Rome yanked the pan away before Archer could snag a piece. The pair had a glare-off that ended with Rome shoving the pan toward him again with a snort. “You’re not wrong.”
The look Archer gave him sent a dark thread of heat skittering through Jolie’s body. Even in a playful moment he looked dangerous as hell.
As if he felt her attention on him, he threw her a glance and snatched up the square.
The pan made the rounds and in a minute, it was empty. Jolie got up to grab the second pan.
Archer met her stare. “Terrific meal, Jolie. Thank you.”
Pleased she could be of some use, she set the second pan in the center of the table and planted her hands on her hips.
“It’s good enough but it isn’t a balanced meal. I wanted to make a salad, but you guys must have something against fresh vegetables. Herbs too. And there isn’t a piece of fruit in the whole place. Is there some underground military rule against fresh food?”
That sent laughter rippling around the table.
Rome cut a serious look at her. “We’re protein-forward.”
“You’re going to get rickets.”
Townie pointed his spoon at her. “We’ve got canned peaches. I moved them to the back when I was rummaging for a snack.”
She sank to her seat. “Why am I not surprised?”
More laughter rang out, and even Cannon appeared to be faintly amused, but the smirk vanished quick when his phone buzzed. He walked out of the room to manage some important matter.
The tension they’d brought back with them was loosened by the food and ordinary comfort of sitting around a table. One thing she knew was that after a bad day, food fortified people tokeep going in ways that simple encouragement couldn’t. In her house, a pan of old-fashioned mac and cheese could solve the world’s problems.
The guys went back for seconds, and pretty soon the serving spoon scraped the bottom of the pot. Only a few crumbs of cornbread remained in the second pan, and as she watched, Townie leaned over and pressed a blunt fingertip into them, gathering them on the end and bringing the crumbs to his mouth.
They all looked at her.
She felt Archer’s gaze burning into the side of her face and didn’t dare glance his way.
“What’s next on the menu?” Rome asked.
She widened her eyes. “Am I expected to whip up another pot of chili?”
Rome snorted. “We wouldn’t mind, but no. I smell cake.”
She sat back in her seat. “Cake? I didn’t make any cake.”
Just like kids, several of them groaned.
“But I did bake brownies.”
“Hell yeah!”
Someone thumped the table and she couldn’t stop a laugh from bubbling out as she got up to fetch the brownies and a small stack of paper plates. Before she could take a step, Archer was on his feet.
“I got it.” His blue eyes blazed into hers for a fluttering heartbeat.
She watched him with appreciation as he sliced the pan into large squares and served Jolie the first one, a show of respect for making them the meal.
“Thank you,” she murmured as he served her a fudgy brownie.
His hard lips softened at one corner but she picked up the stiff line of his broad shoulders.
She watched him as she ate her brownie, breaking it into little bits the same way she was taking apart Archer’s appearance.
