Page 60 of Keeping it Casual
She stares down at our joined hands, then meets our gaze with a wide smile.
“You got over the no sexual chemistry thing? Good for you,” Joyce says.
I open my mouth to say something, but Jeremy gives my hand a squeeze.
“Leave it,” he whispers into my ear.
I shut my mouth.
“You’re seriously happy if the whole town thinks we’ve got a problem with our sexual chemistry?” I ask after Lucy has her smoothie and we’ve retreated from Joyce.
Jeremy shrugs. “I’m kind of okay if people think we’re so compatible in every other way that we decided to give it a go regardless.”
I have to smile at that.
“And we’ll be able to justify the amount of time we spend in bed as working on our chemistry, right?” He gives me a wink, and I pull him closer, draping an arm around his waist, loving how he slots in against me. It feels like Jeremy was made to fit me in every way possible.
We walk along together for a while, gaining even more smirks. I’m more than happy to be the subject of Mineral Creek gossip if they’re talking about how crazy in love we are.
And even after we stop to get a hot dog each, we still hold hands as we each eat one-handed.
“So, I’ve got a parenting dilemma for you,” Jeremy says after he finishes the last mouthful of his hotdog.
“Fire away.”
“What would you do if you found something in your child’s room that you know doesn’t belong to them? Do you immediately suspect you’re raising a kleptomaniac, or are there stages you should go through before you jump to that conclusion?”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Lucy’s got something that doesn’t belong to her?”
Jeremy gnaws on his lip. “I was putting away her laundry today, and I found this walkie-talkie in her room that I’ve never seen before. I didn’t want to say anything to her after school and ruin tonight, but now I’m kind of stressing about it.”
My forehead creases. “A walkie-talkie?”
“It’s Mr. Knight, isn’t it?” A voice interrupts us.
I turn, recognizing the woman standing there as Lachie’s English teacher, Miss Bentley.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hi, Susie,” Jeremy says because, of course, he knows her name. I’m fairly sure Jeremy knows everyone in this town.
Miss Bentley looks down at our joined hands and breaks into a grin. “Oh, I heard rumors you two are together. It made me smile to think of Lachie’s and Lucy’s dads dating. Those two have always been so sweet together.”
Jeremy tilts his head to one side. “What do you mean, they’ve always been so sweet together?”
I match his confusion and raise it one. Miss Bentley teaches at the high school. How does she even know Lucy?
She glances between us, her smile fading at our obvious confusion. “You know, as reading buddies.”
It’s my turn to speak up. “Reading buddies?”
Her eyebrows scrunch together. “Yes, they’re reading buddies, didn’t they tell you? We’ve got a program where the high school goes down to the primary school once a week. Lucy’s buddy moved away, so that’s why it was perfect when Lachie arrived.”
Jeremy clears his throat. “No. I didn’t know they were reading buddies.” He shoots a glance at me. “Did you?”
I shake my head. Lachie has never mentioned anythingabout being reading buddies with Lucy. I would have definitely remembered that.
Miss Bentley still looks confused. “Oh, I don’t know why they wouldn’t have mentioned it. The two of them are one of the pairs I hold up as an example of what a success it can be. They’re always chattering away together.”
