Page 48 of Where Are You Now
He pursed his lips.
“Tell me something I’d never believe.” She paused, stabbing a bite of casserole. “Like, you eventually tried brussels sprouts.”
Humor shone in his eyes.
Ava had attempted—and failed—to get Lucas to taste them growing up. He’d refused to, even though her mother fried them with butter and bacon, and they were out of this world. It had tortured her that he’d never trusted her enough to even try a bite.
“I’m telling you. They’re delicious. Dead serious.”
“I actually tried them in my late twenties.”
She gasped. “For at least eight years I attempted to get you to eat them. What force was stronger than your best friend vouching for them?”
“I thought of you when I ate them for the first time.”
Affection swam around in his eyes, and happiness tickled her chest.
“I was at a formal awards dinner—very stuffy, lots of doctors in training. They served them with filet mignon. I’d had just enough wine that the sight of them didn’t turn my stomach.”
“And? What did you think?”
“Chewy. But delicious.”
Ava held her glass of wine in the air. “I told you!”
He laughed, the sight so wonderful she wanted to lean into him and put her head on his shoulder. He looked fifteen again when he laughed.
“You trying brussels sprouts is a massive life event. What else have I missed?”
For the first time since she’d seen him again, there was life behind those emerald eyes.
“I do have something big … Hold onto your wine so you don’t drop it.”
Ava leaned forward and set her plate on the wide stone ledge of the firepit. “I’m dying to hear this.”
“When I was twenty-two, for three months, I fostered a kitten.”
Her mouth hung open, and she threw her head back and laughed. “Stop it.”
“I did.”
“You hated cats.Hatedthem. You said—and I quote—‘They always look at you like they know something awfulabout you,’ which is completely untrue. I have to hear this story.”
“The kitten found me, really. It was pouring rain one night, and I was on my way to my apartment after having drinks with a friend. I heard it crying. Having walked home in the rain, I was soaking wet anyway, so I stopped and listened for the direction of its cries. When I found the little gray thing, its foot was stuck in the city grate.”
Ava put her hand to her chest. “Aw.”
“At first, I was worried it was a feral cat and might bite me or something, but I couldn’t leave it there. I carefully talked to it and told it I was there to help, and it let me work its little foot out. It was tired and wet. Even given the ordeal, I expected it to dart away, but it climbed my coat like a tree trunk and settled against my chest, purring.”
She laughed. “If only it had known your contempt for it.”
Lucas smiled. “I took it home in my coat, dried it off, and gave it some leftover tuna I had in the fridge. Then, I put on the fire, and the little thing slept in my lap all night on the sofa. The next day, I got a small litter box and some food, but I couldn’t keep it. My apartment didn’t allow animals.”
“What happened to it?”
“I hid it from my landlord for three months until I found it a home. A girl in one of my classes named Tiffany took it. I think she still has it. It’s old now, but well loved.”
Ava sank back in her chair. “That’s the best story ever.”
