He put the lid on the blender and then looked at me for, like, a really long time. It was starting to make me uncomfortable. “People just usually depend on me for this kind of stuff.”

“I’m not in the market for a sugar daddy,” I said teasingly, and that put a smile on his face.

“I’ve given you money before,” he reminded me.

“You overpaid me for a service I performed for you, and that was before we were friends. It would be weird now.”

“I don’t think so.”

“It’s not your decision to make,” I told him.

“Okay. But know that it’s here if you need it.”

He turned the blender on high, and his offer touched me in a way I wouldn’t have imagined possible. Not to mention how it sent little shivers of happiness rushing through me.

We were getting into dangerous territory. He had taken out pieces of fish and was dunking them in different bowls that had flour, eggs, and the rice mixture, and he told me about his day. About the little girl who said she wanted to be Aliana when she grew up so that she could marry him (a sentiment I understood all too well) and the little boy recovering from cancer who said he’d grow his hair out as long as Malec’s when it came back in.

The fish smelled delicious and took less time to cook than I would have imagined. He brought a serving over to the table for me, along with a fork. Then he sat down across from me and told me to dig in.

I took a bite. It was incredible. Light, flaky. “Why are you good at everything? This is amazing.”

He grinned. “Thanks. I probably should have made a salad or something, but it was a long day, and I’m tired.”

I was going to tease him that tired people didn’t usually make wild rice–crusted halibut for dinner but decided to be nice.

We ate in silence. It was just too good to let sit and get cold. When we finished, I offered to clear our plates, but he wouldn’t let me. “You’re my guest.”

“Thank you for that dinner. And for cleaning up. You know, I could get used to this,” I told him as he walked over to the sink to rinse off the plates before he put them into the dishwasher. “You waiting on me.”

He smiled and said, “I live to serve.”

I smiled back and . . . I realized I didn’t have a reason to stay. I’d returned Magnus to him safely and he’d fed me both cereal and halibut, and now it was probably time for me to head home.

“It’s getting late,” I told him.

“You’re right.” He came back to the table but didn’t sit down. I took that as my cue to go and stood up.