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She smothered a sigh. And that was that. He wasn’t about to fret about his mother’s opinion on anything, least of all if she’d rather buy girl stuff than boy. That was the wonder and annoyance of Grayson Duffy.
“If ‘hanging out’ involves getting grub, then yes, let’s hang out. If it means I’m going to starve, then no. Busy. So very busy.”
He laughed and squeezed her leg. “Have I starved you yet?”
“Yes. Daily. But today it’s Harper who starved me.” She told him the story of the missing French fries, and the rest of the text interruptus, and then the bit about the guy at the checkout counter sort of hitting on her. “So see, it’s been a day, and I need food. Pronto.”
“You showed some random dude your belly?”
Oh, here we go. “Yeah, I did. So what? I’m not ashamed of it. In fact, I’d show it to more people if I could.”
“I didn’t say you should be ashamed of it. It’s a very sexy belly. But you know…mine.”
“Yours? I think not. Try mine.”
“What’s in it is mine.”
“Half yours, and we’re not having this conversation because if you tell me you don’t want me showing random strangers my belly, I will have to add you to the list of today’s suck. And for the love of suck, don’t make me do that, okay?”
Lips twitching, Gray slid his hand that much higher on her thigh. Like almost up to her erogenous zones high. “I don’t suppose you can limit that to random women?” At her stony silence, he sighed. “Fine. Flash it around town. It proves you’re mine anyway.”
“Where’s your club, caveman? Maybe you can use it to catch me some lunch.”
He pulled into the driveway of the nearest chicken restaurant and cocked his head. “What do you say now?”
“I say I’ve never coveted breasts more in my life.”
“You’ve coveted breasts before? Let’s discuss this.” He laughed and ducked when she pretended that she was going to hit him with her bag.
She grinned. “Just buy me some damn chicken and stop talking already.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were parked in the back of the lot, eating their meal with their hands like heathens. It was glorious. “We could’ve gone home. I could’ve waited that long.” Jazz licked her fingers. “Maybe.”
“Yeah, but I have plans for us. No heading home yet.”
“What kind of plans?”
“It’s a surprise.”
She frowned. “You know I hate surprises.”
“Yeah, but not all of them are bad. Someday you’ll realize that.”
“And what, it’s your job to prove it to me?”
He bit into a juicy drumstick. “Something like that.”
“I could use a nap,” she said, poking at a particularly crispy piece in the bucket. She wanted it fiercely, but nerves were now crowding her belly. “It’s not good if I go too long without sleep.”
“You were sound asleep this morning when I left. Stop making excuses and trust me.” He tipped up her chin with a slightly greasy finger. “You can do that, can’t you?”
“I guess.”
“Such faith.” Instead of seeming affronted, he smiled and went back to his chicken. “So are you really going to go to lunch with my mother?”
She sighed and grabbed another piece of chicken. He was determined to surprise her, and she had to admit he’d never given her a bad one yet. But after a lifetime of hiding away from things she couldn’t predict, she couldn’t change as easily as he wished.
“Yeah. The kid needs grandparents.”
