I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 145

Natalie frowned. The dishes were either braised or roasted.

She had seasoned them according to the specific requirements of each cooking method.

Alexander moved behind her, placing one hand on the island counter and reaching around her with the other. He grabbed a handful of chili powder and sprinkled it generously over the food.

She was effectively trapped in his arms, his warm breath tickling the back of her ear.

"There. Now it's perfect."

His deep, magnetic voice was laced with amusement.

Natalie looked at the two dishes now blanketed in seasoning and couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Charlie.

She would have to apologize to him properly later.

"What's with that look? As if I'm trying to poison him," Alexander tilted his head slightly to look at her.

Natalie leaned away, but the movement brought her right up against his other arm, which was still caging her in.

She glanced at it, trying to keep her distance from him.

"Aren't you? Mr. Ramirez, you're being incredibly petty," she said sarcastically.

She expected him to get angry, but instead, he admitted it. "That's right, I am petty. What are you going to do about it?"

Natalie was speechless.

The man was becoming more and more shameless.

The manager was still waiting by the door. Natalie looked up and saw him pretending not to have seen or heard anything.

Her face flushed instantly. She pushed his arm away. "The food's getting cold."

Natalie practically fled the kitchen. Instead of returning to the private room, she slipped into a stairwell to catch her breath.

She was furious with herself for still being susceptible to Alexander's advances. They were about to get a divorce.

Had she forgotten what kind of man he was?

After calming herself for a moment, she finally left the stairwell.

When she returned to the room and pushed open the door, she saw Charlie, his face flushed red, holding a roasted pork knuckle with a gloved hand and gnawing on it with gusto.

In the past, she had poured her heart into cooking for him, but he had rarely eaten her food.

Even when he did, he never once praised her dishes.

Natalie lowered her eyes, a self-deprecating smile touching her lips.

"Mr. Ramirez, your palate is far too refined for my cooking. You shouldn't joke like that."

Alexander watched her, taking in the self-mockery and disappointment in her expression.

His playful, knowing gaze gradually deepened.

"There was once someone like Ms. Watson, an excellent cook who made me different meals every day. It was I who didn't know any better, who let her down and broke her heart. What she didn't know was that the very first time I tasted her cooking, it was truly delicious. But I never told her."

Alexander's eyes never left Natalie as he spoke.

Natalie's fingers curled into a fist, her lips pressed tightly together.

After finishing a pork knuckle, Charlie moved on to another dish, eating with great enthusiasm.

He didn't notice the charged atmosphere between the other two, his focus entirely on the food. He asked Alexander, "That's a real shame, Mr. Ramirez. Did you ever tell her later?"