Oops... I Married the Wrong Billionaire

10

At 5:17 p.m., Ava Carter found out her husband had ordered dinner again.

She walked into the living room where Lucas sat working on his laptop.

"Lucas, do you know what a stove is?" she asked.

He looked up from his screen. "Yes, Ms. Carter."

"Have you ever used one?"

"I can cook basic meals."

Ava blinked. "You can cook?"

"Eggs, pasta, rice. Should I list them alphabetically?"

She ignored his comment. "Cancel the dinner order. I’m cooking tonight."

"Do you know how to cook?"

"I survived university on a budget that would make a homeless pigeon cry. I can manage pasta."

"Then I wish you luck," Lucas said.

Twenty minutes later, Lucas regretted those words.

Music filled the kitchen while Ava opened cupboards, pulled out spoons, and took over every counter.

"Why is there music?" he asked, coming into the kitchen.

"Because we’re cooking."

"Those activities are unrelated."

"Not in my kitchen."

"This is my kitchen, Ms. Carter."

"Not according to the constitution of my heart. Help me get the chicken.”

Lucas stared at her, then walked to the fridge to get the chicken.

Ava pointed her wooden spoon at him. "Are you helping me or supervising me?"

"Neither. I’m preventing dinner from becoming a medical emergency."

"Stop talking," she said.

Five minutes later, she needed the paprika. Lucas opened the spice cabinet and handed her the neat jar.

"I hate your organizational system," she muttered.

"You’ve mentioned that."

"And I hate how you say ‘Ms. Carter’ when you’re clearly enjoying my suffering."

"Perhaps I should call you something else?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Don’t you dare."

By six o’clock, Lucas took over chopping vegetables after Ava nearly cut her thumb on a carrot. His slices were perfectly even.

"Why are you cutting those like they’re applying for a job?" she asked.

"They’ll cook evenly."

"Stop judging the vegetables."

"I haven’t said anything about them."

"Your silence is judgmental."

Ava returned to her sauce, added seasoning, tasted it, and frowned. "Oh, no."

Lucas stepped over, tasted it with a clean spoon, then grabbed cream and stock from the fridge. He poured them into the pan and stirred. A few minutes later, the sauce tasted fine.

Ava stared at him. "Why do you know how to do everything?"

"I assure you, I don’t."

"Name three things you can’t do."

"Make you stop talking."

She threw a dish towel at him. He caught it and folded it neatly. Ava turned away before she could laugh.

At seven, they sat down to eat. Lucas took a bite, and Ava watched him closely.

"It’s good," he said.

"Just good?"

"Very good."

"Thank you. I expect a plaque."

"I’ll inform accounting."

She laughed and settled into her chair.

Over dinner, Lucas asked about her architecture project. Ava explained the cultural center she was designing, describing the open courtyard and light. Before long, she was talking with real excitement.

Lucas listened without interrupting. "What would you change if the budget weren’t a constraint?"

Ava’s face lit up. "Oh, you have no idea."

She explained her ideas, and Lucas asked simple questions until she stopped herself.

"Sorry. I’m talking too much."

"I asked you a question, Ms. Carter."

"Yes, but I answered it eighteen times."

"Nineteen."

She laughed. His face remained completely serious, which made it funnier.

When the laughter stopped, Ava realized she was enjoying herself. It was dangerous. She had spent six years with Ethan. Lucas was supposed to be a temporary problem, not someone she liked sitting with.

"What do you do when you aren’t working?" she asked.

"History. Biographies. Chess."

Ava groaned. "Of course you play chess."

"Is there a problem with chess?"

"I just imagined you playing against yourself as a child and winning."

"I played with my uncle."

"Richard?"

"Yes."

"Did he let you win?"

"No."

"Did you let him win?"

"Certainly not."

She smiled. Hearing him talk about ordinary memories made him seem like a real person instead of a distant CEO.

After dinner, Ava washed the dishes while Lucas returned to his work. Later, she found him in the living room looking at his laptop.

"Lucas?"

He looked up. "Ms. Carter."

"I have an announcement. I cooked dinner, and nobody died."

"An impressive achievement."

"I expect a bonus."

"I’ll have accounting review your request."

She laughed, then paused. "Tonight was nice."

The words escaped before she could stop them. Lucas closed his laptop.

Ava immediately regretted it. "I mean, the food was nice. The dinner. The whole eating situation."

"The eating situation," he repeated.

"Please stop repeating my words."

"I’m trying to understand your announcement."

"Forget it." She turned to leave.

"Ms. Carter."

She stopped.

"Tonight was nice," he said quietly.

Ava nodded and hurried down the hallway.

Lucas watched her leave. He reopened his laptop, read the same sentence three times, and shut it again.

"Ridiculous," he muttered.

In her room, Ava pulled the blanket over her head. Tomorrow, she decided, she would go back to being properly annoyed with him. It was the sensible thing to do, even if sensible decisions were never her strongest talent.