The doorbell interrupted her sexy thoughts. Uh oh, not good
to be thinking like that with an attractive man on the other side of the door.
She swallowed a mouthful of water, fanned herself for a few seconds, then let
Terry in.
His
casual attire impressed her. She figured he’d come right from the office. But
he’d changed. Too bad. Not that he didn’t look good in snug jeans and a
T-shirt, but a man in a suit and tie made her swoon. But Terry wasn’t here to
make her swoon, was he? Nope, he was here to be her
friend, and help her eat a mountain of food.
He
handed her a heavy bag. She pulled out a bottle of fine wine. She
recognized the label.
“I love
this brand. Thank you! Come on in,” she said, stepping back.
“I’ve
never seen a townhouse where one family lived in the whole thing,” he said,
looking around.
“We only
live on three floors.”
“Only?”
He cocked an eyebrow and grinned.
She
sensed a blush in her cheeks. “I don’t mean to sound like a snob. We rent out
the upper two floors. Stan bought this twenty-five years ago for a song. The
place was a disaster, so he told me. He spent a year renovating. Just because Stan won the
Nobel doesn’t mean we’re rich.”
“I’m
sorry. That was presumptuous of me.” He wandered toward the back.
“I mean,
we’re not hurting for money, but not rolling in it either.”
“I get
it. This is beautiful. Did you decorate it?”
“Yes.”
“You did
a fantastic job.”
“Thank
you. I can take you on the grand tour after dinner. Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” he replied, following her into the dining room. She had set the table in festive spring colors of pink and green. After indicating his seat, she handed him a corkscrew.
“Would
you mind?”
“Of
course,” he said, picking up the bottle while Jen retrieved wine glasses from a
corner cabinet.
She
headed for the kitchen and returned with a serving dish of meatballs and one
with pasta. Last, she fetched a large wooden salad bowl filled with fresh
greens.
“Wow!
This looks great.”
“Rigatoni
with meatballs. It’s my favorite,” she said, passing him the pasta.
Terry
loaded his plate. She watched as he chowed down. Lord, it looked like he hadn’t
eaten in a week. She smiled.
“Something
funny?” he asked, between bites.
“No,
no.”
“Come
on, come on. You’re hiding something,” he said, gesturing.
She
laughed. “Okay. You look like it’s been a month since your last meal.”
He
blushed, immediately making her sorry she’d said anything. She squeezed his
forearm.
“It’s a
great compliment to the chef. To see you enjoying the food.”
“This is
truly great. You have a gift. I don’t know about your writing, but you could be
a professional chef.”
She filled her plate a second time. “So how are things with Clare?”
Another great scene. It's interesting the way people dismiss being wealthy, almost as if there's such a thing as poor rich. Well done.
ReplyDeleteInteresting interactions between the two of them. I love how he's hungry and chows down and how that makes her feel good. Great scene!
ReplyDeleteAs a man with a wife away, I bet he is famished for a home cooked meal. And that last line - whoa! I think we all want to know that. Great job!
ReplyDeleteLove the interaction between the two of them!
ReplyDeleteOh yes.... we all want to know what's going on with Claire. This is fun to see their connection getting closer.
ReplyDeleteGreat snippet.