I stand between you and the sink.” He smiled evilly. “Who’s winning now?”
She said,
