Page 43 of So in Love
She sat on his lap and handed him a spoon.His lips spread into a grin.“Do we need spoons?”
Heat spiraled through her.Clearly he was onboard too.
Throwing his car into Park, Jamie stared at his parents’ house for a minute before turning off the car.Mom had texted him last night—she’d found the missing box of memorabilia.
Unfortunately, Crystal was gone.She’d left for LA that morning and wouldn’t be back for a couple of weeks.Jamie wondered how he was going to spend his nights.Ah well, the same way he’d spent them before New Year’s, he supposed.
Still, he was going to miss her.Whether he liked it or not, she’d become…something.A routine, maybe.Damn, that sounded cold.He didn’t want to label it.
Yes, it was good that she was gone for a while.That would prevent his brain from trying to categorize whatever it was they were doing together.
He hopped out of the car and jogged through the frigid drizzle to the front door.Dad opened it before he could and ushered him inside.
“Come in and warm up,” Dad said, closing the door behind Jamie.
“Thanks.”Jamie let the heat of the house envelop him as he walked farther inside.
Mom came up from downstairs with a coffee mug in her hand.“Hi, do you want some coffee?”
“Sure, that’d be great.”He took off his coat and hung it on the back of one of the dining chairs.
“You know, you could hang that up,” Mom said, pouring coffee into a mug.
Jamie resisted the urge to roll his eyes.“I could, but it’s damp and I don’t want to put it in your closet.”
Dad kissed Mom on the cheek and nodded toward Jamie.“I need to head over to the school for a bit.They’re repairing some ductwork today, and I want to make sure everything’s going smoothly.See you later.”
Mom watched him go, her hands cupping her mug.“Bye, dear.”
Jamie picked up his coffee cup and inhaled the strong brew.He loved the smell of black coffee but had stopped drinking it that way after developing a creamer habit when he’d lived in the UK.Thanks to Sadie.
He opened the fridge in search of something that would suffice.“You still don’t have creamer, do you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Mom said, a smile evident in her voice.“I knew you were coming, so I picked some up at the store this morning.Vanilla, right?”
“That works great.”He actually wasn’t picky.He poured a healthy splash into the coffee, and Mom handed him a spoon.“Thanks.”
Mom leaned her hip against the counter and sipped her coffee.“Crystal sent me a very nice apology note.”
“Did she?”Jamie hadn’t known that.
Mom nodded.“Tell her thank you for me next time you see her—if you see her.”
“She’s back in LA now.”Jamie didn’t elaborate on whether he’d see her.
“So you really aren’t dating or anything?I wasn’t sure.”She waved a hand.“Never mind what you said.Mothers pick up on things.”
“No, we aren’t dating.”Their parting last night had been sweet but also devoid of any promises.She hadn’t said she’d call him.He hadn’t asked her to keep in touch.For all he knew, they were done.Which was great.He didn’t want anything that required explanation or that would need to be terminated.
He’d be quite happy to not repeat his Sadie experience.
“I’ll be honest—I have a hard time picturing you with someone like her.The life she leads… I don’t know.”Mom shook her head.“She’s a bit older than you too, isn’t she?”
Five years.Not that she’d told him that.He’d figured it out based on Alaina’s age, which was easily searchable on imdb dot com.“It’s all moot, Mom.We aren’t a ‘thing.’She’s a nice gal, but we have nothing in common.”Except amazing sex.
She smiled at him.“Does that mean I can go back to trying to set you up?”
He laughed.“Absolutely not.”He turned away from her and went to the table.“Is this the box?”
