Page 377 of Seasons of Love
“I don’t know what you mean.” He shrugged, giving me his most not guilty look.
I picked up my bag and followed him to the kitchen, where the smell of dinner made my tummy rumble louder. Griff raised a brow.
I guess pre-dinner sex is out of the question.
“What did you make?”
“Three-bean chili and rice, and it’s ready to eat, so you can go change while I get the food on the plates.”
I pouted.
Griff dipped a little spoon in the chili sauce to taste it and then kissed me again. Delicious and with a hint of spice. Not too much, just how I liked it.
“Don’t worry, baby. I plan on keeping you up later.”
“I’m already up,” I said, pressing closer to him.
“Go before I change my mind. I’m hungry and would rather eat this chili off a plate than off of you. But make no mistake, this chili is getting eaten.”
I turned to go to the bedroom, shedding my clothes on the way and smiling as I heard Griff groan and curse.
Since Griff made good on his promise to keep me up, I decided it was only fair to indulge him with a breakfast out to the new bakery.
The last thing I needed was to become addicted to the delicious bread rolls they made and baked on-site using their own family recipe, but staring at my husband as he indulged his sweet tooth with one of the pastries after eating two rolls was an addiction in itself.
“You’re not going to be hungry for lunch,” I said as we walked out of the bakery with a box of mini-desserts in hand.
“Watch me.”
We walked the length of the bay toward Frank’s place without any rush. We stopped a few times to talk to people—thanks to my husband’s magnetic social skills—collected some pebbles from the beach, and even stopped to take some photos.
It had been a while since we hadn’t had one thing or another going on, so I allowed myself to enjoy walking with his hand in mine, listening as he told me about the research he was doing for his current book.
A couple of hours later, we stood in front of Frank’s door, pressing the bell while joking about wishing for a light lunch because neither of us was hungry.
The door opened moments later, and I found myself staring at the light-blue eyes that had filled so many of my dreams in the past seven months.
Next to me, Griff gasped and squeezed my hand hard.
Mythical creature, my ass.
Jake was very much real, very much the same person we’d been with months ago, and very much in my boss’s house.
4
JAKE
What was the most appropriate reaction when you opened the door to your house and found the two men that had occupied most of your thoughts for months?
Gasp? Curse? Freeze?
Nope, clearly closing the door in their faces was the thing to do.
I mean, they weren’t really there, were they? Maybe I needed a nap. I’d never hallucinated from jet lag before, but there was always a first.
“Did I hear the doorbell?” my uncle said, poking his head out of the kitchen.
“Um, yes…I’ll get it,” I said.
