“Oh!” She looked above his head to the hood vent, a gleaming copper that matched the knobs on the range. “I didn’t even notice.”

He tore off a handful of paper towels to drain the bacon, shooting her a look over his shoulder. “Observant this morning, aren’t we?”

“Give me a break. I haven’t had coffee yet.” Also, I’m very distracted and inconveniently aroused at the sight of your half-naked body.

He jerked a chin at the coffee pot tucked into the corner. “Help yourself.”

Grateful for something to do, she slid off the stool and pulled a thick white mug down from the open shelving next to the window. “You want?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

She poured two cups, adding a cube of sugar to his and three to hers from the little dish next to the coffeepot. “Do you have any half and half?”

“I’ve got cream and two percent milk.”

“Cream works,” she decided, and very carefully walked past him to get to the refrigerator.

She doctored her cup so the dark brew turned a creamy beige, then set his on the counter next to the stove. “One sugar, right?”

“Thanks.” He flashed her a smile that set her pulse racing, and she took her coffee back to the counter, hoping the six or so feet between them would allow her hormones to calm the fuck down.

Maybe she was ovulating, she mused, sipping her coffee. Wait, that couldn’t be it, because her birth control prevented ovulation. Shit, maybe her birth control was failing.

She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her dress to search “signs that birth control pills aren’t working”.

“Here you go,” he said, setting a plate in front of her piled with bacon, scrambled eggs, and half an English muffin with a pat of butter melting in its center.

“Wow.” She laid her phone face down in her lap as he came around the counter to take the stool next to hers. The food smelled amazing, and on cue, her stomach rumbled. “I just realized I’m starving.”

“So, eat.” He handed her a fork. “And when you’re done, you can tell me what happened with Kyle.”

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Cade watched Olivia over the rim of his coffee mug. All that was left of her breakfast was a smear of egg on the plate, and her coffee cup was almost empty. “You’re stalling.”

Her hazel eyes flashed, more gold than green now, and her mouth twisted in annoyance. “And you’re pushing.”

“I don’t need specifics.” He knew once she started talking, the details would come pouring out. “Just give me the basics.”

“The basics,” she repeated. Her foot was bouncing on the rung of the stool, making her knee jiggle, and she was tapping her fingernails on the counter so fast it sounded like a woodpecker. “The basics are that we broke up. Happy now?”