He considered her. She was wearing the cherry-print dress.
He pressed his hands on the island and let it hold some of his weight.
“Is this your favorite mug?” she exclaimed.
It took him a moment to catch up with the question. “Uh, yes.” At least they weren’t going to have to talk about last night.
“Then you use it! Give me a different one.”
His first instinct was to insist that she use it. She should have the best mug. But he didn’t want to be the kind of person who thought that hard about mugs.
“I can see why you like it, though.” She picked it up and stuck her fingers through the handle. “It’s a snug fit. Very ergonomic.”
He paused, the wordsKeep iton his tongue, but he didn’t want to examine why he wanted her to have the best mug, so he wordlessly went to the cupboard to get a different one.
“That was… fun last night,” she said while his back was turned.
Oh, Jesus, theyweregoing to have to talk about it. He’d rather saw his own arm off.
“It was.” He wasn’t surefunwas exactly the word he would use, but he wasn’t about to tell her it had in fact been transcendent. Gutting. Simple agreement seemed the best move.
Bracing himself for theWe should just be friendsspeech, he forced himself to relax his shoulders. Why brace for an outcome you were hoping for? Theyshouldjust be friends. In no universe was it wise to dally with Blair Kellermoon, as fun/transcending/gutting as said dallying had been.
“I think we should do it again.”
He started to drop the mug but recovered himself and righted it. “Excuse me?”
“I think we should do it again.” She paused. “And by ‘it,’ I mean have sex.”
“I got that.”
“I just think—”
“OK.”
Her eyes widened. His easy agreement had disarmed her. “Unless you think it would be weird to do it at your friend’s place.” They were staying at Allie’s cabin for the next night or two while Blair poked around the area.
“It wouldn’t be weird,” he said with a speed he was subsequently embarrassed by.
She smiled. “OK, then.”
This was the part where they should probably discuss terms. Wasthis going to be a regular thing while she was in town? How long was she staying, anyway?
Did they have to wait till tonight? Could they do it again right now?
He looked at his watch. No. Allie was meeting them at the cabin, and she needed to head back to the Cities at three—it was Sunday, and she had to get the household ready for school and work on Monday.
He shelved his real questions in favor of a mundane one. “You want some eggs?”
“Sure.”
Jack, for whom breakfast was usually coffee and an apple, got out a frying pan and prepared to make eggs, as if that were a thing he did.
Jack had spent a lot of time with Blair, most of it indoors or by her pool. With the exception of their jaunt to the Watts Towers, he hadn’t spent time with her out in the regular, non-Hollywood world. So he was somewhat unprepared when Allie, upon meeting Blair, lost her shit.
“I know I’m supposed to be cool,” Allie said after they pulled up to the cabin to find her waiting out front, “but I just need to get this out of the way.Hidden Gemswas extremely formative for me. I did a business degree because ofHidden Gems.”
“Aww.” Blair went in for a hug as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She had such a way with people. “I wish I could take the credit, but I only acted in that. I didn’t write it or produce it or anything.”
