She’s all woman now. All plump curves that a guy could bite. Dig his fingers into. Get a real handful of. She’s even more gorgeous now than she was then. Sexy. I wasn’t trying to make fun of her. I was paying her a compliment.
But then she never did take anything I said seriously. It’s why my first romance novel was my one and only friends to lovers story. Man, did that ever backfire. Everyone else knew it was about Jane. But it didn’t matter if I wrote my feelings out or told her to her face, somehow she stayed oblivious.
I exhale as I trail after her. Maybe she still doesn’t take me seriously but there’s something else there too. She was always so alive. Her smile would rival the sun. And she might have laughed me off if I got too serious, but she didn’t shy away either. And now she’s home, and without Oliver... I want to know what that means.
Jane and her dad Harley are already seated at the table. If you’d asked me forty-eight hours ago how much had changed in six years, I would have said everything. But this morning as I settle into the seat next to Jane, the same familiar seat I took every Saturday morning during the years my grandparents lived next door, while her mom brings a stacked platter of hotcakes to the table and the scent of bacon is heavy in the air, nostalgia hits me hard.
“What have you been doing with yourself?” Harley asks me as he helps himself to several strips of bacon.
“Working mostly.” I take the platter and slide several of the crispy slices onto my plate beside my hotcakes before passing it to Jane. “A couple of my friends opened a bar after college, so I’ve been working with them since then.”
“It’s steady employment then?” Alice asks.
“For sure.” I nod. “Even in a crisis people need alcohol.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Harley says cutting into a runny yolk. “But what about your writing?”
“I still dabble.” I focus on cutting the stack of hot cakes on my plate into bite size pieces.
“Have you published anything?” he asks.
“I haven’t really had the time to get serious about it.” It’s not that I’m embarrassed of the thirty or so titles that I’ve published. Harley was the main supporter of my stories back when I wrote thrillers. But now that my bread and butter is romance I don’t think we’ll share the same bond over the subject. So it’s easier not to go into detail.
Jane prods the single strip of bacon on her plate with her fork. Moves it around like she’s considering whether she wants it or not. Who actually considers something like that, let alone only takes one slice of salted pig? Like that’s going to be enough for anyone.
Harley notices Jane’s behaviour too. Doesn’t say anything. But then he’s always been reserved if he didn’t think words were warranted or helpful.
“Are you going to eat that?” I ask Jane.
“What?” She glances at me.
“The bacon. Tell me that’s like your warmup lap.” I point my fork at the pathetic attempt at breakfast. Girls that don’t eat confuse me. Where do they get their energy for things like dancing and sex from? And how are they supposed to be happy when they’re starving? I turn into a raging dick without food and I’m a fucking ray of sunshine in general.
“Erm, no.” She ducks her head. “I’m on a diet.”
Excuse me, what’s this bullshit now? She’s perfect the way she is. But I’ve found it hard to be easy in my own skin. All I can do is be supportive. I cut off a giant slab of my hotcake and pop it in my mouth. “Me too.”
“Wait? What?” Her brows raise into her bangs. “You don’t need a diet.”
“And neither do you.” I cut off another forkful of hotcake, smother it in syrup, and shove the whole thing in my mouth so I don’t say too much.
“It’s not... we’re not the same.” She glances at the bacon and I can almost see the drool.
“Nope. We’re not.” I pick up the platter and put more bacon on my plate. Her pretty gray gaze follows it. “You are way easier on the eyes than I am.”
“Hud.” She rolls her gaze at me, but her shoulders loosen.
“You do you, girl, but I didn’t get these sexy muscles by pretending I don’t like food.” I fold up the edge of my sleeve and tense my muscle right in front of her face. “Look at that flex. Go on touch it.”
“I’m not going to touch it.” She wrinkles her nose, but humor dances in her bright irises.
Harley lowers his head, pretending he’s not paying any attention to us, and huffs a quiet chuckle.
I wink at her. “You know you want to.”
She gazes at my bicep like she’s never seen one before. I have some decent definition, so she might not have seen this much quality, but I swear she looks like she considers it for a moment before eyeballing the bacon with a similar expression. It puts a little hum in my thumper. A one-two-bada-boom that I’d forgotten was a side effect of hanging around with her.
“Okay, fine.” She laughs as she pushes me out of the way so she can snag the serving dish. “I’ll eat the bacon if you back off.”
Harley keeps eating, his entire focus centered on his plate.
Alice simpers secretively into her coffee. “What else have you been up to, Hudson? How are your grandparents?”
“Lolly and Dick are good,” I say as I scoop a forkful of eggs into my mouth. “Enjoying Florida more than they ever did Chicago.” My grandparents sold their house and business and moved to Florida after Lily finished college. They probably would have retired sooner if they hadn’t found themselves taking in my sister and I after our dad passed away.
Mom was never particularly maternal. It might have been how young she was, since she was still a teenager when I was born. But it was probably the drugs. Scratch that. It was definitely the drugs. It used to bother me that mom would go missing for months and then she’d show up and we’d pretend we were a family for a few weeks before the cycle would start again. Then she got pregnant with Lily and I honestly thought things would be different. I guess dad did too. “Lily and I went to visit them a couple months back.”
“How is Lily?” Jane asks. “What’s she doing with herself?”
“She’s great.” My chest puffs up at the mention of my sister. Before we moved in with Lolly and Dick it was mostly me and Lily. Dad did his best. But he worked a lot to keep a roof over our head and food in our bellies. Lily was six years younger, so I ended up being the one that helped her get ready for school. The one who reminded her to brush her teeth and braided her hair. Now she’s one of the most sought-after designers in Chicago. “She’s designing the new apartment complex going up on the Gold Coast. And she just finished up Dutch Daniels’s place last week.”
“Dutch Daniels? Is he as funny as he seems?” Alice bats her eyelashes and Jane peers at me like she can’t believe I name dropped an A list celebrity.
“He’s entertaining.” Honestly, I don’t get the appeal. He’s all right, but he’s not that charming. “Callan’s sister is marrying his best friend,” I explain. “We’re cool.”
“That’s... wow,” Jane says. “That’s a huge deal for your sister.”