Page 42 of Suits and Spark Plugs

Connor held up his hands. “Don’t ask me to explain. She probably has a rule about that.”

“A rule about that?” Ken looked curiously my way.

“Someone has to set rules for this one.” I hooked a thumb at Connor. “Otherwise he’s going to think he’s the prince of everything.”

“I like her,” Ken said to his son.

“Don’t be fooled by her fuzzy pajamas,” Connor drawled sarcastically.

“I’m very pleasant to those I like.” I tilted my head and gave Ken my most winning grin while I prayed that he wouldn’t see my embarrassment over my pajamas being brought up.

“Lies, lies, lies.” Connor turned to his father but not before I saw a glimmer of amusement that did funny things to my heart rate. “What brings you down?”

“I brought some soup and hot cocoa. Thought I’d see if you wanted to share dinner.”

“Did you bring marshmallows too?” I inserted. “Because Connor really loves a nice pile of gooey marshmallows in his cocoa.”

Ken’s eyebrows furrowed. “You do?”

“I do not. Don’t listen to anything she tells you.” He shook his head. “I’d love to take a dinner break, thanks. Let me get washed up.”

Connor left and Ken turned to me. “There’s enough for three. I think it would be very entertaining for me if you joined us.”

“Oh, no thanks.” Dinner wasn’t something I was going to do with Connor and his dad. I stood and closed my notebook as Kelly’s voice echoed through my mind, telling me lunch was for friends and dinner was for dates. Time to scoot. “I should get out of your way.”

“The roads are awful and the soup is warm.” Ken disappeared into the storage closet and came back out with three paper bowls, three spoons, and three Styrofoam cups as I finished packing up my things. “Toss your bag into that corner and have a seat,” he said.

“I really can’t. I need to get home.”

“Are you going to leave this lonely old man with only Connor for company?” Ken teased.

Well, when he put it that way...I shook my head and sat back down. I had not been raised to ignore lonely old men in their hour of need. It looked like I was staying. I’d think of it as having dinner with Mr. Hunt, which was totally non-threatening and meant I wouldn’t have to scrounge up something cold at home.

Dinner with the Hunts was a far cry from what dinner with my family and Blaine had been like. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone, and so I was able to relax into the corner chair and casually observe the way that the two men interacted. Conversation flowed easily, and Ken was kind and inclusive. The thirty minutes I spent with them was comfortable and nice. It made me a little jealous.

As we were finishing up, I realized that I’d felt more content eating soup in the office of the mechanic shop than I had eating at home with my family over the past several months. Which, of course, terrified me, so I needed to leave.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Hunt, for that dinner,” I said as I stood abruptly.

Both men stood too. The considerate gesture made me feel somehow ungracious.

“You leaving so soon?” Ken asked.

I straightened the scarf around my head and nodded. “Yeah. I need to get home. My brain can’t do any more math, and I should probably check on my mom and sister. Hopefully our power is back on.”

I gathered my things while avoiding eye contact with them, afraid of what I might give away. The gathering had had an intimate quality to it that had shifted a barrier, and I was full on petrified by the whole situation.

“I hope to see you again soon,” Ken said while he held my coat for me to slip my arms into. The fuzzy flannel of my pajamas didn’t slide in easily, and I was grateful for the assist.

“Thanks again,” I said.

“I’m going to head home too, Con. See you later.” Ken gave his son a quick hug as Connor thanked him for the meal, and left as I was buttoning my coat up. I continued to avoid meeting Connor’s eyes.

“Well, thanks for letting me study here again,” I said when the silence started to feel heavy.

“I’m glad you decided to stop pouting,” he replied.

At this I finally lifted my gaze and frowned. “I was not pouting.”

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