Page 27 of Egotistical Jerk
Simon spoke again but nothing registered, I was too busy getting lost in Mia's eyes. Too busy wishing we were alone so we could explore this change between us. I wanted to ask her why I saw the same want in her eyes that I felt in my veins. Why she kept stealing glances at my mouth.
Was she thinking the same thing I was?
Was she experiencing the magnetic pull between us, too?
"All right!" Simon's booming voice coupled with the smacking sound of his palm connecting with the table was enough to jolt me back. "If you two are done with your staring contest, I think we can fire up the grill. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
I was starving, too.
Reading my mind, Simon groaned exasperatedly, "For food."
Bridget nudged Mia, whose cheeks were turning a bright shade of red again.
"Come on, you can help me in the kitchen." Without waiting for Mia to answer, she took her hand and marched into the house.
Simon's loud bellowing laughter filled my ears a second before I felt his hand hit my shoulder blade. "If I wasn't afraid of you lunging over the table and doing something I don't want my kids to witness, I wouldn't have interrupted your little stare down."
It was my turn to groan. "That obvious?"
Simon laughed again. "Oh yeah."
The twins chose that moment to rush outside; arms full of dolls. "We're going to build a castle for our dollies," Elizabeth beamed as they skipped down the deck toward their sandpit.
"It's weird," I admitted. "Sometimes I look at her and I swear whatever else is happening around me just seems to fade away." My gaze flicked back to Simon. He was watching me with an amused look on his face. "What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing."
"Simon," I warned.
"Nope, this one you have to figure out for yourself, my friend."
Figure what out?The question was on the tip of my tongue; before I could voice it, Bridget and Mia emerged from the house. After setting the bowls they were carrying on the table, they joined us and talk quickly shifted to the craziness that was marriage and children.
Every few minutes one or both of the girls came running up the deck begging the adults to go see what they built. When the sandpit didn't hold their attention anymore, they took it upon themselves to entertain the adults with song and dance.
As much as I adored Simon and Bridget's girls, my gaze never strayed far from Mia. Hearing and seeing her laugh had a permanent smile pasted on my lips. And so did catching her sneaking a few peeks at me when she thought I wasn't watching.
By the time I pushed my dessert bowl to the side, I was more than ready for a few minutes alone with Mia. So when she started clearing the table, I immediately jumped up and helped her.
"I haven't laughed so much in a long time," she admitted when we walked into the kitchen.
"Yeah, Eleanor and Elizabeth are something else." We placed the dirty dishes on the counter and started sorting them. "But don't let them fool you, they can trick almost anyone into doing something for them."
"Oh, I can totally see that."
Our eyes met and held. Her gaze dropping to my mouth for a beat before she pulled her lip between her teeth and met mine once more. She leaned forward, or maybe it was me. I didn't really care because I knew what was about to happen.
"All right, all right!" I almost swore when Bridget's voice sounded so suddenly; cruelly snapping us out of the moment. "The girls are asleep so you two need to leave." She gave us a pointed stare that didn't need any interpretation at all.
"But the dishes—"
"Can wait until tomorrow," Bridget insisted, already ushering us toward the door. "Thank you for coming over today. It was fun."
After giving both Mia and I a half-assed hug, she all but shoved us out the door.
"Guess they needed some alone time," Mia joked as we headed toward our cars. Her gaze cut to mine. "Is it always like this?"
"About ninety percent of the time," I admitted with a chuckle. Brows furrowed, she nodded tentatively.
