Page 41 of Flirting with Forever

And when Mary turned around, it was to see John practically licking his chops at the food.

“But I ate before I came,” he said as he cleared his throat and turned away.

“You’ve been here for a few hours already. Aren’t you hungry again?” She wasn’t sure why she was pushing him, other than the fact that she was almost certain he was hiding something and she wanted to know what it was.

“I’m, ah, I’m vegan.” His ears went pinker. “I forgot to mention that on Wednesday. I should have brought my own food. It was dumb. I’m new at this.”

She blinked. She’d seen him eat fries and falafel. Street food. But technically vegan. “You’re a new vegan,” she repeated.

“Yeah. Half a year or so.”

“Why?”she asked, completely confounded. She lived for soft cheese spread on a cracker, a perfectly ripe raspberry poised on top. Paper-thin prosciutto. Ugh, eggs Florentine, extra-crispy bacon.

John laughed at whatever expression was crossing her face. “Carbon footprint, mostly. My New Year’s resolution was to see if I could cut mine in half. Lot of fossil fuels get burned in the meat industry. At first, I was just going to be vegetarian. But as I read up on it, a lot of the animal cruelty stuff started to get to me, and now, yeah, I guess my reasons are a mixed bag.”

Mary blinked at him. He was a scowly, rude-faced vegan. Somehow she couldn’t make the pieces fit together. She thought of him sitting on the floor with Jewel, making the little girl laugh. Maybe she couldn’t fit the pieces together yet because she still hadn’t seen a lot of the pieces. He seemed so simple. Judgmental man in wingtips.

He wasn’t simple.

“Well, I guess it explains your bad mood,” Mary said, making a joke to cover her confusion. “You haven’t had a decent meal in six months.”

John laughed, and it startled her the same way it had the other times. It was a deep, rich laugh, but layered and two-toned just like his voice. Some people’s laughter lingered on their faces, echoed for long moments. But John’s laughter was always brief as a meteorite and then it was gone, leaving no trace to show it had ever been there.

“Hey, Mary?”

Mary jumped, as though she’d been caught doing something much more embarrassing than simply studying John. “What’s up, Joanna?”

“Was that a real offer? To let the three of us stay in your guest room tonight? Because our A/C should be fixed by tomorrow, and it would be awesome if we could actually get Jewel to sleep tonight. She’s been miserable in our sauna of an apartment.”

“Of course!” Mary was thrilled. She loved having guests. “I’ll make sure there are sheets and towels in there. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

“Thank God. Josh almost cried when I told him it was time to go home. But we’ll be back in a few hours with our overnight stuff.”

Mary laughed and said goodbye. She turned to John. “I’m gonna go get their room set up.”

She was glad for the short reprieve from the party. First Fin had planted ideas in Mary’s head, and then John had been so pink-eared and cute in the kitchen. She smoothed sheets onto the guest bed and quickly folded some towels.

Was it possible that John had changed his mind about their age difference? Was it possible that if he’d changed his mind, Mary no longer cared that he’d said that in the first place? First impressions were important, but they weren’t everything. Maybe John and Mary were outgrowing their first impressions of one another.

The thought was intriguing and made her heart gallop a little as she stopped into her own bedroom and checked her hair and makeup. She wore a blue-striped dress that swished at her knees, bare feet with a new red pedicure and her hair down her back. Mary didn’t think she lookedold.

Maybe John didn’t think so anymore either. She smoothed her dress over her hips and took a deep breath.

Okay. If things were changing between them—which it kind of seemed like they were—then what happened next? Probably not anything today, because they were unlikely to get a moment alone together. Not with the Coates family staying over. But maybe she should secure a date in the calendar when theycouldbe alone together?

A date? Her stomach took a quick tour around her midsection before settling back half an inch higher than it had been before. She pressed a hand to her gut and took a deep breath. A real date. Not one where she waited for a man who wasn’t going to show up and John waited at a dark bar. Not one that was set up by Estrella in the most awkward fancy restaurant of all time. Not one where her friends watched her watch John eat—apparently vegan—tacos.

A date with just John and just Mary and whatever this was that was growing between them.

She let out a long breath through her mouth and lifted her chin on the way out of the bedroom. The first chance she got to catch John, she was just going to ask.Would you want to go on a date with me?

Simple as that. Piece of pie. Easy as cake. Or whatever the phrase was. Her underboob sweat made itself known. So, she was nervous. It was normal to be nervous!

Mary was just about to round the corner into the kitchen when she heard Tyler and John chuckling together over something. John said something in that hoarse voice of his and Mary strained to hear it, out of sight of the men.

“So,” Tyler responded in a decidedly big-brotherly tone. “You’re interested in Mary, then?”

“Ty!”Mary whispered to herself, her hands going to her cheeks as, still hidden, she waited for John’s reply.

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