Page 35 of Necessary Roughness

“Not a problem,” he said.

Jordan wasn’t sure what had happened in the past ten minutes between Tanner and Tabitha, but the temperature on the deck must have dropped to sub-Arctic. She didn’t think Tabitha was mad about the lack of a vegetarian entrée or Tanner was upset about looking for something else she might like to eat. The previous laughter and flirting between them had stopped. It might be a good time to leave for a while.

Sadie came back to lap at the bowl of water again as Jordan finished off her glass of wine.

“How about a walk, girl?” Jordan said. “Let’s sneak out of here, okay?” She got off the chaise lounge, clipped Sadie’s leash to her collar, and climbed the stairs as silently as possible to the front door.

***

TANNER WAS RUMMAGING through the contents of his refrigerator as Tabitha looked on.

“Okay. I just got a grocery delivery this morning. There’s plenty of fruits and vegetables in here. We have a few of the meal kit things I have around in case I get hungry. I know they have side dishes that might work.” He straightened up with a bagful of Rainier cherries in one hand. “These aren’t exactly dinner material, but they’d make a nice dessert.”

He heard Sadie’s toenails skittering across the entryway. Jordan looked like she was trying to vanish before they saw her.

“Hey, Jordan,” Tabitha called out. “Want to have dinner with us?”

“I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” Jordan said.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said.

“Not at all,” Tabitha chimed in.

He wasn’t sure what had happened to his date between his front door and the part in which they couldn’t find anything else to talk about, but he’d been here before in the past. He’d tried talking with her and getting things started again before they went into the kitchen. It wasn’t working. Plus, it was never a good sign when one’s date invited the woman living in one’s house to join them for dinner.

He knew he should be insulted that Tabitha didn’t find him riveting enough to want to be alone with, but it was more funny than tragic. Women lined up to spend time with him when he was still headline news. Sometimes it was good to be reminded that he was human, even if it was a little tough on his ego.

Jordan and Sadie had edged into the kitchen. “You must be trying to find something else to eat,” she said.

“There’s all kinds of choices here. Nothing’s jumping out at me,” Tabitha said.

“Okay, then. There’s tortillas in the fridge. I know we have a can of black beans in the pantry. How about some vegetarian quesadillas? They’re quick and filling enough for Tanner too,” Jordan said. “He can grill them up. How about it?”

Tabitha nodded at Jordan. “Sounds great.”

Ten minutes later, Tanner had preheated the grill while the women sliced up vegetables and assembled other quesadilla makings. Tabitha peered into the salad he’d had delivered from Metropolitan Grill earlier in the day. “That’s a lot of bacon.”

“Most people would think that was a good thing,” Tanner joked.

“There’s some Caesar salad in here from last night,” Jordan told Tabitha. “Would you like it instead?”

“There are anchovies in the dressing. No, thank you,” she said. She eyed some glazed carrots. “Those might work as another side dish.” Tabitha seemed to have a lot more to talk about with Jordan than she’d had with him.

He kept directing his comments to Jordan. “Is there anything else I need to heat up?” He brandished his tongs again. “The food will be ready soon. Why don’t you ladies have a seat?”

“Do you need anything else to drink?” Jordan asked them.

“I won’t say no to a beer,” Tanner joked.

“I’ll bring the pitcher of iced tea,” Jordan said. He let out a groan.

Tabitha sat down at the patio table, which Jordan had set moments before. “How do you know Tanner?” she said.

Jordan was pretty sure that if she’d met Tabitha under any other circumstances, she would have liked her. She was friendly, she wasn’t a big complainer if she could get food that had never been within shouting distance of any type of meat, and she was nice to Sadie. Mostly, Tabitha looked uncomfortable. Tanner wasn’t paying a lot of attention to Tabitha, either, which was strange. He’d invited her over in the first place. What the hell was going on?

“We met here and there,” Jordan said.

“She dragged my ass out of the drunk tank a few weeks ago. That’ll teach me to go to that martini bar on Broadway alone. Shit. I don’t think I sobered up for two days,” Tanner said. He gave Jordan a slight wink.

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