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"It's not ridiculous. It's none of your business." He actually looked miffed. Turning his attention back to the TV, he finished his beer and sat the empty bottle on the coffee table littered with health magazines and one copy ofParenting,which she'd snagged at the grocery store yesterday.
Charlie coming to live with her scared Eva silly. She knew nothing about living with a boy. Her half brother, Chris, had already been eight years old when she emerged on the scene, and since he lived with his mom, her father's first wife, in Belle Chase, Eva hadn’t really lived with him. And by the time she could actually interact with Chris during his visits on random weekends, he was too busy for a snot-nosed girl. Not that Eva dealt with sinus issues or anything.
As a teen, she'd rarely babysat. And when her father had married his third wife, Claren, Eva had been in her twenties. The odd time they'd brought Charlie over to visit, she'd been at a loss for how to change a diaper or even how to entertain him. The only time her career put her into contact with kids was when she conducted a field trip tour of the fire station.
Mother material she was not.
She tucked her feet under her, careful not to touch any part of Jake's naked leg. Unlike Jamison's very put-together style, Jake wore athletic shorts, a T-shirt he'd cut the sleeves off, and his thick hair looked as if he'd raked his hands through it a million times that day. A five o'clock shadow finished off the gruff, sexy image. Polished wasn't Jake's vibe. Rumpled sex god was more like it.
"I guess I should go," he said. Jake looked uncomfortable, something he never seemed to be. And it was her fault. She'd screwed up, and now she was acting as if things were different. If she wanted to erase the kiss and its repercussions, she had to go back to being herself.
"You don't have to. The game's nearly over, and I think Georgia plays South Carolina next. I could order pizza from Gumbeaux's."
See? Everything was normal. Just like always. They'd watch TV, share a pizza, and never, ever talk about the kiss.
Ever.
"Sounds good but I don't like this vibe between us. You're acting weird after the ki- "
"Uh-uh. Don't say it. Please. It never happened." But it did. She knew it. He knew it. But maybe-
"Fine. It didn't happen. Erased."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. So pizza?"
"Yeah. Get extra olives on my half," he said, toeing off his sneakers and propping his socked feet on her coffee table. As if he was her brother. As if he'd already forgotten.
Gotta love the single-mindedness of a dude.
"I know what you like." Eva uncurled and padded toward the kitchen to grab her phone and the number for Gumbeaux's. After ordering Jake's extra hamburger, extra olives pizza, she slipped off to her room to change into a T-shirt and some shorts she'd made from an old pair of sweatpants. She even took out her contacts, washed her face and put on her glasses.
She returned to the living room and held out her hand.
Jake moved his head around to catch a play.
"Money."
He looked up. "For..."
"Pizza. No freeloading."
Jake reached for his wallet, pulling the pocket inside out and leaving it that way. Yeah, Jake wasn't anything near Jamison French… other than being good-looking as the devil himself. He handed her a couple bills.
"That's too much," she said, shoving a ten back at him.
"Keep it."
"No, this isn't a date. We go halfsies."
"I'm drinking your beer. Keep it."
Eva shrugged and tucked the money into her wallet, plopping onto the wing-backed chair far away from Jake. He watched the game until a commercial came on, and then he turned to her. He wrinkled his nose. "Why'd you change?"
"Because it's just you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I don't have to stay gussied up.”
