Page 13 of Bravely Yours

“That smells really good,” Jay called from his spot on the floor.

I turned and smiled at the scene. He was holding up a rattle doll in front of Nora, making it dance. Nora’s giggles were the best thing I’d heard all night.

“Would you like some?” The least I could do was offer the guy a plate of food.

“Uh, sure.” He shrugged. “Was just gonna order a pizza again, but this smells too good to pass up.”

“Do you not cook?”

He shook his head. “Nah. I make a mean PB&J and can cook ramen or throw a frozen pizza in the oven.” His attention was still focused on Nora, but his words were directed at me. “But I lived at home until a few weeks ago. My mom did most of the cooking.”

The spoon I was holding clattered to the countertop. I knew he was young, but wow.

I hadn’t lived at home for almost ten years now.

He finally looked up, meeting my gaze, and gave me a sheepish shrug. “I can throw simple things together, but no, I don’t really cook.”

This dinner wasn’t anything special, but I made a pretty decent stir-fry. The trick was not to overcook the vegetables. That way they still had a bit of a crunch to them. But suddenly,I felt self-conscious. I rarely cooked for other people. Heck, I didn’t even have a dining room table. Now, I wished I had. We’d have to sit on the sofa or floor in the living room or on the other side of the island that served as a breakfast counter. At least I’d had the good sense to buy a few stools when I’d moved in last year. Though that good sense had clearly left. Otherwise, I would be telling Jay to go back to his apartment.

But I wanted him to stay. Having a meal and adult conversation sounded pretty perfect right about now.

Chapter Nine

JAY

Sarah steppedinto the living room, wringing her hands like she was nervous.

“Food is ready. Sorry I don’t have a table for us to sit at.” She waved to the island. “It’s usually just me, so I don’t really need a table.” With a shrug, she frowned.

“This is fine.” I patted the floor beside me.

Her eyes widened as she studied me. I wasn’t sure what surprised her. I couldn’t count how many times I’d sat on the floor with my sisters and our PB&Js watching TV. That was howour evenings always went when our mom had to work late. Dad was a firefighter, so he worked odd hours, including evenings and overnights.

“That way we can sit with Nora.” I tickled the little girl’s belly when I said her name.

The giggle that erupted from her made my chest warm and a smile stretch across my face.

“I’m assuming that if we put her back in that thing,” I said, waving at the baby jail against the wall, “she’ll cry.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “It’s a Pack ’n’ Play. Plenty of people use them, and their babies have no issues. It’s definitely just a Nora thing.”

She turned and grabbed the bowls from the counter. “Do you want something to drink?”

“Water is fine.”

As she approached and set the bowls on the coffee table, her movements were still tremulous, but when she reappeared a few moments later with two glasses of water, she seemed more at ease.

“He should have thrown it.” She shook her head as she sat down with her bowl in her hands.

“Huh?”

“Moore.” She tipped her head toward the TV. “He holds on to the ball too long. Then he gets sacked or tries to run it to gain a yard or two. They really need a new quarterback after this season.”

I turned my attention back to the TV just as the announcers were chiming in with the same sentiment. I missed the sack because the gorgeous blonde sitting a few feet away had captured my attention. It happened more and more every time I was around her.

I was impressed by her football knowledge. It was honestly the only sport I consistently followed.

“Yeah,” I said. “I had him on my fantasy football roster atthe beginning of the season but took him off a couple of weeks ago because he’s been freezing in the pocket.” I brought the fork to my mouth and took a bite. The mix of sweet and spicy was perfection.

---