Free Sleeping With the Opposition (Bad Boy Bosses) by J. K. Coi Page A

the rest of the night hiding out in her room.
    She’d awakened this morning dreading having to spend the whole day with Leo. The fact that it hadn’t been what she expected left her reeling. Being with him hadn’t dredged up the painful feelings of failure and remorse that always seemed to want to drown her. Instead, she’d felt pretty normal. She’d had a good time.
    He’d kissed her, and…she’d wanted him to. She’d wanted more than one kiss, if she was being honest.
    But wanting or not wanting, that had never been the issue. Bria wanted him. He wanted her… But he also wanted a family . He’d never made it a secret that he wanted children, lots of them, and now she feared she could never give him that. And she was so afraid that their marriage—which had started out as happy and full of promise as her mother’s once upon a time—would end in heartache and failure.
    She’d tried explaining her fears, but instead of listening, Leo had always just told her not to worry, with that closed-off, stoic look on his face…and then run off to his boxing club. If he’d even once let her see that he was afraid, too, then maybe they could work things out. But she couldn’t bear to open up to him and be the only one, again.
    She knew she was right to walk away, but that didn’t change the fact that her mouth still tingled from that whisper kiss when she went downstairs an hour later to the sound of salsa music blaring from the stereo in the living room, and pots clanging in the kitchen.
    She stood at the small island, her lips twitching with amusement despite herself as he opened the freezer and took out a whole chicken, then frowned, obviously wondering what to do with it. Powerful athlete, intimidating counselor, and amateur handyman, yes, but a cook Leo was not. “What are you going to do with that?” she asked.
    He turned and lifted the chicken toward her. “How long will this take to thaw out?”
    She crossed her arms. “It should be good in time for dinner…tomorrow.”
    His face fell. “Damn it.”
    She stepped forward. “I can make something else. It’s—”
    He put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her down onto the barstool, then took out his phone. “No, I saw something on the internet, and it looked totally easy. If I’m going to be a single guy, I had better figure out how to cook at least one thing, right?”
    “Didn’t Mr. Russo teach you anything all those years working at the restaurant?”
    “I was the hard labor. Lifting crates, stocking the freezer, cleaning up. I think he knew better than to let me near the ovens.” He grinned.
    She looked at the frosty bag of chicken. “And what is this recipe you thought you should try?”
    “Soup.”
    “Soup,” she repeated, doubtful.
    “Sure. It’s hearty. There’s rice and corn and—do we have corn?” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s soup. I’m sure it will be good with whatever. How hard could it be to throw a few things into a pot and add water?”
    “There’s a bit more to it than that.” She looked at the time displayed on the panel of the stove. “We can thaw the chicken in a sink full of water, but traditionally, you wouldn’t use a whole roasting chicken in a pot of soup.”
    He frowned and looked down at his phone. “You probably have work to do, so I’ll just figure this out and get something put together. I’ll call you when it’s time to eat.”
    She raised a brow. “How about I give you a hand, and then while it’s cooking, we can start to go through the house contents like we were supposed to do today?”
    His expression tightened, but he nodded. “If that’s what you want.”
    She got up and stepped around the island, holding out her hand. “I think we have some chicken thighs in the freezer that won’t take so long to thaw. I’ll get them, while you start chopping the vegetables.”
    Once everything was ready, they stood at the stove together, and he asked questions. She found herself