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“Okay. Ian.” Hazel tested the word in her mouth. “Ian. Ian Ian Ian—”
“Oh, God.” Ian fetched his own glass and threw his other hand in the air.
“No, no, I’m sorry. Ian’s a beautiful name, and it totally really sounds like a name.”
“This is why I’ve never seen you drink at any of our lunches, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s because I don’t drink in the middle of the day.” Hazel crossed her legs under her.
Ian shrugged his head to the side. She finished her glass and sighed dramatically.
“I’ll give you more after we’ve had dinner. Now come on down from there, and we can relax on the sofa.” Ian reached out to her, and she tentatively took his arm.
As he helped her down, her heart began drumming out a thunderous beat. It felt like her skin was on fire, and then the throbbing began between her legs. She shuddered, almost fell, and clung to him as he smiled down at her. She wanted more than anything in the world to kiss him, but he was just helping her to the sofa. There, he curled up next to her, petting her hair and asking her details about her day.
With one more glass of wine, she would have crawled into his lap and kissed him. But he would give her no more wine, and she was getting sleepy, so she snuggled up close to him, enjoying his scent and his warmth.
Chapter Seven
“Thank you for coming out,” Ian said quietly. He glanced back at Hazel’s sleeping form on the sofa and pulled out some cash to tip the delivery man. “Here’s something for your trouble. I know Bread and Butterfly don’t normally deliver.”
“Nah, man.” The young man shrugged. “The manager said you paid a huge extra fee to get the delivery.”
“Take it. I know that you’re missing out on tips during the time you took to bring this to us.” Ian pressed the bill into the man’s hand. “Have a good evening.”
“Looks like you’ve already started your good evening,” the young man joked.
Ian grinned. “Maybe so.”
He turned, bags in hand, and began to head toward the kitchen. Then he spotted Hazel, awake and blinking sleepily at him from where she’d draped herself over the arm of the sofa.
“Haven’t you ever heard of Uber Eats?”
“In theory, yes, in practice, no.” Ian continued to the kitchen. “Stay there and don’t fall on your face. I’ll bring you a plate.”
“Did I pass out?”
“I don’t think you can pass out from two glasses of wine. I think the term you’re looking for is ‘fell asleep.’” Ian pulled out two plates and took out the containers. He’d ordered every side that came without meat: crudité, carrot and pine nut salad, sautéed mushrooms, and pomme frites with aioli.
Hazel’s eyes followed him as he brought the plates around. “That looks amazing.”
“They do have a good chef. Granted, I’ve had Vicki looking into vegan restaurants in the area, and I think they could do better. It’ll have to do for now though.” Ian sat next to her and handed her a plate.
“Aw. You’re trying vegan food for me? That’s the sweetest thing ever. Not even my twin will eat at a vegan restaurant with me.” Hazel folded her legs underneath her and tried a mushroom. “Mmmm.”
“I’m not sure I see why it’s a problem,” Ian said. “I mean, I wouldn’t become vegan for you, but one meal… vegan food is essentially vegetables. I need those to live.”
“You’d think.”
“What made you choose to go vegan? Is it because of the environmental impact of factory farming?”
Hazel smiled so widely that Ian wondered if he’d accidentally said: “I love you.”
“That’s part of it. It’s also that I’m mildly allergic to eggs and dairy, so going vegetarian is basically going all the way.” Hazel tried the crudité. “If I weren’t allergic, I wouldn’t be banning eggs and cheese. I have a hard time getting protein. Thank God I’m not allergic to legumes. I’d die.”
“That explains it.” Ian picked at the salad as he watched Hazel eat. The more he discovered about her, the more he felt her sliding into a permanent place in his life. In spite of having been married twice, he wasn’t accustomed to this feeling. His compatibility with Meryl had always been interests first, chemistry second. That may have been the problem.
He got on with her before he liked her, and he had liked her less and less over time. With Hazel… he’d liked her almost immediately upon meeting her. Hell, he’d liked her a little bit from her application. She was a tremendous woman. He wanted her in his life, no matter what happened at the end of this semester.
