Page 68 of Make Me Swoon

“Shit, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. My grandma was awesome,” I say with a grin. “And she was a great cook.”

“I’m glad that one of us can cook. We had help growing up, so I never really learned.”

“You seemed to be getting by alright before I got here,” I remind him and he shrugs.

“I’m just lucky that Faith isn’t too picky.”

“Having a chef must have been nice,” I comment and he shrugs again.

“I know how lucky we were but sometimes I regret it. Not even being able to make something pretty simple can suck. Although my brother, David, did learn eventually, so maybe there’s still hope for me. After our parents passed, I lived with him for a little bit. He would always make me lasagna after a fight,” he says with a sad smile and I reach over and take his hand in mine.

“He sounds like a great guy.”

“He was. He really was.”

I smile as I add some pepper and salt to the soup and give it a stir.

“Is it done?” Faith asks sleepily as she comes into the kitchen, breaking the sad fog that’s fallen over both of us, and I smile at her.

“Almost.”

Jameson helps her up onto the stool and I grab some saltine crackers for her. She takes a tentative bite out of one and I grab the egg noodles and add them to the pot.

I scoop up a bowl for Faith and a bigger one for Jameson and I and when I join them at the kitchen counter, I can’t help but think that this feels so right.

FIVE

Jameson

“So,I heard that Phoenix is looking to date,” Niall says a few days later.

It’s my first day back in the gym for training and I suppose that I should have expected this. I hadn’t been thinking about Niall and Finn knowing what Sylvie asked me though. I was too focused on getting Faith back to one hundred percent and making sure that Phoenix wasn’t texting any guys.

“What?” I ask, trying to focus on the conversation as I go to steady the punching bag.

“Finn told me that Phoenix asked you if she could see other guys while she was on the phone with Sylvie. Did you say yes?” he asks with a smirk and I grit my teeth.

I have to remind myself that we’re friends so that I don’t punch him in the face.

“No, and she’s not.”

“She told Sylvie she was,” Finn says as he leans against the wall next to Niall.

“Shouldn’t you guys be training?” I snarl at them and they both just grin at me.

“Are you done training?” Kit asks a minute later as he wanders over to the punching bag area.

“We were just checking on Jameson. Making sure that he was alright,” Niall tells him as Stella walks up to join her husband.

“What’s wrong with Jameson?” Stella asks, giving me a look filled with concern. “Oh no, did you get what Faith had? I meant to ask how she was feeling.”

“No, I’m fine and Faith is better. She’s back in school today,” I tell her, and she gives me a relieved smile.

“Then what’s wrong?” Stella asks Niall.

“Nothing,” I grumble.

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