Page 18 of Hello Forever
“That’s right. So what doyoudo here in town?” heasked.
That was safe territory. “I’m a graduate student in Economic History. So I’m taking courses for a year before I start doing research for my dissertation. And I’m working as a teaching assistant. In fact, your landlord is in my section of an econclass.”
Axel looked up in surprise. “No shit? Josh is yourstudent?”
“Truth.” I must have looked nervous then, because Axel left his whisk alone and gave me an appraising look. “You didn’t want to run into anyone you knew tonight,didyou?”
God, am I that transparent?Slowly, I shookmyhead.
Axel gave his dressing one more stir and then poured it in a thin stream over the salad. “Did you know that Josh is married toaman?”
“What?”
Axel grinned down at the salad bowl. “His husband is a mechanic namedCaleb.”
“I didn’t…” I stammered. “Icouldn’ttell.”
My ex-best-friend stopped tossing the salad, leaned his hip on the counter and crossed his arms. “Hey,Cax?”
Hearing him say my name turned my stomach intojelly. “Yeah?”
“I don’t really have you figured out yet. But you look fucking terrified over there. I didn’t mean to freak you out by asking you over. I was just trying to befriendly.”
I probably winced. “I know that. My life is complicated,though.”
His face fell. “Will you tell meaboutit?”
“I think Ihaveto.”
He opened the oven and pulled out a pan. “Okay. Let me serve this up, and you can tell me all about it whileweeat.”
I peered over the edge of the pan. “God, that’s beautiful. Whatisit?”
“Chicken breast stuffed with feta cheese andlemonzest.”
“Wow.” My mouth watered even before he’d finished thedescription.
“And twice-baked potatoes.” He grabbed a pair of tongs and lifted a piece of chicken onto a clean plate. Then he added two halves of a twice-baked potato and handed the platetome.
I stared down at the beauty on the plate. “Damn. I don’t even know whattosay.”
“Say you’re hungry.Let’seat.”
We satdown at his little table, where Axel lit a candle. (A candle! What man does that?) But damn if he didn’t look even more attractive with that soft glow onhisface.
I lifted my wine glass and tried to relax. I was basically living out my fantasy right now—a private dinner with a ridiculously attractive man. A glass of wine. A secret hour without interference from the depressing forces inmylife.
“What have I missed?” Axel asked, slicing into his chicken. His gorgeous eyes flicked up to mine. “Tellme.”
Reality caught up to me pretty fast when he asked that question. But I took a bite of his excellent cooking to stall. The chicken was tender, with gooey, salty cheese and an herbal seasoning that I couldn’t name. “This is fabulous,” I said afterswallowing.
He grinned. “Every food is made more awesome with melted cheese. It’s justafact.”
“True.” I took a fortifying sip of wine. “Okay, my father made my life hell after our incident at camp.” I knew I was blushing now, but there was no way around it. “That’s when he started slapping me around. He cut me off from a lot of people after that. Notjustyou.”
Axel had stopped eating his dinner. “I’m so sorry, Cax.Seriously…”
I held up a hand to silence him. “It’s not your fault. Nobody should ever take responsibility for my father’s actions. If I’ve learned anything in the last few years,it’sthat.”
