Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
After breakfast, he’d retreated to the guest bedroom to start researching the mystery of the disappearing corpse, while Devlin had moved to his home office to work on his own projects. They’d taken a break around lunch, which was some delivery deli sandwiches and some uncomfortable conversation. Kai had returned to the bedroom to work and berate himself.
Why couldn’t he talk to the man? Yes, most of the time all he could think was how hot Devlin was and how badly he wanted to kiss him until Devlin was panting and grinding against him, but he had enough common sense to know that such things weren’t good dinner conversation.
What was he left with?
Hi, honey. How was your day? I learned how to kill a man with his own tongue today. What about you?
Nope. Definitely not.
Kai dried his hands and face, swearing he would think of something to say to Devlin that didn’t involve his job, Devlin’s current problem, or killing. Normal people conversation.
The rich smell of oregano and garlic greeted his nose as he silently descended the stairs. He started for the kitchen but detoured to the dining room when he caught movement in the room off the living room. His mouth fell open to find that Devlin had set out nice plates, salad bowls filled with leafy greens, and a bowl with what looked to be fresh bread wrapped in a towel to stay warm.
“Oh! Hey,” Devlin said as he walked in carrying a pair of glasses filled with iced water.
“You’ve been busy,” Kai murmured and inwardly cringed. Lame. That was lame.
A nervous laugh escaped Devlin, and his cheeks appeared to grow red. “Don’t get your hopes up. It’s just spaghetti with meatballs. I sort of lost track of time, and this is an easy meal to make.”
“I like spaghetti,” Kai quickly reassured him. He relaxed some when Devlin’s shoulders instantly relaxed.
“Great,” Devlin sighed. He motioned toward the table. “I figured we could just load up our plates in the kitchen.”
Kai picked up one of the plates, leaving Devlin the plate at the head of the table. “That sounds logical to me.”
Devlin grabbed his plate and led the way back into the kitchen. “I have a bottle of wine, if you’d rather have that.”
“I don’t drink much. Water is fine.” Kai loaded up his plate with spaghetti and meatballs in what smelled like a delicious sauce. He returned to the table with Devlin following just a minute behind him.
When Devlin was seated, he dug into his salad while wracking his brain for something to talk about. He figured that if he was at least eating, Devlin would think that he was enjoying what he cooked. Oh! Obvious!
“Thank you for cooking,” Kai said between bites of salad.
Devlin’s nervous laugh filled the room again. “This is nothing really. Jar of sauce. Pre-made meatballs. I think it just seems fancier because we’re eating in the dining room off the good plates.” His head popped up, eyes wide. “Not that I was trying to be fancy or anything. I think…I…it’s just been a while since I had a meal with an adult. No arguments about why you have to eat something green. The main topic isn’t the Thompsons’ dog and why we need to get a dog.” Devlin paused and let out a sigh. “Adult conversation.”
Shit.
“It’s very good,” Kai blurted out and then cursed himself some more. He’d only eaten the salad so far. Not exactly a great culinary hurdle. “Were you able to get any work done today?” he inquired, trying to bounce back. Yes, that was better.
Devlin shrugged. “Some. I’ve got a couple of presentations coming up next month that I’ve started making notes for. I’m also reviewing an article for a peer. I have my first round of notes done, but I’ll need to read it a few more times before I can get all my thoughts together.”
“Are you developing any new technology?”
“Not actively at the moment. I’m working with a few people who are fine-tuning what I’ve already created, but nothing new.”
“Is that normal?” Kai cringed as he finished his question, wishing he could steal it back. “I mean, I’m not criticizing. I just got the impression that you’re the type to keep busy. Not that you’re not busy. I—” He was babbling and he couldn’t stop. Every word was digging an even deeper grave. Luckily, Devlin took pity on him, placing his hand over his while smiling.
“It’s okay. I don’t know what normal is anymore. I used to have a long list of things I wanted to develop and tinker with, but now…” He released Kai’s hand and looked at his empty salad bowl. He moved it away and pulled his spaghetti closer. “I’m not excited about them like I used to be.”
“I’m sorry. Do you think it’s because of all that’s happened?”