Page 27 of A Very Crumbleton Christmas
And now she’s in your bath!
Realising he was still standing with the fridge door wide open, Jack let out a long sigh. He didn’t have a clue what Caroline did or didn’t like. There wasn’t any point starting on food until he found out what she fancied.
‘Only one way to do that!’ he muttered.
Heading out of the kitchen, Jack jogged up the stairs and made his way towards his bedroom. The door was wide open – which was a blessing – at least it was one less thing to overthink!
Jack strode across the room, wincing at the sight of the sandy towel Caroline must have picked up and hung on the door of his wardrobe. Even worse, he realised there was still a discarded wetsuit in the corner of the ensuite. Ah well, it was too late to do anything about that right now.
Pausing right outside the door, he strained his ears. He could hear running water still sploshing into the tub.
‘Caroline?’ he called loudly.
There was a squeak, a splash, and then a flurry of movement.
‘Yeah?!’ came a surprised, decidedly flustered voice.
‘Sorry!’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to make you jump. Don’t worry… I’m not coming in. I was just wondering if there’s anything you don’t eat or… any… you know… dietary requirements?’
Jack winced. Caroline might be the surprised one, but he was managing to get himself completely tongue-tied here.
‘Nope,’ she called, sounding decidedly relieved.
‘At all?’ said Jack, barely believing his ears.
‘Nope – I’m easy,’ said Caroline. ‘I mean… I… erm… all food’s good with me, thanks!’
Jack grinned.What a pair!
‘Okay cool. Erm… have a good bath.’
He backed away from the door as fast as his feet could carry him – mainly because the temptation to ask if he could join her was almost overwhelming. Not that he’deversummon the courage to do anything of the sort, of course!
Taking the steps two at a time, Jack blew out a sigh of relief as he put a bit of distance between himself and the overwhelming desire to do somethingseriouslyembarrassing.
At least he had his answer… it sounded like Caroline would basically eat anything he put in front of her! It was almost too easy. Jack didn’t think he’d met anyone in years who didn’t have some kind of food quirk. A lot of his co-stars had nutritionists who kept them on tight and extremely weird eating plans. He had to admit, it drained a lot of the fun out of eating out when the person across from you wouldn’t order anything other than clear bone broth or a green smoothie!
Sliding to a halt in front of the fridge again, Jack promptly decided his best bet was to simply empty the contents onto the kitchen island so that they could just help themselves to anything they fancied. There was plenty of cheese, olives, cold meat, and chutney… in fact, Brian had clearly brought him the entire contents of Bendall’s deli counter.
After opening everything up and arranging it all on the stoneware plates his agent had sent him as a housewarming gift, Jack turned to open the large brown paper bag with the Crumbleton Bakery logo on the front. He stuck his nose inside and sniffed hungrily.
Jack’s stomach promptly growled as the scent of freshly baked bread almost made him pass out with joy. Was there a better smell than that – other than freshly ground coffee? He drew the large, round loaf out of the bag with a certain amount of reverence and set it on his wooden breadboard. Then he reached for the large, serrated knife and expertly sliced several generous chunks.
‘Olive oil and balsamic!’ he said, clicking his fingers and reaching for a dish so that he could slosh in the tasty mixture.
There, that would be perfect for some dipping action.
Along with the bread, Brian had collected a selection of cakes from the bakery. Flipping open the lid of the box, Jack stared at them hungrily. Doughnuts, stunningly iced cupcakes, gooey chunks of perfectly crusted lemon drizzle, and several stacks of cinnamon biscuits.
‘Heaven,’ he sighed. Then he promptly closed the box again before temptation got the better of him. He’d keep them for a bit later – with any luck, a nice pudding surprise would earn him some literal brownie points from his guest.
Pausing for a moment to survey the impressive spread, Jack wracked his brain for anything missing. Salt, pepper, sauces, napkins, forks, knives, plates…
‘Drinks, duh!’ he muttered.
Damnit!
He should have asked Caroline what she fancied while he was up there. Hecouldgo back up… but no doubt she’d be in the tub by now, and the last thing he wanted to do was to make her feel uncomfortable. Besides, it was best if there was at least one floor between them while she was… disrobed!
