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“Loud and clear.” He grinned to emphasize the point, and for the first time, saw Lacey react to him with something like feminine awareness.
The server arrived to walk them through the specials. Risotto something or other, a Porterhouse steak, blah blah. He loved food, but the fancy stuff was wasted on him.
“What kind of oil do you use for your French fries,” Jenna wanted to know.
“Um…I can check?” The server took a note.
“Thank you. While you’re at it, maybe you could also find out if they ever bake the fries instead. I know that seems like a misnomer, but they’re actually quite good that way.”
Billy sat back and caught Lacey’s eye. “This might take a little while,” he murmured as Jenna asked more questions—what vegetables did the medley contain, what kind of mushrooms were in the risotto. “Jenna likes what she likes.”
“Really? That surprises me. She seems like the kind of woman who doesn’t like to make a fuss.”
Oh man, this reporter was dancing close to the edge here. “First of all, whatever you think about how Jenna seems, you’re probably wrong. She can’t be categorized. Second, she’s not making a fuss. She’s making sure she orders the right thing.”
“Potato, po-tah-to.”
He added an edge to his voice. “Jenna loves food and she loves talking about it too. You should try her pot roast. It’s better than anything I’ve ever eaten anywhere I’ve played.”
“You’ll have to invite me over, then.”
Oops.
The waitress disappeared, no doubt to do her research.
“Sorry about that.” Jenna’s eyes were bright, her cheeks pink. She always got revved up when she talked about food. “Hot tip from the server, get the mushroom risotto. A fresh shipment of Shitakes just came in. And Billy, she says their blue cheese burger is flying out the door. I told her to reserve one for you just in case.”
“I’ll take it.” He smiled at her with unguarded tenderness, caught up in her excited mood.
Jenna turned to Lacey. “Risotto for you? I told the waitress I’d collect our orders while she quizzes the chef about a few things.”
“Not a mushroom fan. I’ll probably go for the Cobb salad.”
Billy watched Jenna’s face fall. Damn, that was two disappointments in one. Not just the disrespect for mushrooms, but the choice of the most boring thing on the menu.
“You’re in for it now, Lacey,” he told her. “To Jenna, those are fighting words.”
“Cobb salad is fighting words?” Lacey took off her glasses and popped them back in their case. She wore a white blouse under a utilitarian black blazer, an outfit that gave Billy no clues to her personality. Maybe she was just all business. Fine with him.
“The mushrooms,” he murmured. “Jenna’s a fan.”
“No fighting, I promise.” Jenna held up a hand in surrender. “But did you know that there’s mycelium network growing under every inch of the earth under our feet? It’s possible certain trees use the network to communicate with each other.”
“That sounds scientifically questionable.”
Jenna drew back. “Just because it seems magical doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”
Under the table, Billy put a hand on Jenna’s knee. Getting feisty with Lacey wouldn’t get them anywhere. In fact, he was starting to wonder if the reporter was deliberately poking and prodding to get a reaction from them.
Lacey took out her phone and tapped a note, then scrolled to her voice memo app. “Are you both okay if I record this interview?”
They shared a glance. Billy could read in Jenna’s eyes that she wasn’t comfortable with Lacey yet. Weren’t reporters supposed to put their subjects at ease before they went in for the pounce? That didn’t seem to be Lacey’s style.
Jenna gave a tiny nod and a shrug, and he turned back to Lacey. “Sure, that’s what we’re all here for, right?”
“I’m here for a baseball star’s tips for post-divorce co-parenting. But I’m sure you have your own agenda.”
Ouch. Well, she wasn’t wrong. Japan. Japan.
