Chapter 3

Mara swept up the broken bowls while Theo stood beside the stove.

"Hungry?" she asked.

"No."

"Good. I'll make something for myself."

She put the broom away. By the time she came back, Theo had gone to the living room. She filled a pot with water and took noodles from the cupboard. It didn't take long. When she sat down with a bowl, he looked over the back of the couch.

"What is that?"

"Dinner."

"I can see that."

Mara lifted a forkful. He turned away. She ate without offering him any, and when she carried the empty bowl to the sink, she heard him open the refrigerator again.

"There's another packet of noodles," she said.

"I know."

"The stove works better when somebody knows how to use it."

The refrigerator closed. After a moment he came toward her, hands in his pockets.

"Could you make another bowl?"

"I thought you weren't hungry."

"I wasn't then."

"That was fifteen minutes ago."

"Are you going to help or not?"

Mara held up a finger. "Ask nicely."

Theo looked as if he'd rather go without dinner. "Please make me noodles."

"Better."

He frowned. "You're enjoying this."

"A little. Sit down."

She cooked while he watched from the other side of the counter. When she set the bowl in front of him, Theo took a cautious bite, then another. He ate fast enough that Mara had to remind him to let it cool.

"You boss people around while they eat, too?" he asked.

"Only when they ask me to feed them."

He emptied the bowl. Mara nodded at the sink. "Wash it when you're done."

"You made me beg for dinner and now I have to wash dishes?"

"You asked me to cook. I never offered to clean up after you."

Theo looked at her, then carried the bowl to the sink. He turned on the water and glanced over his shoulder. "You control everything in this house?"

"I can start with the dishes."

"I'm not doing this every night."

He rinsed the bowl anyway. Then he reached for the pot she'd used and washed that, too, making sure she could see it. Mara almost thanked him. The way he scowled at the sink told her he'd hear it as another lesson.

Instead she leaned against the counter and waited until he set the clean pot on the rack.

"What?" he demanded.

"Nothing."

He'd tried to throw her out, burned a pan, and argued over one bowl of noodles. Yet once she'd asked him for something straightforward, he'd done it. Mara watched him dry his hands. For all that temper, Theo Mercer was surprisingly easy to coax.