(Once) Again Read Online Free Page B

them.”
    Kat placed a pan on the burner, her long hair falling over her shoulder when she bent down to turn the heat on. “How do you know?” she asked as she pulled a pen out of her pocket and twisted her hair back before securing it with the pen.
    I stood up from the stool, adjusted my crutches and moved closer to her. “Do I scare you?” I asked, stepping towards her and trying my damn hardest not to fumble.
    A puff of air mixed with her laughter. “No. You don’t scare me.”
    I moved closer and her breath hitched. “Are you sure?”
    She took a deep breath and then looked me right in the eye. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
    I leaned in until my lips were dangerously close to her ear, hovering just above the spot that I knew made her weak in the knees. Her sweet scent surrounded me and I inhaled deeply. “Good. Because that’s the last thing I’d want.”
    Slowly, I pulled away, but not far enough to where I couldn’t detect her scent. Our eyes met and her lip quivered. She tried to hide it with a bite, but it was too late. Her tongue dabbed at her lip and her blue eyes darkened as they always did before I’d kissed her in the past.
    “Kat.” Her name fell from my mouth naturally.
    “Josh,” she breathed, and I reached out to cup her cheek, but then her eyes snapped away. She sidestepped me and went right to the fridge. “Do you want scrambled eggs or French toast?”
    The minute she was out of my reach I felt the loss. My heart sunk as I went back to my stool. I watched as she bent down to look in the bottom drawer of the fridge. “What’s your specialty?” I asked, deciding to let what had just transpired be forgotten.
    Kat reached in and grabbed the eggs, strawberries, and blueberries. “You’ll see,” she said with a smile, and I knew she’d decided the same thing.
    The girl knew her way around the kitchen. She moved with ease, cleaning her mess as she went.
    The scent of cinnamon filled the air, and my stomach growled in response. “Do you need help?” I asked.
    “You’re
my
client, remember?”
    “That doesn’t mean I can’t help. Give me something. Anything.”
    “Okay.” She grabbed the strawberries and walked over to the counter. “Can you handle a knife?”
    “I think I can manage,” I said.
    “Are you sure? Because from what I remember, you kind of suck with them.”
    “Excuse . . . Oh.” I smiled. “I told you that plastic was impossible. It bent the knife.”
    “Was that before or after you slit your finger open?”
    I waved my hand. “Details.”
    Kat handed me the knife very carefully. “Cut the
strawberries
in halves.” She passed me the fruit.
    “I can do that,” I said and cut the first one without looking.
    She gasped and gave me an evil glare before turning back to the stove.
    I cut a few then stopped. “How many should I cut?” I asked.
    Kat walked over to the counter and looked at the plate. “That’s more than enough.”
    “It smells amazing.”
    “It’s almost done.” She took the strawberries and went back to the stove. I watched her as she moved between the pan and the plate. Her hands worked easily as she transferred food from one to the other. A perfected rhythm that was obviously natural for her.
    My mouth was watering by the time she carried two plates over to the counter.
    “Nutella French toast with strawberries and blueberries,” she said and handed me a fork.
    “I’m impressed.”
    She smirked. “I’m pretty impressive.”
    There was no denying that. “Yeah. You are.”
    Her face flushed. “Eat,” she said, clearly flustered.
    I took satisfaction in knowing I could still provoke such a reaction. I forked a piece of the French toast in my mouth and couldn’t help the moan that followed.
    “Damn this is good.” I scarfed down another piece.
    “I’m surprised you had most of the ingredients. Is your mom a baker?” Kat took a bite of strawberry and damn if it wasn’t the sexiest thing ever.
    I shook my head to stop staring at her