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“You do it by hand?”
“Of course,” she said. “We’re not called Harris Farms for nothing. We’re homemade all the way.”
“Good enough for me.” Knox used the potato masher to do the raspberries justice.
When he was finished, Jana added the rest of the ingredients. “Now, we pour.” She demonstrated how much of the jam concoction should be poured into each jar. Then she added the sterilized lids.
“Am I doing this right?” Knox asked.
“Yeah, except you’re not supposed to drip the jam over the edge.”
“Whoops.” He set down the bowl and used his finger to swipe at the stray drip.
“Here, use this wet paper towel,” she said. “It’s more sanitary.”
“Ah, thanks.” Knox used the paper towel, but for the next jars, he suddenly turned into a perfectionist and didn’t spill anything. “Yes! Do you see this jar? Not one drip.”
“Nice,” Jana said, keeping the laughter out of her tone, because he was like an excited kid.
The work went twice as fast even though she had to take the time to explain things. Soon, the new jars were in the pressure cookers, and the first set of jars had finished cooling and Knox had loaded them into boxes.
“How long do they sit in the water canner?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
Knox nodded. “And when does the delivery man come to pick them up?”
“Not until 4:00 today.”
“So you have a few hours to spare?”
Jana set her hands on her hips. “Maybe…”
Knox rose from where he was sitting at the table and walked toward her where she’d just set the water canner timers. The kitchen was plenty warm, but his gaze on her was making her hot.
“Do you want to come to the park with me?” he asked when he stopped close to her. “I’m picking up Ruby in about an hour, and I thought maybe…”
She raised her brows, waiting. “Maybe what?”
“Maybe if you want to get out of the house, you’d like to come,” he said. “Or you can bring your laptop, and you know, write in nature. Get some inspiration.”
“The story takes place in New York City.”
“Right.” But he was smiling, and he must know that his smile did funny things to her mind, because she found herself considering it.
“The park is very public,” she said.
Knox shrugged. “Well, now that I know you don’t have a boyfriend, I’m good with a little gossip.”
“Oh, really?” Jana laughed. “That’s all it took, huh?”
His fingers slid over hers, then he grasped her hand.
The kitchen was definitely a too-hot place to be with a man like Knox Prosper.
“Please?”
She placed a hand on his chest, fully intending on pushing him away, and telling him she’d think about it. But somehow, her hand moved from his chest up and over his shoulder, bringing their bodies flush.
