“I know that look,” Trick said. “And no, I don’t own a pasta whatever it is you need to make pasta. You don’t need to do everything from scratch.” He pointed his fork at Lou. “I’m not going to bully him, but I will offer him a break on rent if he cooks for us on the regular.” Trick batted his eyes at me. “I just want a handsome man to feed me. Is that too much to ask?”

I laughed, which had been his aim.

Still, I thought about what he said as I ate. The thing is, I truly did enjoy cooking. Not as a job, really, though it was fine for now. But there was something about feeding friends and family that I loved. Knowing that I made something that comforted and nourished. Sure, my roommates were all adults and could care for themselves…in theory. They didn’t seem to be doing the best job of it, but I could understand why.

It wasn’t my job. They weren’t my pack.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to think about easy breakfast options. If I went to the store before my shift…

Chapter Ten

Lou

I opened the fridge, surprised to see a paper bag with my name written on it. It sat next to other paper bags with my roommates’ names on them, all lined up like little ducklings. The rest of the fridge was full. And not full of takeout boxes, but actual ingredients for meals.

Someone had also scrubbed out the fridge. The little blob of barbecue sauce that had hardened into the shape of Florida was gone from the bottom shelf.

This couldn’t be right. Since I hadn’t had my coffee yet, maybe my exhaustion was making me hallucinate?

I closed the fridge. Opened it. The clean, stocked fridge stared back at me.

Trick came in, sleepy-eyed but dressed, a drowsing Dammit strapped to his chest.

“Did someone steal our fridge and replace it with someone else’s fridge?” I asked. There was a vegetable I couldn’t identify. I poked it.

“Huh?” Trick rubbed at his eyes. “Why are you poking the kohlrabi? What has it ever done to you?”

“What hasn’t it done?” He’d asked a silly question, I was giving him a silly answer. I took the bag with my name on it and peeked inside. A sandwich, carrot and celery sticks with peanut butter, cheese, apple slices, and a small container of pistachios. There was also a note. Sorry, it was the best I could do on short notice. I recognized the scrawl as Declan’s. My roommate had packed me a lunch. What was happening right now?

I held up the bag. “What is this?”

Trick stared at my bag, then grinned and opened the fridge, damn near clapping his hands in glee when he saw one for him. “This is great! I knew he had it in him.”

I set my bag down and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Trick, please remember that I haven’t had coffee yet and explain. No, actually, never mind. Let’s go get coffee.” I turned and walked to the door, grabbing Trick’s keys for him as well as my own.