Page 57 of Third Time's the Charm

Where was this going? He seemed to have a destination in mind with all these questions. I took my glass and sipped the strong liquor. “I guess it depends. I’ve discovered I like having a full house and an inability to turn away animals in need.”

His lips were suddenly at my ear. “Am I an animal in need.”

I could feel that he wasin need.“You always are, Jack.”

“Can’t help myself around you, babe.”

We each sipped some bourbon. “Why do you ask?”

“Get in the bed.”

I crawled into the bed because I was tired, not because he demanded. Mostly. “What’s with all the questions?”

“Are you hungry?” He slipped into bed beside me.

“See? More questions!” He was infuriating tonight. (But also really cute.)

“Well are you? I have sandwiches from Fiddlers, cheese and crackers, or Key lime pie from Conchita.”

Now I was indeed hungry. “Picnic?”

He started pulling out the food. “We should put a little fridge out here.”

I grabbed a sandwich and bit in like I hadn’t eaten in days. Maybe it was the quick jaunt as an icicle that made me hungry. “I think a fridge is definitely called for. What about an ice maker and bar?”

“Now you’re just flirting with me.” He bit into his own sandwich.

“You know, when we first moved in...this still felt like Aunt Laura’s house. I think I was a little afraid of changing too much.” Even now, I was second guessing ideas. But Jack was right. This was our house now. It was okay to change things up. “What else?”

He bit into his sandwich. I know he did it on purpose to avoid saying what he really wanted to say. It was old habit to know so much about a person and I knew Jack almost as well as I knew myself.

Finally he swallowed. “I want this to beourhome. And maybe one day it will be more than just you and me.”

Oh!

Oh….Oh!Oh!

I took a deep breath. “Is that something you’ve thought about?”

“I’ve thought about it a lot these last couple of years, Berlin. The condo? We can redecorate that too. I want to keep a place in the city. A place we can escape to when we need to. A place I can crash when I’m exhausted. I hope that’s okay with you.”

I hadn’t thought about the condo at all, but I wanted Jack to always have a place near work that he could crash. It wasn’t that far to drive down to Mistletoe Key, but it wasn’t close to the rink, at all, and if anything caused traffic issues it turned into a nightmare. “No, I think the condo is smart. And I don’t hate the bachelor pad vibe. It’s a city space. I think it’s fine the way it is.”

He seemed unconvinced. “Well, I’m open to change at any time. Just say the word.”

“And Riley’s just downstairs?”

He laughed. “Yeah. He is.”

“Good. Then we’ll always have a good neighbor.” Riley and I had been talking like we used to. I hadn’t fully processed how much I missed him. But I did. He was a good guy. A good friend. To me and to Jack. “And...kids?” I was a little bit shocked Jack was the one to bring it up first.

He shrugged. “At Christmas I realized I was sad that I didn’t have any kids at the kids table. I felt...hollow. But it’s something I want to talk about. I’m not set on any one thing. I want us to decide our future together.”

Damn.That was...well it was a perfect answer. “I need more bourbon.”

He dutifully refilled my tumbler. “Is that a…?”

I took a sip. “It’s an I-don’t-know. Genuinely. I’ve thought about it lately though.”

---