Page 38 of Forever Fickle

“You can’t mean all of this… can you?”

“Time will tell, wont it?” he said simply, pouring the pasta into a large bowl, before getting the loaf of bread out of the oven. “Dinner is ready.”

He set the bowl on the table with the tongs and then returned to the kitchen to get the bread. Pulling open the foil, the tangy, buttery, garlic scent filled the room and made her take a deep breath almost instinctively.

Without another word, he set it on the table beside the bowl – and then moved his plate to beside hers instead of across the table. She looked up at him, unsure of what to say, and marveling at the wonder that was this man.

“Come,” he said softly, taking her hand in his. “Sit down and let’s say grace before we eat. It’s best while it’s hot.”

Stunned, she sat down hard in the chair beside him as he held her hand, softly speaking, each word touching her heart.

“Lord, thank you for this path, this unexpected blessing, and this food. I don’t always understand, trying to be patient, for I am but your willing servant. Lead us, teach us, and forgive us, as we take a moment for ourselves to enjoy the bounty before us. Amen,” Jace said softly.

“Amen,” Karen repeated and was touched when Jace took hold of the tongs, immediately serving her first. He was so… right, so wonderful, so simply a beautiful person that it was hard to believe he was real.

“Dig in,” he invited, smiling. “I hope you like it.”

“Probably more than I ever thought I would,” she whispered, reeling, and knew she wasn’t talking about the pasta in the slightest.

CHAPTER12

HOT CAKES

Friday

Jace lay there in his bunk, hand tucked behind his head, staring at the bottom of the box spring above him, deep in thought. This had been the most extraordinary week so far and it wasn’t over yet. He kept waiting for the fascination with Karen to wear off, to fade, like it had so many times in the past.

Before, he would meet a girl, start talking to her, and then grow bored… sometimes within minutes, sometimes after one or two drinks, and other times it was after he’d left with a woman’s phone number in hand, not bothering to call back.

No, it was like he needed the chase… or so he thought.

Karen had given in to agree to go out with him – and yet he was still interested. She’d rejected him more than once, and instead of shrugging it off? It only seemed to whet his appetite.

He was enchanted with her – and she was in his every thought.

Last night, going to the grocery store, cooking dinner with her, and talking until late in the evening… that had been the best night he’d had in forever and he couldn’t imagine anyone in his past ever doing the same.

They talked about everything – books, movies, video games, table games… and then started talking about their childhoods.

Was this what falling in love felt like?

Did all the others on his team experience this same weird feeling and sense of peace within? This was the craziest thing to have happen to him – and no one would ever believe this of him.

No, even his friends assumed he was living up to his call sign and that he wasn’t serious about Karen.

What surprised him was how serious he actually was…

Jace couldn’t wait to meet her family on Saturday – and wanted her to meet his when she got a chance. He wasn’t sure how to arrange that, or how to even open that can of worms considering how new all of this was between them.

She kept pushing for friendship – and he would be there, waiting and hoping for more eventually. He would give her as much time as she needed… which also stunned him, because he wasn’t used to waiting, fighting, or biding his time for anything… much less a woman.

Tonight, he wanted to try to do something simple, to press the ‘dating’ envelope instead of just going out as friends. He needed her to see him as a boyfriend instead of just a friend.

He was going to see if she wanted to go to a movie this evening. The idea of sitting with her in the dark, in one of the back rows of a theater, he hoped would invite thoughts of maybe stolen kisses like a couple of teenage kids, instead of the complications of adulthood.

It had taken everything in him not to lean towards Karen when she dropped him back off at Flyboys last night, to try and sneak a kiss.

Laying there in his bunk, he dreamed of what it would be like to hold her in his arms, to see that smile, look into those stubborn eyes and see them soften… like when she touched his cheek.

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