Page 16 of The Jellybean Dilemma

I nodded—too overcome to speak.

The waitress appeared with our plates, sliding them in front of us. “Anything else?” With a shake of my head, I waited till she left before turning to Greg for an explanation.

He chuckled. “Nobody likes cold fries.” He snitched a few off my plate with a grin before popping them in his mouth. “I know you don’t love beef, so I wanted to mention that yours is a turkey burger. You seemed preoccupied when I was ordering.”

“Thanks.” I put the toppings back on my burger, stacking everything as neatly as possible. “How am I supposed to fit this in my mouth?”

“That’s what she said.” Greg clapped a hand over his lips, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red.

“Did you just—?” I burst out laughing, setting the burger back onto my plate. The laughter compounded as Greg folded his arms on the table and hid his face. My sides ached but I couldn’t stop.

Finally, I could breathe again. “Greg.” I grabbed his shoulder, but he shook his head.

His muffled voice sounded from under his arms. “Greg’s not here. He died of embarrassment.”

“Oh stop.” I rolled my eyes. “That’s not any worse than copping a feel when you pretended to be my seatbelt earlier. Or when I basically napped with my face in your lap. How about my see-through T-shirt at the beginning of the trip?”

He peeked out.

His embarrassment couldn’t hold a candle to mine, and I wasn’t going to let him hide. “I’m going to ignore you and take a mouthful of this nice, big, juicy, piece of meat now.” His groan made me giggle. Then the milkshake caught my attention, and I realized I’d never received an answer. “Greg. Why’d you only order one shake?”

His non-response confirmed my suspicions.

Happiness swelled up, knowing Greg wanted to share the sweet treat with me. Just the thought of one shake and two straws had me beaming. I wasn’t about to let him back out now. “Okay, sit up, get your straw over here and smile like you mean it. I want to see that dimple.” I tucked my straw into the whipped cream, scooting the shake to the edge of the table.

Despite his reluctant movements, he followed my instructions and his straw plunged in next to mine. He leaned close, putting his arm behind my shoulders. I savored his warmth, inhaling his scent.

This was exactly what I’d always wanted. Sitting side by side with him, I got lost in his gray eyes and forgot to breathe. Until the loud clatter of someone dropping silverware broke the spell he held over me. I sucked air into my lungs, trying to reorient myself.

I didn’t want to scare Greg off. Not when he was closer than ever.

“Drink up.” I held up my phone, snapping several pics of us in various poses. “Perfect. My turkey burger is amazing. My fries are delicious. And the shake is just right.” I smirked. “Now I think I’ll finish off this piece of meat.”

Half an hour later, we headed back to the car. When Greg did a quick walk around as he always did, I took advantage, using the time to update Avery and Gina. I had to share my giddiness, and I knew they’d be just as thrilled as I was. Even if it was just a bit of hand-holding and sharing a milkshake.

I compared them to my previous friends, Yolanda and Fawnda. We’d called ourselves the Three Musketeers, and the irony wasn’t lost on me. The worst part was they’d dropped me as soon as I’d broken up with Kevin. Last I’d heard, Fawnda had even made a play for him.

And that had been the end of our trio.

Gina’s abrasiveness had shocked me at first, especially after the false flattery of Yolanda and Fawnda. But it didn’t take me long to realize I preferred Gina’s direct approach to their backstabbing and cattiness. Not much of a trade-off.

Greg hopped into the car, then maneuvered us into the flow of traffic. He’d already checked his phone to make sure the highway wasn’t at a standstill. I waited until we were up to speed before I started a conversation.

“Do you have any friends?” Wow, that came out wrong. “Um, I mean, uh.” I studied my lap. “Please don’t stop talking to me. It’s just the only people I see you around are Derek, Avery, Gina and Liam.”

He chuckled, reaching over to rest his hand on top of mine for the briefest of moments, and the quick graze had my stomach flipping. He settled his elbow onto the armrest, his long fingers resting on top of the gear shift. “It’s okay. I don’t have a lot of friends down here. By choice. I had you and Derek and Uncle Harry.” He shrugged. “I’ve always been a bit of a loner, plus I was kind of on call. Now, with Avery and Gina in the mix, it’s a full-time job.”

I had never thought about him putting his life on hold so I could be carted around all the time.

“Stop.” He read me like a book. “Don’t you dare feel guilty. Driving you and your brother was just what I needed. You two have always been more than a job to me.” He paused. “Especially you, Jellybean.”

He was always more than just a driver to me, too. My constant, my friend. And he’d kept his professional stance even after I’d begun crushing on him.

A torrent of questions longed to pour out. Why had he stopped working for Derek? Why hadn’t he told me earlier that I meant something to him? And why, oh why wasn’t he holding my hand right this very second?

But we were just getting into comfortable territory, and I didn’t want to stir up the past.

Maybe I could rectify one of the issues. I looked down, deciding at least half the armrest was mine, and I laid claim to it. Our forearms rested side by side, mine short enough that there was no way my fingers could reach the gear shift. I was quite comfortable with them resting off the edge of the console, thank you very much.

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