Too bad they’d been interrupted by the guy coming into the gym, but he knew he’d been taking a risk by kissing her there. They needed some privacy, which they weren’t going to get at her condo. Leo and Anya were already waiting for them and hungry. He was going to take them out to a restaurant for dinner, but Katrina insisted on cooking.
“I eat out all the time when I’m traveling. I like to cook when I’m home,” she said. “Besides, I already have food here.”
He shrugged. “Up to you, but I didn’t intend for you to cook.” He was leaning against the island drinking a beer and watching her pull out pots and pans.
“Like I said? I enjoy cooking. Anya and I cook together all the time.”
“Okay. What can I do to help?”
She gave him a suspicious frown. “A man in my kitchen? I don’t think so.”
“Now you’re being sexist.” He moved around the island and washed his hands, grabbed a towel and dried them. “My mother taught us all to cook so we could fend for ourselves.”
“Good for her. You can cut up these vegetables, and then the meat.”
“Now you’re talkin’.” He grabbed the chef’s knife from the butcher block on the counter, and went through the vegetables, then sliced the meat and handed it to Katrina. She’d already set the rice in the cooker and had the wok warmed, so he picked up his beer and watched her work. She added seasonings to the meat and let that simmer, while Anya had taken the rice out and started making fried rice.
“My stomach is grumbling just watching you two—and smelling whatever it is you’re seasoning the food with.”
“It’s my own recipe,” Anya said, cracking two eggs to fry before adding those to the rice. “And Katrina has a special marinade for the meat.”
Katrina looked up at him. “See? We work as a team here. Though, honestly, Anya does a lot of the cooking. It’s kind of a treat when she lets me in the kitchen.”
Anya smiled. He liked seeing the kid so happy. And maybe there wasn’t as much animosity between the two sisters as Katrina thought.
Katrina seemed relaxed, easily moving around the kitchen, as if this was something she did all the time. Maybe he had preconceived notions about supermodels—like they had personal chefs to cook for them and butler service. He’d dated plenty of high-profile and high-maintenance women, the kind who liked to go out to fancy restaurants—the type that liked to be “seen.” And here was this woman who was happy to stay at home and cook with her sister.
Katrina definitely surprised him.
“Leo, time to set the table,” Katrina said as she poured out the vegetables onto a serving platter and set the meat into the wok.
“Anything else I can do?” Grant asked.
She motioned with her head. “There’s a wine fridge over there. Pick something out and open it up?”
“Sure.”
He selected a bottle and opened it, setting it on the dining room table to breathe. Then he helped Leo finish setting the table, bringing some of the food over as well.
“It smells good, doesn’t it?” he asked Leo as Anya and Katrina brought the meat, vegetables, and rice to the table.
“Anya and Kat can definitely cook,” Leo said, taking his seat. “We don’t complain about that.”
“Kat taught me a lot about cooking,” Anya said. “She brought me in the kitchen with her when I was little and let me start helping her. And I learned more on my own.”
“No,” Katrina said. “You don’t complain about the cooking thing. You just complain about everything else.”
Anya shrugged. “It’s in the teenager handbook. Chapter three is titled whining, moaning, and complaining. Didn’t you read it?”
Katrina placed her napkin in her lap and graced her sister with a benevolent smile. “Read it, highlighted it, and made notes in the margins.”
Grant smiled. “This conversation is making me miss my brothers and my sister.”
“You have brothers?” Anya asked.
“Three of them. One is older and two are younger.”
“How old is your sister?” Katrina asked as everyone began to scoop food onto their plates.
“Mia is twenty-one.”
“And your brothers all play sports like you,” Leo said.
Katrina shifted her gaze to Leo. “You know a lot.”
He shrugged. “You just assume I only play video games in my room. I know sports and players. Like Grant. His family is famous. They’re a dynasty. His dad is a Hall of Fame football player, too.”
Katrina looked at Grant. “Is that right?”
Grant swallowed, then nodded. “Yeah. He played football for Green Bay for his entire career—fifteen seasons—until he retired.”
“Wow,” Anya said. “And your brothers play football, too?”
“Barrett and Flynn do. Tucker plays baseball.”
Katrina leaned back in her chair. “Fascinating. Does your sister play sports?”
“She plays for the soccer team at her college. As far as I know she isn’t planning on a professional sports career. She says the rest of us have that covered.”
Katrina laughed. “It certainly sounds like you all do. Your poor mother. I can only imagine what that must have been like.”
“What?”
“Wrangling all you boys to all those practices? I assume you all played when you were little?”