“I haven’t asked my question yet.”
He racked his brain and came up empty. “I thought the answer to any question was that I love you more than anything.”
“Stop!” Ivy’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “I don’t want to hear mushy stuff until after I shower.”
“Fine.” He was resigned to her being in a bad mood until she got thirty minutes under the pulsing spray to herself. “I won’t say another romantic thing, even if you are the most beautiful woman in the world.”
Ivy’s lips quirked at his petulant response but her resolve held strong. “I just want to know if you got my message from the guy at the medical examiner’s office.”
Jack nodded. “I did. You were smart to do things the way you did.”
“Did you find something?”
“Um ... yes and no.”
“Well, hold that thought.” Ivy lifted a finger to quiet him. “You can tell me all about it after my shower. I’m just glad you got my message. I’ll be back in thirty minutes. Time me.”
“How about I just miss you terribly while you’re gone?”
Ivy couldn’t contain her eye roll. “Now you’re just saying that stuff because you know it annoys me.”
“Is that any way to treat the love of your life? I’m hurt.”
That was enough to garner a legitimate smile. “I’ll soothe your bruised ego in thirty minutes.”
“Now that’s something to look forward to.”
BY THE TIME IVY EXITED THE SHOWER and climbed into fuzzy pajama pants and one of Jack’s oversized T-shirts, she felt mostly human again. She didn’t bother putting on socks before padding out to the kitchen. Once she crossed the threshold, her mouth began watering thanks to the delicious smell.
“Did you use my recipe?”
Jack, who was just pulling the garlic bread out of the oven, straightened. “I did ... although your recipes leave a bit to be desired. I don’t happen to believe that a ‘pinch’ is an actual measurable amount.”
As if to prove him wrong, Ivy lightly pinched his muscled rear end. “I don’t know. That seems like just enough for me.”
He grinned as he swooped in to kiss her. “There’s my girl.” He licked his lips as they parted. “You brushed your teeth, too? Now maybe I should freshen up a bit.”
“It seemed weird not to brush my teeth when I was doing everything else,” Ivy admitted, grabbing a knife from the block on the counter and moving toward the bread. It was one of the frozen loaves available in any grocery store, but she was addicted all the same. “It’s nice that you made dinner. I assumed you were going to pick up takeout again.”
“I considered it.” Jack moved his hands to her neck and started massaging the tightness he found there. “I know you prefer a home-cooked meal every now and then, though. Plus, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with people.”
“You and me both. Ugh.” She made a groaning sound deep in her throat. “I’m going to give you six hours to stop that.”
His smile was back as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll rub you silly after dinner. I’m starving and want to eat first.”
“I’m all for that.”
They were silent as they went about the work of finishing their meal. Ivy drained the spaghetti and Jack moved the sauce into a bowl and grabbed a ladle. Within three minutes, everything was on the table, and their stomachs were growling in tandem.
“Dig in,” Jack instructed as he unfolded his napkin. He wanted to make sure she had a heaping helping. “I didn’t bother with dessert because we have leftover cake and pie in the refrigerator.”
“That’s fine with me.” Ivy briefly pressed her eyes shut and inhaled the heavenly aroma. “This smells just like my sauce.”
“It is your sauce.”
“Except I use morels.”
He blinked several times and then nodded. “It is your sauce.”
She stilled, surprised, and then took a better look at the sauce in question. “I just thought you grabbed a can of regular mushrooms out of the pantry. You actually got some of the frozen morels from the freezer, though.”
“It wasn’t all that difficult.”
“No, but ... .” She froze for a full beat, and then did something that took both of them completely by surprise and burst into tears.
“Oh, geez.” Jack leaned closer, unsure if he was supposed to hug or shake her. “What’s wrong? I’ll get takeout if you want it. I thought for sure this would make you happy.”
“I am happy, you dope,” she snapped, swiping at the tears. “This is the nicest thing anybody has ever done for me.”
Jack was utterly convinced that wasn’t true. “Honey, it’s dinner. Let’s not go crazy.”
“No, but ... you put the morels in even though you hate them.”
“I can pick around them. I plan to hide them under my napkin and then slide them onto your plate when you’re not looking.”
“Oh, that’s even sweeter.” The tears increased as her shoulders started to shake.
“I can’t take this,” Jack muttered, dropping to his knees and shuffling closer to her chair so he could pull her into his arms. He kissed her cheek as she buried her face in the hollow of his neck. “I love you so much,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry this has happened.”
“You’re sorry about the morels?” She pulled back far enough that she could stare into his eyes. “Don’t be sorry about the morels. I didn’t spend three weeks straight living in the woods so you could be sorry about them.”
That caused him to crack a smile. “No, I’m sorry about everything else. You’re overwhelmed by the community service. I know that jerk is making your life hell and it’s driving me crazy that I can’t do something to fix it. I’m so sorry.”
Ivy huffed out a sigh. It was just like Jack to take the onus of everything onto his broad shoulders and blame himself. “You didn’t cause this.”
“I didn’t fix it either.”
“You can’t fix everything.”
“I want to fix everything.” His lips
