Page 19 of Puck and Prejudice

“It’s okay, I can sit next to Chad,” I chime in.

“Nonsense. You must sit next to Izzie,” Mrs. Bennet replies.

I glance at Izzie and notice she’s blushing, and her gaze is down. I’m not sure what to make of her reaction. Does she not want to sit next to me, or she’s simply embarrassed to be put on the spot?

I take my seat next to her, and to change the mood, I joke, “Hi, we meet again.”

She looks at me, and I can’t help the pull from her beautiful eyes. This up close, I can see there are specks of amber in them, and they’re framed by the longest eyelashes. My pulse accelerates. Damn it. She’s too pretty.

“Yeah.” She gives me a small smile that makesmyface hot.

“Don’t be shy. Dig in.” Mr. Bennet says, breaking the spell between Izzie and me. He reaches for the plate of food nearest to him. It looks like some type of potato dish.

“Everything looks amazing, Mrs. Bennet,” Chad pipes up.

“You have to try to the jamon. It’s a delicacy,” she replies.

“Especially with the aioli and bread. Yummy.” Lydia reaches for the bread basket, and fills her plate. I notice then there’s chip on it the porcelain. Maybe that’s why Mrs. Bennet was switching the plates.

“Lydia, manners. Let our guests help themselves to the food first.”

She gives her mother a typical teenager drool look. “It’s just bread. There’s more in the kitchen.”

I reach for the tray in front of me. It’s some type of stew. Izzie reaches for it at the same time and our hands touch.

“Sorry. You go first,” she says.

“No way. Ladies first.” I smile.

“All right.” She only gets a small serving, and then she takes the plate with the jamon slices and puts a few on her plate. “Do you want some?”

“Sure.”

We proceed to pass the dishes around until everyone has food in their plates. I’ve filled mine more than I intended and only because every time that Izzie offered me something, I said yes.

“¡Buen provecho!” Mr. Bennet says.

I glance at my plate and don’t know where to start.

“Is there something wrong, Jackson?” Mrs. Bennet asks.

Shit. I can’t believe I’m that obvious. My ears are burning now. “No, ma’am. Just trying to decide what to eat first.”

“Try the bread with aioli and jamon,” Izzie suggests.

“All right.”

I take a bite, and damn, it’s good. I forgot for a minute that Izzie is sitting next to me as I stuff my face. It’s like I haven’t eaten in days.

“Do you like the food, Jackson?” Jane asks, and when I look up, she and Chad are smirking.

My mouth is full, so I can only answer with a nod.

Izzie chuckles. I turn and ask after a swallow the food, “What?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing.”

“You have a big game coming up, right?” Mr. Bennet chimes in.

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