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“Never,” he says, feigning like he’s appalled that I questioned his integrity. “I bought this.” He raises the bag up as if me seeing it closer will make me believe he didn’t just charm them into giving him free food. “Hopefully you still love sauerkraut like you did as a kid.”
“From what I remember you loved it too.”
“Oh I still do, but you can’t get a Reuben in Oz like you can here in the States.”
He knows my weakness and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It’s kinda sweet that after all these years he remembers these things about me. It’s not like I blocked everything about him from my memory either.
“I’m pretty sure I never agreed to dinner with you and showing up here with a Reuben is a low blow.” But even as I say it the smile on my face tells him he won. I can’t send him away now.
“I hoped it would work,” Jack says, shifting his weight back and forth and I realize I’ve rudely left him holding everything and waiting for me to invite him in.
I take the bottle of wine from him and step aside. Jack walks in and heads right for my kitchen, setting the bag down, he begins unpacking.
He’s brought two sandwiches, chips, fruit, and to make things even better, a pack of Tim Tams for dessert. He sure knows how to win me over.
“What were you planning to do with all this food if I sent you away?” I ask, as we both sit down and start eating.
“I guess I would’ve just eaten both.” He shrugs his shoulders, taking a big bite of his sandwich. His eyes roll back and he lets out an incredibly sexy low groan. “Might still,” he adds and I laugh as he tries to covertly slide his hand over to my plate.
My memory catches and I think back to all the times we’d meet up in the kitchen after it closed, when both of us knew we shouldn’t be there, and we’d make our own Reuben. Mine piled high with a ridiculous amount of sauerkraut and Jack’s with like thirty pickles on the side.
My dad caught us once and Jack took the blame. Claiming he didn’t know we weren’t supposed to be in the kitchen and that he convinced me it was okay. It was complete bullshit but because my parents thought Jack walked on water, they let it slide. After that we were better at sneaking in there.
“You get extra pickles?” I ask, and Jack reaches into the bag, pulling out a to-go container filled with them.
I laugh out loud as we relive our childhood in my kitchen.
Chapter Seven
Jack
It’s nice being here with Lu like this, laughing as we remember all the shit we used to get up to as kids. Not having her be pissed off at me like she was earlier today is a bonus too.
I knew she’d been shitty when she caught me mucking around with Penny earlier, which is kind of what I’d been aiming for. After watching that Tommy guy strut about marking his territory, I figured I’d see what happened when I turned the tables a little.
It had been good to know I could get her so worked up, even if it had all been harmless. As nice as Penny was, she wasn’t my type. Or the subject of all my fantasies.
But sitting here with Lu now, it’s nice not having to worry about anyone else getting in the way or interrupting us, as we laugh about our frequent break-ins to the kitchen and tasting room back when we were teenagers.
“So, you really want to stick with the story that I was a total pain in the arse to have around back then?” I ask, smiling at her.
Lu takes another bite of her sandwich, her tongue slipping out to lick the corner of her mouth in a way that is far too sexy to be associated with eating food. “Well,” she starts, swallowing. “You weren’tallbad,” she says, rolling her eyes when I grin and nod in agreement with her. “But you were a huge pain in my ass most of the time.”
“Pfft,” I say. “As if. You loved having me here, just like you do now.”
“Mmmm,” is all she says, before licking her fingers.
I reach for the bottle of wine to top up our glasses, anything to avoid reaching for her and sucking those fingers of hers into my own mouth. It’s amazing how crazy she can drive me without even trying.
“What?” I say, as I take a sip of wine and force my mind to stop thinking dirty thoughts. “Does it really bother you having me here?” I ask seriously, my smile gone now.
Lulu looks at me, her eyes meeting mine. She says nothing for what feels like forever and just when I’m starting to think I have seriously misread everything about us and this whole situation, she smiles, lifts her wine glass to her lips and says, “No, it doesn’t.”
I grin now, reaching over and clinking my glass against hers as I say, “Finally, she admits she likes me!”
Lulu laughs, even as she says, “Now, let’s not get too carried away.”
My smile widens. “Just stating the truth, Lu, that’s all.”
