CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
GRAY’S PHONE CHIMEDwhile they laughed. He ignored it. As far as he was concerned, little else was more important than watching Meredith come apart over his attempts at humor. And even as she laughed, she shook her head at his last remark. Admittedly, the second base comment had been a little crude, but he hoped dessert would make up for it.
“Oh my God, is this crème brulée?”
Instead of the classic white ramekin, Meredith held up a little foil dish full of the mouth-watering custard. Her look of surprised delight was worth every penny and all of Bax’s bitching about ordering takeout from the upscale steakhouse.
“As promised,” Gray said with a nod.
“I can’t believe you did that.” Her brown eyes grew wide with wonder.
Gray shrugged. “We shut-ins have our moments.”
She dropped her chin and regarded him under one arched brow. “Shut-in?Please.” Then she jumped to her feet. “We need spoons. Be right back.”
He watched her dart out of the room, and he didn’t stop watching until she disappeared down the stairs. Then he picked up his phone and squinted at the letters until they stopped wiggling on the screen.
Bax:What the hell is going on up there?
He typed a single question mark in response and hit send. Then he shut his eyes.Only for a moment.A thin band stretching across his visual field seemed to be on acid, and it made working on his laptop — trying to write and read what he’d written — like trying to sew with numb fingers. He’d had this kind of ocular disturbance before, so it didn’t alarm him — much — but he couldn’t face the thought of working anymore tonight.
His phone chimed again, and Gray told Siri to read it to him.
“Okay,” Siri agreed. “Bax’s text said:The laughing. We’ve never heard you laugh like that. You okay?Would you like to send a reply?”
Hearing his brother’s words in Siri’s voice made him snicker, but the message itself didn’t surprise him. Gray felt like laughing more with Meredith than with anyone he’d ever known.
“No,” he told his phone, and he opened his eyes as soon as he heard her bouncing up the stairs. She came to a halt as she reached the doorway.
“You okay? You look tired.”
He nodded. “I am tired, but come sit by me and have dessert.” He held out his hand to her, and she crossed the room, tucked her hand in his, and gave him a squeeze.
“Can I do anything?” she asked, sitting beside him.
He gave her a smile and tried to pull himself together. “You’re doing it.”
Meredith handed him a spoon, and he made himself pick up his dessert, but all he wanted to do was watch her enjoy it. Smiling, she tapped at the golden, caramelized shell with the tip of her spoon. A little gasp escaped her when she broke through the surface, and Gray didn’t have to put any effort into appearing carefree. He was beaming.
She scooped up a spoonful of the creamy dessert, took a bite, and then she held perfectly still, her face shining with pleasure. Gray took a hurried taste so he could know exactly what she experienced.
The crème brulée was a silky, rich mouthful of vanilla sweetness. The layer of caramelized sugar added just a hint of toasted-crunch perfection. And Gray watched every flavor and texture play out on Meredith’s angelic face.
“Yum!”
“I told you so,” he teased, earning himself a playful scowl.
“You must really like saying that,” she batted back before taking another bite and looking heavenward. “Damn, that’s good.”
“Face of an angel. Mouth of a devil. Lucky me.”
The scowl was back. “You’re about to be wearing this.”
He laughed and then laughed harder at the thought of his befuddled family listening downstairs. “I’ll take my chances. I think you like it too much to waste any on me.”
She glanced down at her rapidly emptying dish and pulled a look of deliberation. “Too true.” Then she nodded to his. “You’ve barely touched yours. Is something wrong?”
Gray surveyed the food containers in front of him. He’d left more than half of the dinner untouched, and as good as the crème brulée was, his head was crowded with such pain, he couldn’t swallow anything more.
