Page 7 of Suddenly Single
“Like Vanessa.Her non-negotiables are no cheating, and he has to spend quality time with her watching romantic comedies or something, and he has to love her unconditionally.”
Outlander frowned. “Could she no’ just get a dog, then?”
Jenny laughed.
“And you?” he asked as he slid the plate across the bar to her. “Do you really have such a list?”
“God, no,” she said with a snort.“That would eliminate a significant portion of my dating pool.Anyway, it’s easy for my friends to have those standards.Vanessa doesn’t even date because she’s so into her job.She’s a lawyer.And Brooke has been dating Grayson for years. He’s so besotted, he would clean her floor with a toothbrush. He wouldn’t judge her if she ate an entire pizza by herself, which of course, Brooke would never do.Two slices, tops, would be her big pizza binge.Thank you!” She picked up the sandwich.“I also love the dancing.”
“What?”
“At weddings.Love the dancing.I mean, how often do you get out and let it all hang out? Did you?”
He blinked.
“Did you dance?”
Outlander leaned back against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest.He looked as if she’d exhausted him. “A wee bit.”
If she’d been at a wedding tonight, she would have been on the dance floor, that was for sure. “Nothing more fun than dancing with a bit of an adult beverage buzz. Now that’s a non-negotiable for you,” she said, and horror of horrors, she followed up that inane comment with a wink.What in the hell am I doing right now?
She took a healthy bite of her sandwich as she tried to think of how to rein this all back in. “I took dancing lessons a few years ago,” she said in a desperate attempt to turn the comment around.“Ballroom.But I had two left feet.I couldn’t do apaso dobleto save my life.And forget the quick step—my partner said I looked like I was having a seizure.Apparently that was a non-negotiable for him.”
God, she wasn’t reining anything in, she was rambling and making it worse.Why ohwhydid she always have to talk so much? It was a horrible, ingrained habit of hers—if no one else talked, there was some automatic switch in her that shifted into turbo mode, filling up all the available air with words.
She looked down at her plate. “Wellthisis delicious.” She took another big bite of the sandwich. Too big. Her eyes watered. She chewed maniacally and managed to swallow it down.“So delicious!” she said hoarsely.“What’s on it?”
“Chutney.”
“Chutney! That’s different.” A little too different for her tastes. “Not familiar.Where do you get it?”
“We make it.”
She imagined him and a cute little blonde making whatever the hell was ruining her perfectly good sandwich.The cute little blonde’s name was probably something very Scottish, too, like Fiona.They probably wore matching aprons and laughed gaily as they stirred something in a ginormous pot, then fed each other bites of it.She coughed.
“Beer?” He pushed away from the kitchen counter and walked to the fridge.
“Actually, could I have some water?” she asked hoarsely.
He got her a glass of water and set it down before her. “Thank you,” she said.He was watching her closely as she drank, probably wondering if he should dial 9-1-1.Jenny put down the glass and forced a smiled.“So whose wedding was it? Yours?” She laughed at her own joke.
His brows dipped.
“Oh, I get it. Too soon in our relationship for me to ask.” She laughed again.
Now he just looked horrified.
“Sorry.Dumb joke,” she said with an airy wave of her hand. “I know we don’t have a relationship…yet.” Come on, sometimes, jokes just teed themselves up.
But Outlander didn’t think she was as hilarious as she thought she was, and turned to the sink and began to wash things.
Okay, so the sexy guy in a kilt wasn’t much of a talker, and clearly he had no sense of humor.“It’s so pretty here at Lake Haven. This whole area is beautiful. You know what I like about it? People are so friendly and helpful.” That was really more of a guess than actual experience, but whatever.
He turned back to the island and reached for the bag of chips, but before he could do something ridiculous like put them away, Jenny put her hand on the bag to stop him.Her fingers brushed his, and she glanced up into stark green eyes that were boring through her. “Sorry. I’m just really,reallyhungry.”
He pulled his hand back from the bag. “And I’m really,reallyknackered.”
“Ah. I can take this to my room.” She stood up, gathered up the plate and her water as he checked his wristwatch.She resisted the urge to burp as she stuffed the bag of chips under her arm.“Thank you so much, Edan Mackenzie.”
