Page 11 of Forbidden Kisses
And there they were, back in that attract-and-resist game they’d started when they were kids.
—
“I thought you already knew what you wanted to order,” Grace said.
Jack was seated across from her at a small table that sat right above the water. He had his menu open. “Well, Abby likes to add new items every now and then. Just checking to make sure I’m not missing out on anything.”
“It’s a shame that she and Sam still aren’t talking,” Grace said.
“Yeah. I wish those two would just kiss and make up.” Jack lifted his gaze over his menu and met hers, the wordkissstill on his lips.
Grace swallowed, thickly. “This is so surreal. You and I had barely looked at or uttered a word to each other in years, and now we’re sitting here having lunch together. All business, of course.”
“Of course.” Jack closed his menu and pushed it to the center of the table. “I’m going with the burger and fries.”
“Hey, guys,” Abby said, walking up behind them.
Jack turned back. “Hey, Abs. I feel special having you leave the kitchen just for me.”
Abby shook her head. “I love-hate to bust your bubble, but I left the kitchen for Grace.” She looked at Grace. “How’d the morning treat you? Did you drink a glass of water before bed to avoid the headache like I suggested?”
Grace’s eyes widened. Being outed for getting tipsy the night before her first day on the job wasn’t ideal.
Jack raised a brow in her direction and Abby swatted him on the shoulder. “Don’t judge. You, Noah, and the other brother-that-shall-not-be-named go out for drinks all the time. In fact, the other brother was there last night.”
Jack grinned. “And you two sat down and finally had a heart-to-heart, right?”
Abby rolled her eyes. “I didn’t drinkthatmuch.” Abby pulled an order pad and pen from the pocket of her apron. “So, I guess you want a burger and fries—traitor,” she teased under her breath. “And Grace, what’ll you have? Might as well pick the most expensive thing on the menu if Jack’s paying. I hear he’s loaded.” She winked.
Grace laughed again. God, she’d forgotten how much fun her ex-family had been. She’d missed them more than she’d realized. “What’s the catch of the day?”
“Flounder poached in coconut, ginger, and basil.”
Grace’s mouth watered. She closed her menu and handed it to Abby. “Sounds delicious. That’s what I’ll have.”
“Great. Coming right up.” Abby ran a hand through Jack’s hair, messing it up. She looked up at Grace and winked. “All right you two. Play nice.”
Grace watched Abby head back to the kitchen. “She seems happy.”
Jack shrugged. “It’s an act if you ask me. Can’t love someone the way she and Sam loved one another and be okay staying apart.”
Grace’s gaze snagged on his. He was talking about Abby and Sam. Not her and him. They’d never been in love, just in powerful teenage lust.
She swallowed thickly, willing herself to look away, but those blue eyes of his were like magnets pulling her in, like polar opposites attracting each other. Finally, she blinked and turned her gaze to the crowded dining room around them. “This place gets packed, doesn’t it?”
“Yep. People love Abby’s cooking.” He snatched a hush puppy out of the basket that Abby had placed on their table.
Grace grabbed one, too. “Thanks for hiring me, by the way.”
“Thanks for saying yes. Now I’m free to do something else.”
“And what would that be?” she asked.
Grace watched the blue of Jack’s eyes seem to darken as they crossed into the territory of what he would do with his life now that his best friend was gone. She’d known Chris in high school, too. She might’ve had a crush on Chris if not for Jack. Chris had been tall, athletic. He was the kind of kid who had always been in a good mood. The kind of guy who made everyone feel like they mattered during a time in life when people were divided into two groups: popular and unpopular. Grace had been in the latter group until she’d joined the Sawyer family, gotten new clothes, and a last name that the town respected. Then suddenly she’d found acceptance—short-lived as it was.
The corner of Jack’s mouth quirked. “We never told anyone, but Chris and I were planning on retiring from fishing this year. We had this dream of starting up a construction business building piers and docks. We were always into that kind of thing. The hours just blur when you’re building.”
“You’ve always been good with your hands.” She felt her cheeks flush before she’d even finished her sentence. She had no idea how good he was with those hands of his—although she’d fantasized a time or two.
