The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella) novel Chapter 58

When Isabelle got home that evening, she found Jacob in the kitchen, cooking dinner. She hadn’t known that he could cook, so she was surprised to find him busy minding the pots as if he knew exactly what he was doing.

“I didn’t know you could cook,” she said, making her way to the refrigerator. Opening it, she took out a bottle of water and uncapped it.

Jacob looked at her and gave her a small smile. Small or not, it was enough to cause a riot of butterflies in her stomach. But just as quickly as they had appeared, they disappeared. The memory of last night reared its ugly head, and the giddy feeling was replaced by sadness.

“I used to help my mother when cooking,” he replied, opening one pot and stirring whatever was cooking. From her spot, she caught the mouthwatering smell of steak. Her stomach growled in response, and he chuckled. “It’s almost ready. Busy day?”

She nodded. “Yeah,” she replied, and then hooked her thumb towards the bedrooms. “I’ll go clean up and join you.”

Maybe having dinner together would be a step towards ending the animosity between them. Animosity that she was the only one fuelling, she admitted.

After having a shower and changing into comfortable clothes, she joined him in the kitchen. She found that he was already done cooking and was bringing the dishes to the table. She offered to help, but he instructed her to sit and wait.

Eventually, after he had brought out all the dishes, they had dinner together. The aromas wafting from the dishes were already mouthwatering enough, but when Isabelle tasted her first forkful of the steak, she couldn’t help but release a delighted moan.

“This is not fair,” she said, giving him a wide-eyed look.

“What is not?” he asked, looking perplexed.

“Why have you been hiding your culinary skills? Were you afraid I’ll lock you in the kitchen and demand that you feed me every day?” she teased.

His expression relaxed, and he laughed. “You’re flattering me.”

She shook her head and picked up a spoon to get a taste of the stew. “You know I’m not. This is so good.” She tasted the stew and shut her eyes momentarily. “Wow. How can you stand my food when you know you can cook like this?”

“Now, you’re being too humble,” he called her out. “But I wouldn’t mind feeding you every day if it made you happy,” he added with a wink.

She smiled at his jest, loving how the dinner was turning out. This was so much better than when they were at loggerheads. When he looked down at his food, her eyes shifted to the marks on his face.

Seeing them brought back memories of the previous night. His actions had shocked her, and she hadn’t been sure how they would interact after that. Since they were having dinner together, she supposed it was safe to forget about it.

While she mulled over the incident during the day, she figured that he must have thought seducing her would stop her being mad at him. But how on earth did he think trying to force himself on her would work? Was that how he solved issues with his past girlfriends?

She sighed. It didn’t matter. Well, as long as he didn’t try it again.

As she thought more of the previous night, her appetite waned, and no matter how delicious the food was, she couldn’t bring herself to clear her plate. Were they ever going to talk about it? Or were they going to proceed as if nothing had happened?

When Jacob finished his dinner, he gave her unfinished food a glance. “Were you pulling my leg about my food being delicious?”

She gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m full.” Rather, her stomach was full of butterflies once again, but the reason was not as pleasant as his smile causing her heart to go aflutter.

“Well, let’s not waste any food,” he said, reaching for her plate and bringing it to his side.

God, now, she felt guilty that after he had taken his time preparing such a good meal for them, she was wasting it.

He looked up at her and upon seeing the guilty look on her face, said, “I just need an excuse to eat your leftovers, that’s all.”