Page 6 of Wine and Research
The woman’s face was a pretty shade of pink as she set their specials in front of them, signaling that she’d overheard some of the conversation.
“Yes,” she replied, leveling him with her green gaze.
A zap shot through him, a jolt of something he didn’t care to name or acknowledge.
Her gaze was still locked with his when she straightened. “I guess miracles do exist.”
All four of his buddies snickered around him.
He lifted a brow. “I can be sweet.”
She snickered then laughed. “Good one. I didn’t know you were funny.”
This only upped his friends’ enjoyment, and the fact she hurried away to take care of her tables before he could reply didn’t help his situation.
Damn woman.
His gut was knotted and shoulders pricked with a swirling amount of annoyance, which seemed to be his perpetual state whenever she was around.
He sure as hell hadn’t missed that.
“She’s a treat.” Scott grinned before digging into his meatloaf.
Jeremy followed suit, shoving food into his mouth to keep from responding.
Nico nodded. “If you two didn’t have chemistry biting the air around you, Jeremy, I’d ask her out.”
It was funny how food could taste amazing one second, then sit like lead in his stomach the next. Ignoring the chemistry remark was easy. Hell, he’d been ignoring his chemistry with Elle for almost a year now. But the thought of Nico going on a date with her was not something Jeremy could disregard, no matter how hard he tried.
He loved Nico like a brother, but the guy only dated to have sex. And even though his buddy never led his dates on, Jeremy didn’t like the thought of those two together.
Which was stupid.
He had no claim on Elle. Didn’t want to have a claim on her. Didn’t even like her. Elle was a grown woman who could do what she wanted.
And Jeremy tried to tell that to Nico, but his damn lips wouldn’t say the words. Swallowing an oath, he concentrated on eating, and before long, the food on his plate disappeared without him tasting it. Which sucked, because Gabe’s had the best meatloaf in a twenty-five-mile radius.
Although he wanted to blame the woman for interfering with his tastebuds, Jeremy knew that wasn’t fair. It was his fault for allowing her to get under his skin.
And even if she hadn’t rushed away after her “miracle” and “funny” comments, he wouldn’t have responded anyway. That wasn’t his style. He’d never berate her in public, or even in private. Besides, he got the impression his silence and lack of verbal response ticked her off more than any type of comeback.
For him, in this situation, silence was golden.
A smile tugged at his lips as he reached for his iced tea. He was halfway through his drink when he watched Elle approach Ryder’s booth.
“Can I get anyone anything else?” she asked, piling empty plates into her arms. “We have some of Jill’s chocolate cake left.”
Phoebe inhaled while Sophia gasped.
“The better than sex one?” the latter asked. “I didn’t know you sold her cakes here.”
Elle chuckled. “Yep, and yep, it’s the better than sex one.”
Funny thing number two. His body didn’t react one iota when Sophia said sex, but when the word left Elle’s lips, his body tightened, and another zap shot through him.
“In that case, I’ll have a slice of sex,” Sophia said.
Phoebe smiled. “I want some sex too.”
