She snorted at his comment about frying anything in butter. James would probably eat everything that way if he had a choice. Wrinkling her nose at the thought, she scooped the only slightly unhealthy vegetables onto her plate and then passed him the bowl. In return she took the chicken, eager to see how the recipe had turned out. “Oh that’s right, silly me. And here I was thinking there was no more perilous a situation for you than being caught in the same room as vegetables,” she teased, picking up her utensils to cut a piece of the chicken on her plate. When she brought it to her mouth she was pleasantly surprised by the flavor, a lot like chicken cutlets but with wine and lemons. Definitely a recipe she would end up saving. James surprised her when he thanked her for ‘all of this’, as he’d put it. Paula smiled, pleased, but gave a half shrug feigning nonchalance. ”I just really felt like cooking tonight, and after seeing how you grocery shop, I figured you could appreciate actual food for once,” she explained, raising an eyebrow pointedly as she ribbed him about his shopping habits. She speared a few of the vegetables, popping them in her mouth as he asked her twenty questions, at which she had to snort. “James I see you every day, literally nothing has changed in my life since…” she glanced at the clock on the stove, “two hours ago when I left the station.” Paula shook her head but smiled anyway. “I’m fine. Mom is fine. Laura is fine. Claudia I assume is fine,” she shook her head as she laughed. “We’re very boring people who live very simple lives and are currently swamped with work.”
“Do not get me wrong, being in the same room is rather frightful, but I shall manage. So you don’t fret over me,” he smirked as he brought the fork with the vegetable on it to his mouth. It was not exactly his first choice in foods, but it was not as bad as he was making out to be. James continued to eat, enjoying the flavor of the chicken when he heard Paula mention his grocery shopping. “There is nothing wrong with the food I eat,” he assured her. I do appreciate it though. You do spoil me far too much.”
Of course she would give him grief about his polite conversation. “I do realize we see each other nearly every day and I saw you earlier at the station. Just figured that one of us might have something interesting going on in their lives.” Who was he fooling? He was married to the job and he was sure Paula swore off men. “Glad to hear your family is doing well.” James rolled his eyes at the mention of her being swamped at work. “Um any plans for this week?” For the most part he was trying to avoid the topic of work, mainly because every officer was working overtime and they discussed work enough throughout the day.
