Winning Back His Ex's Wife's Broken Heart by Hayley

Chapter 76

Richard's

Pov.

After that strange text, my mind wouldn't let it go. "Enjoy the laughs while you can." I'd kept the message to myself, not wanting to worry Sarah.

I didn't even know what it meant, and I didn't want to freak her out for no reason. But the words hung there in my head like a bad smell.

I had to shake it off, though. Tonight was supposed to be fun, light, relaxed - exactly what she needed after that weird guy with the camera.

We'd just gotten back from the comedy club, and Sarah was looking at me with that soft smile of hers, eyes shining.

I figured maybe I could keep things light, get her laughing again. What better way than to cook dinner myself?

"Stay right there," I told her, leading her to the couch and giving her a little nudge to sit. "I'm gonna whip us up something amazing. You just relax." She laughed, raising an eyebrow. "You? Cooking?"

"Hey, I can cook," I said, puffing my chest out a little. I wasn't exactly a five-star chef, but how hard could it be?

She just grinned, sinking into the couch with that amused look that meant she was in for a show. "Alright, Chef Richard, impress me."

I rolled up my sleeves and stepped into the kitchen, ready to take on this "culinary challenge."

I figured pasta would be simple enough. Just boil it, add some sauce, throw in a little extra to make it seem fancy. Piece of cake.

Or so I thought.

was the pot of water. I filled it up,

to boil, and I kept glancing at it every few seconds, tapping my fingers on

the living room, trying to stifle a laugh, "you know it doesn't boil faster if

eyes even though she couldn't see me. "I'm just...

in a big handful of pasta. Too

the pot, but I figured they'd shrink down or something. That's

sauce. I found a jar of marinara in the fridge

pepper, the sauce started bubbling, popping little red

closer now. She'd peeked into the kitchen doorway, watching me fight the sauce

just kept bubbling, popping, and spitting everywhere. I couldn't help but laugh at myself - this was going so wrong, but it

some help?" she asked, stepping in with a

insisted. "This is my surprise for you. Go sit. I've got

surrender, smirking. "Alright, if you

could hear her giggling as she walked back to the living room, and I took a deep breath, turning back

some in, then tossed in a bit of garlic powder for

then, I noticed the pasta. It looked like it had doubled in size and was now

somehow managed to pour the pasta out without burning myself. The steam billowed up, and I waved it away, feeling like I'd just run a marathon. Finally, I dumped the drained pasta into a bowl, poured the sauce over it, and gave it a quick stir. It wasn't the prettiest thing I'd ever seen, but it was edible. Or at least I hoped so. "Dinner is served!" I announced, carrying the bowl out to

lip to hide a smile. "Wow, that... looks... interesting." "Hey, don't judge a book by its cover," I said, setting it down in front of her with a

"See? I told

normal. Every time she giggled, I felt a little lighter, a

trying to sound casual, "if I were