Page 55 of The Hang Up
“That must have been hard.” She wasn’t sure what else to offer.
“This little guy is quite the fighter.” Ellie smiled at her son. “The heart of a lion. Takes after Uncle Jason.”
“I like lions,” Henry said. “Remember that one time we went to the zoo and the boy elephant had a great big, huge, ginormous?—”
“We remember.” Jason grinned. “You can spare us the elephant anatomy lesson. Did you wash your hands, buddy?”
“I did. Can Miriam stay for dinner? I promise she won’t eat too much and I’ll let her sit next to me.”
“Oh, that’s very sweet.” Miriam ruffled Henry’s hair, then glanced at her watch. “I don’t want to impose, and I really should get home.”
“Please stay,” Ellie insisted. “Feeding you is the least I can do after you bailed out my stupid brother this morning. Besides, I’ve got a killer Chianti to go with the lasagna.”
Jason smiled at Miriam. “Odds are good you’ll get more than your share of the wine, since she tends to go easy on it after a migraine.”
“That’s very tempting, but I really shouldn’t?—”
“Please stay?” Henry pleaded. “I’ll bet Mom will even let you lick your plate, even though we’re not supposed to.”
Miriam glanced at Jason, not sure if she should accept the invitation or call it a day. After all, they’d been together since early this morning, and maybe he could use a break from her.
But the smile he gave her wasn’t the smile of a man eager to see her headed out the door, and when he slung his arm around her shoulders, it wiped away any doubt she might have had about whether he wanted her to stick around.
Okay, so they’d agreed they weren’t interested in a relationship, but maybe this friends-with-benefits thing could work.
“Please stay,” Jason murmured in her ear, his voice deep and rich like melted chocolate. “I’ll bet you’ll let me lick your plate, even though we’re not supposed to.”
Miriam shivered with desire, and glanced over at Ellie and Henry to make sure they hadn’t heard. Henry was busy showing Ellie how his dinosaur could do the backstroke, so the boy was blessedly oblivious to the dirty things his uncle was whispering in the houseguest’s ear.
But Ellie glanced over and grinned. “Come on, buddy,” she told Henry as she caught her son by the hand. “I think Uncle Jason’s powers of persuasion might work best without us in the room.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Miriam murmured, not needing any persuasion at all.
* * *
Jason leanedback in his chair, folding his hands behind his head as he stretched out his legs and resisted the urge to undo the top button on his shorts.
“Amazing dinner, El,” he said, feeling warm all over. “You’re going to need to roll me out the door to get back to my place.”
“Please,” Jason’s sister said as she kicked his foot under the table, then turned to Miriam. “Honestly, the guy eats like a starving water buffalo and never gains an ounce. It’s so unfair.”
“I hear you.” Miriam took her last bite of lasagna and chewed carefully before setting down her fork. She stood up and began to gather their empty plates. “If I evenlookat a second helping, it goes straight to my hips.”
Jason reached across the table for his sister’s empty salad bowl, then stacked it in his own before reaching for Henry’s. The boy had already headed off to bed after clearing away his own dinner plate, but he’d left behind the bowl and a juice glass.
“All right, ladies,” Jason said. “This isn’t going to turn into one of those conversations where I have to reassure you both you’re beautiful and fabulous and don’t need to lose a pound, is it?”
“Definitely not.” Miriam grinned at Ellie. “We already know we’re beautiful and fabulous, so we don’t need you to tell us.”
“And the only pounds I want to talk about right now are British ones.”
Miriam gave her a perplexed look. “Are you planning a trip to England?”
“No, I have this e-commerce site I’ve been trying to set up for my new business,” Ellie said as she pushed her blond hair back off her forehead. “I’ve spent the last couple days fighting with the currency conversion for the online sales portal, and I’m about ready to tear my hair out. If I didn’t have such a strong interest from the UK, I probably wouldn’t even bother with overseas sales.”
“Maybe I can help,” Miriam said as she carted the stack of plates to the kitchen and set them beside the sink. She returned to the dining room and picked up the salad bowls Jason had stacked. “I’ve done quite a bit of Web design in the past. I’d be happy to take a look.”
“Thanks, but I’m running on a pretty shoestring budget,” she said.“I don’t really have the money to hire a PR firm, but I appreciate the offer.”
