Chapter 75

Thorne’s POV

“Take care of the marketing meeting for me,” I tell Jace as he enters my office.

“Where are you going?” He asks curiously, watching me grab my keys and phone. “Hot date?”

I glance through the window at Aurora. She’s working on two memos for me that I pulled right out of my ass so I could get home before her. I chuckle, “Kind of. I’m cooking a surprise dinner for Aurora tonight to apologize for spending so much time with Angeline.”

Jace smirks, “You two are a lot alike.”

I pause, “What do you mean?”

“She made you a surprise dinner about two weeks ago as a ‘thank you’ for keeping her safe,” he tells me, and I spin around.

“What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t have dinner with Aurora two weeks ago—”

“That’s because you were busy eating with Ivy and Angeline,” he answers. I wrack my brain, going back. I’d been out with Angeline several times over the last two weeks, and I regret it more now than I did before.

Jace sighs and shakes his head, “She made steaks, vegetables, and a bomb cheesecake that was better than ones you could get from the store.”

“And how would you know?” I snap, glaring at him because I feel I already know the answer.

“She brought me the leftovers to work the next day after eating alone and then spending the night alone,” he answers.

Shit. If I’d known, I would’ve been there. I don’t even want to know how long she spent cooking the food or waiting for me. If I know Aurora, and I do, she probably felt awful when I didn’t show up.

“I don’t have time to sit here and talk to you. I’ve got to get home before she beats me there,” I tell Jace, now feeling more of a need to cook for her than before. “If she finishes her tasks before the hour is up, stall her, okay?”

Jace, the bastard, laughs and nods, waving as I rush out of my office. Aurora’s head pops up when the door smacks into the wall.

“I have an emergency meeting. If I don’t get back before five, just head home, okay?” I lean over and kiss her head without thinking before rushing off.

The groceries are already at the house when I arrive, so I get started. I want her to know I’m serious, and a nice dinner is always a good way to show a woman- or anyone- that you care. Feeding your mate is a big part of caring for them.

After putting the pasta in the water, I start on the chicken. I sprinkle spicy seasoning on the meat, letting it cook.

However, when I turn around, the pasta water is bubbling over and spilling everywhere. I grab the pot, lifting it off the stove and moving it to the sink to drain it. Pouring the pasta into the strainer is a bit difficult, and I groan when I test the pasta to find it still hard.

“What the hell is this?” I growl.

With a huff, I put the pasta back into the pot and fill it with water again before setting it on the stove. Just as I turn the heat back up, a burning smell reaches me.

The chicken.

“Shit,” I hiss, moving back to the skillet. The chicken is black and burned and starting to smoke. I grab the skillet, nearly burning myself while dumping it in the trash. I have to start over with a new skillet and more seasoning.

This time, I set the heat lower and let it cook slowly. I also keep a better eye on it as I gather the ingredients to make the sauce.

I didn’t realize how difficult cooking could be, but after two hours and a few more mistakes, I finally finish the dish.

Aurora’s POV

I fidget in my seat, ready to get home because once he’s done with his emergency meeting, Thorne is coming over. I’m not sure what time he’ll be here, but I thought I could make dinner or order something so we can eat together when he arrives.

My phone rings, my stepfather’s name popping up on my screen, and I nearly groan. I glance at Jace who is driving me home, like usual.

Sighing, I decide to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

“Aurora, don’t hang up.”

“If I was going to hang up immediately, I wouldn’t have answered in the first place,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose in annoyance.

“I wanted to ask you—”

I knew it. “I’m not giving you more money,” I tell him.

“No, that’s not why I called,” my stepfather rushes to say, and there’s a shuffling sound on his end of the phone before he speaks again. “I wanted to apologize and let you know that I won’t be bothering you for money again. I just… Could you not tell your mother about what happened?”

He means the club incident, and I shake my head, sigh, and hang up the phone. I shouldn’t have answered in the first place. My mom doesn’t know what he did since I haven’t told her yet, but I don’t think keeping something like that a secret will be for the best.

She needs to know what her husband did so she can make her own decision on what to do.

“Thanks for the ride, Jace,” I mutter as I climb out.

As I head inside, I pull my mother’s number up and wonder if I should call her. Would it be better to tell her in person? I mean, this is a sensitive topic, so a phone call might not be best. I kick my shoes off at the door and walk further into the house.

She deserves to know, and I deserve a chance to have my stepfather punished for what he did to me.

Arms snake around my waist from behind, lifting me off my feet, and I scream.

Instantly, my feet are back on the floor, and Thorne is in front of me.

“Hey, hey. It’s just me.”

My heart slams into my ribs, and I take deep breaths.

“You scared me!” I shriek, “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry, I thought you heard me call your name,” he says, cupping my cheeks. His eyes scan my face, and I close my eyes, leaning into his touch. I let it calm me, staying like this for a moment before looking up at him again.

“I thought you were at a meeting.”

Thorne smiles, “About that. I’m sorry for lying, but I wanted to make you dinner.”

“Dinner?”

“Yeah, I made spicy chicken alfredo, and I have a movie queued up for us to watch.”

“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day,” I say, lean in, and kiss him. I squeak when Thorne’s arms snake under my butt and lift, but I also don’t mind because I get to wrap my legs around his waist.

Thorne carries me to the kitchen, breaking the kiss and sitting me on the counter. I frown at the broken kiss, but he only smiles and pulls away, “If you get that started, we won’t be eating dinner right now. And I know that won’t be good because I can hear your stomach growling.”

He’s not wrong.

I had a small lunch today, so I’m hungry.

“Go get changed into something comfortable, and I’ll have everything ready when you come back,” he says, kissing me softly once more before helping me down and smacking my ass as I walk away.

God, I love this man.