Saving Rain

by Kelsey Kingsley

Ray had made a pot of spaghetti and some of the best meatballs I’d ever eaten in my life. I even told her they were better than my grandmother’s, which was one of the greatest compliments I could ever give anyone. “You were close with your grandmother?” she asked, making conversation as she spooned another meatball onto my dish. “I was.” I cut the meatball in half with my fork and popped one side into my mouth, eating like I hadn’t consumed good food in a really, really long fucking time. Which wasn’t entirely true. The weeks I’d spent with Harry’s family were filled with excellent food. But it’d been over a month since then, and Ray’s cooking, I’d found, was even better. Ray studied me with a soft, albeit intense, stare, a slight curve to her lips as she watched me stuff the other half of the meatball into my mouth. I met her eyes mid-chew, and she didn’t look away. We held each other captive for a few thundering beats of my heart as the questions mounted between us, piling high on the table and cluttering the bowl of spaghetti and incredible meatballs. Why is she looking at me like that? How is she so fucking pretty? Where is Noah’s dad? Would a woman already involved with a man stare at another like this? Noah sighed and shifted in his chair, breaking the spell between his mother and me. I diverted my gaze to the sauce smeared across my otherwise empty plate while Ray cleared her throat and addressed her son. “Excuse me, are we boring you?” she teased, reaching over to ...