Right.
I remove the brownies from the oven as soon as the timer goes off, and then I sit down to wait on Pepper. She enters a moment later, wearing a light-green dress that fits her perfectly, some sort of heels that wrap around her ankles, and a purse placed across her body, the strap going directly between her breasts. I don’t stare at them. I don’t.
“Ready?” she asks.
I stand and take the container of lasagna while she grabs the brownies.
“As I’ll ever be,” I tell her with a smile.
I watch her cheeks turn pink, and she gives me a little grin back.
Interesting.
Pepper
My heart is in my throat the whole way to Mason and Jules’s house. The scene in the kitchen of Ben and me having a food fight last night and then him helping with dishes and being in my space tonight amped up the tension that I’d tried to get a hold on.
Ben knocks on the door while we stand on the front porch, food in hand. His scent wraps around me, and I try to hold my breath and not let it in, not let it have any part of my feelings or emotions.
“Hey,” Jules says, swinging the door in, motioning for us to come inside.
She gives me a long wink once Ben walks past us, and I roll my eyes, prompting her to giggle and the guys to look over at us.
“Cut it out,” I hiss behind my teeth, which only makes her laugh harder.
I want to karate-chop her in the throat when Mason asks what she’s laughing about.
“Inside joke,” she chokes out.
I really do reach over and pinch her then, almost dropping the lasagna. I paste a smile on my face and walk to the kitchen, setting the food down beside the dessert Ben placed on the counter.
“Smells delicious, Pep,” Mason says as he leans over my shoulder to get a good look at what I brought.
“Thanks, May. I made Grandma’s special recipe.” I watch his eyes light up as he licks his lips.
“Get ready, Jules. This lasagna will ruin you for all other lasagnas,” Mason says over his shoulder to Jules as she places Ginny in her high chair. “Has Pep cooked for you?” he asks Ben.
“Not yet. This is my first,” Ben says.
Jules snorts. I glare at her and make a slicing motion across my neck when she glances up at me, her eyes filled with mirth. I might have told Ben my culinary-school secret. But I told Jules my other secret. My big secret that I haven’t told anyone else. I’ve never rounded home base with a boy.
I told her in confidence during a drunken girls’ night shortly after Ginny was born.
I came to stay with Mason and Jules to help out during the fall break of my senior year of college, and one glass of wine led to another, which led to me spilling my guts to Jules about my virgin status. I swore her to secrecy about what I call “the situation.”
It’s not something I was conscious about in high school. I knew people were doing it, I knew my friends were doing it, but it wasn’t on my radar when I didn’t have a serious boyfriend and I was constantly doing extracurricular activities that made it hard to have one. There’s just never been anyone I’ve wanted to go down that road with—well, maybe until now.
Don’t blow my cover, Jules.
She quickly turns the conversation around by asking me about my cooking, and we chatter as I help her set the table. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Mason and Ben talking, my gaze trained on the easy way he stands, reclined against the counter with his arms crossed. I watch his neck as he laughs, wanting to touch it to see if it’s as strong as it looks.
Does his skin feel as hot as mine right now?
“Dinner is served,” Jules says, pulling me from my thoughts and the guys from whatever they were talking about.
We all take our seats, and I hold my hands out, grasping Mason’s on one side while waiting for Ben to grab my other hand.
“I’ll say the blessing,” I tell them.
I feel a little tingle shoot up my arm as soon as his palm touches mine. I suppress the shiver it sends through me, not wanting Mason to feel it. After the blessing, the only sounds are silverware hitting plates as food is dished out and shoveled into hungry mouths.
“Oh my God, Pep. This is delicious,” Jules moans, and I smile. “We usually only have frozen lasagna, but you can definitely taste the difference in this.”
After Ben mutters an agreement, I can feel the flush rise in my cheeks.
“Thank you. It’s made with all fresh ingredients,” I say demurely, staring down at my plate.
“What’s wrong with you?” Mason asks around a mouthful of food.
I want to sink into the floor as I feel every set of eyes pinning me to my chair. “Nothing.”
“You’re acting weird,” Mason continues, not dropping it.
“Mason, let it go,” Jules gives voice to my exact thoughts.
“Okay,” he says before turning to Ben. “You still going to pick up Danger this weekend?”
“Yep. Tomorrow,” Ben says with a nod.
“Oh, you should take Pepper with you. She doesn’t have plans. Do you?” Jules turns to me with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh no, Ben. Don’t feel like you have to invite me to go with you.” I chance a look at him as he continues to eat. I think his eyes have narrowed just a bit. Maybe it’s just the lighting.
He clears his throat and wipes his mouth with his napkin before he looks at me. “I don’t mind. Do you want to come?”
Yes, please.
“Yes, sure. I can’t wait to meet Danger.” I give him a smile.
“Great. Okay, cool.” He nods again, and I imagine him as a bobblehead.
“Perfect. It’s a date.” I feel my hand come
