Chapter 167
Jojo:
If the fact that I gone to bed earlier than usual did not cause me to wake up earlier than usual, then the smell of burning food that whisked its way into my nose caused me to open my eyes. Baby Lucian was beside me, sound asleep.
I admired my baby’s eyelashes before I placed my feet on the ground and rose from the bed. It couldn’t be Valerie in the kitchen, or Mel. They were both at Mel’s place. She had moved out some weeks ago, after being able to rent a store for her fashion house. It could not also be Mrs Smith.
My eyes found the digital clock that rested at the top of my dressing table. It was already some minutes past 8am, so Mrs Smith was sure to be at the restaurant. That, and there was no way she was capable of burning food. The woman was nothing short of a kitchen prodigy. I placed my feet into my rubber flipflops and walked slowly out of the room, so as not to wake Lucian up.
The smell of burning food grew stronger as I walked down the stairs. I traced the smell from the staircase all the way to the kitchen, where I heard the sound of a metal against a pan. I squinted my brows and walked into the kitchen which was filled with smoke. But the smoke did not shock me as much as the person standing behind the cooker.
The alpha was standing behind the cooker with a spatula in his right hand, shirtless. I swallowed hard, not wanting to focus on the muscles of his back, but on the food that was on fire instead. He had put aside a plate which was filled with few slices of what could pass as fried bread – you could not convince me those things were toasted – while his left hand brushed smoke away from his face.
I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped my lips as I stared at him. The sound of my short laughter earned me his attention. He turned off the gas cooker and turned to me. I fought to keep my eyes on his face, and not his shoulders, or his perfectly sculpted chest.
He gave me a warm grin and leaned against the counter.This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
“It was my first ever attempt at making breakfast, please do not blame me. I’m not proud of it, but I don’t do this much.”
Heavens! He was so cute. I mean, never in my years had I thought that I would see him, alpha Lake, the alpha of Rush pack, behind a cooker, making toast bread! The sight caused my cheeks to heat up, even though I couldn’t tell why.
I was about to say something when he turned to the plate filled with bread. He dropped the spatula in the pan, my nostrils sucked in the aroma of scrambled eggs.
“I got a call from Neil last night. Your mother is safe. She was actually transferred to a good hospital. I have to give it to my father, he is quite a romantic. However, I have told Neil to keep an eye on him and on your mother. We cannot take any chances. But, she’ll be fine, I’ll make sure of it.”
As he spoke, he placed two plates on the counter and shared the slices of bread amongst the two plates. He scooped the scrambled egg from the pan and shared it as well. Watching him do all of it caused butterflies I thought I had killed, burnt and buried their ashes, to dance in my belly.
When his eyes locked with mine, all I could do was heave a sigh.
“Thank you, very much.”
He replied with a gleeful nod and stared at the plates in front of him. I fought very hard to hold back my laughter as he stared at the plates with uncertain eyes. He could not seem to tell if it was good enough to serve.
I watched as he returned his gaze to me, a nervous smile plastered on his cheeks. I had never seen such an expression from him before, it made him appear more approachable than he had ever been. It made him seem more real, more… attractive?
“Now, I know this isn’t worth anything. But, would you perhaps want to have breakfast with me?”
I had a dire urge to point at the plates and scream, “you want me to eat that?” But there was no need to. I mean, he had woken up early to do all of it, the least I could do was appreciate him. Right? Right.
I nodded eagerly and stepped further into the kitchen. I settled on a stool in front of the counter and watched as he stared at me. He was nervous, I knew it because he had intertwined his fingers together, and dug his teeth into his lower lip.
There was something new about him, even though I could not place my hands on exactly what it was.
“Yes, I’ll eat. I’m as hungry as the word hunger.” Yes, I know it was a terrible joke, but he laughed anyway.
We ate the… well, speechless breakfast in silence. I’m sure it was because we were both speechless. I had never thought anyone could make eggs so spicy and toast so dry! But, it was his first time, so, I tried to enjoy it for what it was worth. From the look in his eyes, I could tell he was elated to see me leave no crumbs in my plate.
He served us both a glass of chilled orange juice each, which I used to wash away the taste of burnt bread from my mouth – no offense to his highness.
I set my dishes in the sink, after he set his, and turned to him.
“I am taking Lucian to the hospital later today for his regular check-up. It would have been yesterday, but… you know.”
Alpha Lake nodded slowly and dropped his glass on the counter.
“I’ll like to come with you. I mean, it’s good that I do after what happened yesterday and I…”
He stopped when he saw that I had folded my arms underneath my chest, and my left brow was corked at him.
He chuckled, a gentle sigh followed it.
“I’m sorry. I’ll just… I’ll just really love to spend time with Lucian… and you.”
And me? Okay. That did something to me.
I shrugged my shoulders, trying hard to feign non-chalance.
“I’ll get Lucian and myself ready, you should get ready too.”
His eyes sparkled with delight as he smiled at me.
“Sure, sure. I’ll just get done with the dishes and…”
Wait, what?
I blinked twice, fighting back the urge to laugh.
“What? No. You don’t have to do that, alpha Lake. I’ll take care of it before I get Lucian ready. I would not want the people of Rush pack to have my head for belittling their almighty alpha.”
His eyes turned soft, warm infact.
“I can be whatever I am in Rush pack. But here, I am Lucian’s father, and… you can trust me, Jojo.”
Was this good for me? Looking at him in such a manner? Listening to him make all these promises. Was it really worth it?
To silence all my inaudible questions and turned away from him. I stayed quiet and walked out of the kitchen.