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“You never worked in a restaurant, I take it?”
I shake my head.
“I did. I needed to keep myself busy at school, and I had a lot of scholarships, but they didn’t cover everything. I worked at this hole-in-the-wall burger joint. I never spit in people’s food, but it happens, believe me.”
And now, I don’t ever want to eat in another restaurant.
“Don’t worry, Jon. That woman wants to swap spit with you, not put it in your food.”
My face heats in embarrassment. How does she keep doing that?
“Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“You say outrageous things.”
She cocks her head and studies me. Usually, I’m not bothered by this kind of attention. I get it all the time. But when Avery does it, my entire system goes into overdrive. Irritation mixed with arousal is not a good look on anyone, especially me.
“What?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing. And I do it because people expect it. And I like making people laugh.”
“Why do you worry about that?”
“Because when there’s laughter, people don’t feel so alone anymore.”
And in that one sentence, she almost breaks my heart. That’s next to impossible. According to my former personal assistant, I have no heart. There is an underlying tone to her words that makes me think Avery must be lonely a lot of the time.
I want to ask her more. I want to ask her just when she was lonely and why. It pisses me off that she has four siblings and is still lonely. But I know I don’t have the right to demand those things.
Instead, I shake my head. “It’s still rude.”
“Rude is trying to pick up a man out with another woman.”
I smile. “True.”
“So, you know Estella cornered me about her fundraising thing?”
“She did?”
“I didn’t know I was invited. And just because of that, I have to go to San Antonio for a dress.”
“You don’t have much time. Don’t you already have something to wear?”
“Oh, sure, I have a closet just for my formal dresses.” It’s easy to hear the sarcasm in her voice. “But you should be happy. Liv, the kids, and I are going to San Antonio for a day or two to shop. You get to have my house to yourself.”
“Good. I can finally get some work done.”
She gives me a look, then glances outside.
“What was that look for?”
“No reason. I just know that’s a lie.”
“What do you mean?”
She sighs and looks back at me. “I have a feeling if you really needed to work, you would. But you’re restless. I can feel it. So that tells me you have a major problem at work, you’re worried about your ex, or you really don’t have anything else to do than hang out in Juniper.”
