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“My outfit,” she said slowly, her blue eyes sparkling. “It’s all there.”
He gritted his teeth and turned to glance out the window. It was a hell of a lot safer than looking at her. She was trying to play him, and he wasn’t going to cooperate. “There’s coffee over there, as long as if doesn’t threaten your chakra, of course.”
She laughed. “Did you make a joke?”
“I don’t know. Did I?”
She smiled and nudged him. “Maybe that stick up your ass isn’t stuck as far in as I thought. The Jake I used to know might still be alive and kicking beneath that serious facade.”
“Doubtful,” he said, grabbing his raspberries off the counter. She hadn’t asked him if she could have any. Just took. How typical of her. “War does weird things to a man. It changes him.”
She fell silent, her attention on his Keurig as it brewed her coffee. He couldn’t help but notice she went for the flavored crap instead of the plain. He’d have to remember she liked it, and get some more at the store for her. As he ate a raspberry, she took another one, popping it in her mouth and doing the same slow, torturous chew she’d done before.
Fuck, he could watch her eat the sweet berries all day long. He almost reached for her. Almost kissed her, right there in the kitchen.
But he didn’t.
He gave her the rest of the berries, since she obviously planned on helping herself anyway, and busied himself with washing the dishes. “Have you thought about the code at all?”
She set the bowl down hard. “Nope. That’s not what I was thinking about while I was all alone in my bed late last night.”
Yeah. He hadn’t been, either.
“Well, you need to focus on work instead of daydreams.” He scrubbed the plate in the sink a hell of a lot harder than needed. “This isn’t some game you can laugh off. We have two days to figure this all out, or you’ll be in jail.”
She hopped on the counter, swinging her legs in the air. Her heel kept hitting the cabinet, making a constant knocking sound. “I know, I know. Help you or go to jail. Blah, blah, blah.” She wiggled her fingers and made a scared fa
ce. “I get it. It’s like the bogeyman, only I’ll have to wear horizontal stripes.” She paused. “Actually, jail might be worse than being killed by the bogeyman. I don’t look good in stripes—no one does.”
He shook his head, refusing to rise to the bait. Refusing to let her get to him. “You used to like stripes.”
“When I was a kid, sure.” She leaned in and gripped his shoulder, her fingers brushing away an imaginary speck of lint. “A lot can change over the years.”
He shut off the water and set the plate in the drying rack. She leaned back, her breasts thrusting out from the new position. Her legs were spread enough that he could easily slip inside them and rub against her soft…
Nope. Not happening.
He gritted his teeth. “Obviously not that much. You still act as if nothing in life is to be taken seriously. As if you’re invincible.”
“Should I be more like you, and take everything seriously? Never smile or make a joke?” she asked. Hopping down, she dusted her hands off. “You wanna know what your problem is?”
He took a sip of his coffee and headed toward the living room, knuckles white against the mug. “I’m sure you’re dying to tell me,” he said drily.
“You forgot how to have fun. Forgot how to live and laugh and be free.” She pulled him away from his computer. Away from work. “I can fix that, though. I still know how to have fun.”
“Oh, I bet you do,” he muttered, still not looking at her.
“That was almost a joke,” she said. “Come on. Let’s take the day off and go to the carnival, like we used to when we were kids.”
He swallowed his scalding coffee.
The carnival? Christ, he hadn’t gone to one of those since…well, since he’d gone with her. It had been one of their favorite pastimes. He didn’t know how many hours they’d spent there, talking, laughing, and dreaming of a better life.
Well, the last part had been his. In his dreams, he’d been self-sufficient and had gotten a family of his own. One that wouldn’t leave him.
But dreams were meant to be broken.
He forced a laugh, though the idea of walking around a carnival with her wasn’t the most appalling thing he’d ever considered. The opposite, actually. “No.”
