Why am I blushing?

By the time Otto showed up that evening, Iva had finish stringing up the rope and sheets, dividing the front sitting room in half. She moved the couches and chairs so they each had an equal amount of sitting space. Then she tackled the kitchen. Half the counters. Half the table and half the refrigerator, although Otto hadn't yet brought

home any food. She gazed at her yogurt, skim milk, boneless chicken breast, and summer grapes lovingly, and then proceeded to pull out her phone to look up recipes online.

No sooner had she sat down at the table, than Otto showed up with two bags of groceries of his own, and a bouquet of chrysanthemums and daisies.

"Oh," Iva said, pursing her lips as he unloaded them onto the counter, eyeing the flowers suspiciously.

"Am I using the correct half of my space?" he asked.

She nodded, biting at her cheek. "Yes. I just hoped I mean I thought-you'd be eating out, not cooking."

"I love to cook,"

Iva lifted an eyebrow. "Are you just trying to annoy me?"

"Why would I try to annoy you?" His facial expression unreadable, but he wasn't trying to be nice.

Iva didn't want to answer that. "Can I plead the Fifth?"

Otto gave her a stare. He set down a crate of eggs on the counter, and then came toward her.

"Do you have high cholesterol issues eating that many eggs?" Iva's nerves went on high alert at his sudden nearness.

He gave her a mild smile. "May I sit on your side of the table for a moment?"

Iva's eyes traveled up his chest and then to his face, embarrassed. "Um, okay."

He straddled a chair and leaned his arms over the back, setting his chin on his fist to gaze at her.

She glanced down at her phone, her fingers trembling as she turned the screen without reading anything on display, moving through her apps, back and forth. She was unsure of what his game plan was and why he was sitting so close. "Go ahead and finish unpacking your groceries," she finally snapped. "I'm just looking over chicken recipes."

Otto reached over and gently turned off her phone.

At the same moment, Iva tried to stop him and their hands knocked together. She slammed herself back into the chair in an effort to ignore the disarming tingles that raced up her arms, reaching her neck in a shiver.

Sitting back in her chair and folding her arms over her chest, she asked, "What is your problem?"

"I'm officially declaring a truce.

"A truce, eh?"

"Come on, Iva, don't glare at me. I'm perfectly harmless. You can call my grandmother if you'd like. You can ask anyone in town about my reputation and credentials,"

"I thought your grandmother was dead."