Page 46 of Grump and Grumpier

Jansen gets in the shower, and I tell Derek I’m going to go get my clothes, but he tells me to keep the robe on and be comfortable. As I go back to the living room, he disappears for a moment and returns wearing jogging pants, and it’s possibly an even better look on him than jeans, though I might be influenced by the fact that he’s not wearing a shirt.

“Can I help with dinner?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “It’s going to be delivered. What would you like to drink?”

“Same as last time?” I wonder if he’ll remember what I drank when I was here before, and he does without hesitation.

Jansen appears, wearing his dress pants and buttoning his shirt—until he sees Derek and me. “I guess dinner is casual?”

“Would you like to borrow a pair of pants?”

Jansen shakes his head. “I’ll be right back.” He heads for the front door, and I’m reminded that Derek told me he lives in this building, too.

“So how were your holidays?” I ask Derek as he gets silverware and plates from a cupboard.

“Quiet.”

“Did you see your family?”

He puts out three place settings at his slate gray dining table.

“My parents were on a cruise. I saw them at Thanksgiving. How about you?”

“My holidays were great. Thanks again for the time off.”

When the food arrives, Jansen returns too, wearing a heathered blue t-shirt that makes me think about cuddling again, because it looks so soft and fits him so well. He also has on silky-looking navy joggers that have me picturing him at the gym or on a basketball court.

I love seeing this other side of the men, more casual and looking less like my grumpy bosses and more like typical men—typical men who are mouth-wateringly gorgeous.

Dinner is an array of Asian fusion foods, with a few large, family style dishes, and several different small bites, some sweet and some spicy. All three ofus attack the feast, ravenous from our pre-dinner activities.

We’re quiet for a few minutes as we dig into the delicious and creative food, and then Derek circles back to our recent conversation. “So you had a good vacation, Ana? Did you spend time reading?”

“Yes, I read a couple of books, and I also spent time with family.” After I pluck a dumpling from the platter, I add, “My roommate and I wanted to visit our friend Stella who lives across the state, but that didn’t work out.”

“Why not?” Jansen asks.

“She lives with her mom and stepdad, and things are often rocky. They seem particularly rough at the moment.”

“How so?”

“Stella has a young daughter—she’s living with her mom because she can’t afford her own place—and there are just a lot of disagreements. Issues with noise, rules, food. Stella doesn’t go into detail, but I suspect her parents might have a drinking problem, because the arguments often seem irrational.”

Familiar frowns have returned to the men’s faces. “What about the father of Stella’s child?” Jansen asks.

“He sends a little money every month, because he has to, but otherwise, he’s not involved. And he doesn’t make much, so he can’t send much. Stella is actually a big part of the reason why I decided toaccept your job offer. I’ve been able to help her out a little, even though she doesn’t like taking help.”

Derek lifts his glass, about to take a drink. “I call bullshit. You took the job because you can’t get enough of us.”

CHAPTER 36

ANA

Iwant to deny it, but I can’t. “Both things can be true, but actually, I took the job because you’re both so darn pleasant to be around.”

My sarcasm hits as intended, and their eyes narrow on me in a way that makes me want them again—hell, I neverstopwanting them.

“You don’t want pleasant,” Jansen says. It’s true, and what does that mean about me?

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