Page 70 of Good For Me

I roll my eyes. “I miss one week and you start the guilt trips?”

“I’m just practicing for when I’m too old for you to want to hang out with anymore,” he says, grinning. “Figure I’m gonna need to guilt trip you into coming over eventually.”

“Fat chance.” I nudge him aside to hug Ruby. “Hey, Grandma.”

She kisses my cheeks before pushing me roughly aside. “Jasmine!” she says, reaching for her hands. “It’s so nice to see you again, sweetheart.”

“Hi, Ruby,” Jas says somewhat shyly.

“Jas, this is my grandfather, Will. And you remember my grandmother—”

“Of course she remembers me,” Grandma says. “You don’t forget The Purple Cat.”

I meet Jasmine’s gaze over the top of Ruby’s head and I just know she’s thinking the same thing as me—you also don’t forget the night you hooked up with a co-worker and conceived a freaking child.

“That night was definitely…um.” Jas clears her throat. “Memorable.”

I can’t help it—I snort out a laugh. And then Jas is laughing too and we just can’t stop, even as my grandparents look between the two of us, completely bemused.

“Sorry,” I say when I can breathe again. “Inside joke.”

“Inside my uterus joke,” she mumbles so only I can hear her, and we both crack up again.

“Have the two of you been drinking already?” Grandpa asks, his eyes narrowed. “And if so, why aren’t you sharing?”

Jas snorts loudly, which only makes it worse. “I’m sorry,” I gasp. “This shouldn’t be so funny.”

“I think we’re over-tired,” Jas offers as an explanation. “It’s been a long week.”

Grandma looks at me fondly. “Whatever it is, I just like seeing you look so happy.”

Happy. That is definitely not the emotion I would have chosen to describe either of us the past week. But I do feel happy, right now, standing here in the sunshine with Jas, introducing her to two of the most important people in my life, the smell of good food in the air, the laughter of my siblings and cousins echoing across the yard.

“Ooh,” Jas says suddenly, tugging my arm. “I think the food is ready.”

“Well let’s get you fed, then.” I turn back to my grandparents. “You want me to grab you both a plate?”

“We’re not that old yet,” Grandma says, shooing me away. Jas is already halfway to the barbecue pit and I smother a smile as I follow her. I wonder what other food cravings she’s going to have in the next few months.

We fill up our plates and find a place at one of the picnic tables. We’re quiet for a few moments while we eat. Jas keeps making those happy food love noises that make it hard for me to concentrate. I’m both pleased to see her enjoying herself and tortured by the enthusiasm with which she tackles her meal. I want to hear those same noises while I’m kissing her.

Don’t go there, River.

Once she’s tamed her hunger a bit, she slows down. “Sorry,” she says sheepishly, wiping her lips with a napkin. I’m both relieved and disappointed to see she’s managed to catch the drop of barbecue sauce above her upper lip. I’d been fantasizing about wiping it off with my thumb. It’s absolutely ridiculous how much I crave to touch this woman.

“You don’t have to apologize for being hungry. Or enjoying your food.”

“Your family is going to think I’m a total pig.”

I wave my hands around the lawn. “You see anyone here picking at their plates? Ransomes like food, babe.”

“You grandparents seem cool,” she says, and there’s something in her voice that makes me wonder if she’s thinking about her own grandfather.

“They’re pretty awesome,” I agree.

“You said something to him about you missing a week?”

“Oh, right.” I rub the back of my neck, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I go over there every week to, uh, hang out with him.”