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“I know about his affairs. I’m okay with them,” she added.
“Lady, with all due respect, you seem way too okay with way too much.”
A laugh tore from her chest and she covered her mouth to try to hold it in. Talk about a lost cause. She doubled over and let the hysteria overtake her until tears blurred her vision.
Tears. Real, honest-to-god tears. From mirth, but still. They counted.
He reached across the table and awkwardly patted her back as one might a potentially dangerous, wounded animal. Only his palm made contact with her spine, not his fingers. “Hey, hey. It’s okay.”
“Yeah? I’m sitting here discussing my non-sex life with a total stranger and you think that’s okay? A stranger who wants me to stay with a guy who wouldn’t eat my cooking and refused to come to Christmas dinners at my parents’ house? I’d say none of this is okay, Mr. Maddox.”
“You can call me Jeff.”
“Thanks so much.” The hint of sarcasm in her voice surprised her as much as she could tell it did him.
“He’s sleeping with my little sister.”
“Oh.” Then as it sank in, she said again, “Oh. Sorry about that.”
Much to her shock—and pleasure—he started to laugh. “Yeah, it fucking sucks.”
“Do you always swear so much?”
His laughter subsided but the glow in his truly amazing eyes didn’t. “You really
sound like a preschool teacher, you know that? So calm and well-mannered.”
She shrugged. “I’m good at my job. I must admit, I wonder what yours is. Because of the swearing and…lack of vocabulary, I’m thinking maybe truck driver?”
Again he laughed, long and loud. “Hardly. I edit. Books,” he added at her blank look.
“What kind of books?”
“Ones with a lot of pages.” He got up and fished a ratty wallet out of his back pocket. “Want another coffee?”
“Oh, I shouldn’t—”
“Go for it.” He gave her a half-smile. “Go wild.”
Karyn huffed out a breath and nodded. “Tall peppermint latte please. Extra whip.”
His smile went from merely interesting to striking enough to knock the socks she wasn’t wearing right off. “Now we’re talking. I’ll be right back.”
She watched him stroll up to the checkout, her gaze centered on the gray thermal shirt sticking out from under his sweatshirt. It landed mid-butt cheek, hiding just enough of the good stuff to tease her imagination.
She smiled. An ordinary guy, huh?
Suddenly ordinary didn’t seem so bad.
Chapter Two
What a crazy-ass day.
He’d had a conversation with his sister’s boyfriend’s wife that lasted two hours. Actually, closer to three. The coffee shop closed at nine and they’d found themselves out on the stoop with nowhere to go.
Unless they wanted to adjourn to one of their respective places. Which they hadn’t. Or hadn’t admitted to.
After finishing his supper, Jeff kicked back on his bed. He’d eaten a TV dinner, standing up in the kitchen while he watched the news by the light from the refrigerator. Had she gotten something to eat? She didn’t look like one of those insubstantial types, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she skipped meals when upset.
