Page 12 of Barbed Wire and Burglary
“A.J. isn’t a visitor,” she reminded in a testy voice. “He’s my boyfriend. Someone you’re going to be seeing a lot more of.”
Her brother didn’t answer.
“At least let me bring you some lunch.” She pointed at the kitchen. “There’s no way you missed the scent of all that chicken I brought home from Modello’s. It’s really good.” She’d already sampled a piece. “They had it catered in for an employee appreciation event.”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass.” He didn’t look even remotely tempted. “You know how I feel about buffet-style food.”
Suit yourself.“You work too much.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “And you know what they say about all work and no play?”
He snorted and took a seat behind his desk. “While I get my dull self back to work, I hope you enjoy your visit with your boyfriend.”
“I will.” She stared intently at him. “If anything changes with your schedule, feel free to join us.”
“Thanks.” He raised his bottle of water to his lips.
Her heart ached for him. “Please be careful this evening. Despite how much you claim otherwise, you’re still healing.”
He shooed her out of his office. “Shut the door behind you, will ya?”
She gave it a louder bang than necessary. Returning tothe living room, she found A.J. squatted down, playing with Bandit.
He glanced laughingly at her. “Did your brother tell you who the ring is for?”
“No, but I’ll wear him down on the topic. Promise. That’s what sisters are for.” She chuckled to cover the prickle of worry his question raised. Maybe Aaron was right about keeping A.J. from finding out about the family business just yet. Maybe she should instead be focusing on helping Aaron find the closure he needed to move on with his life the same way she had.
A.J. took a seat on the floor, beckoning her to join him there.
She moved across the room and plopped down beside him. “I tried to talk him into joining us for a game of cards, but he said he had to get on a conference call.”
A.J. grimaced. “Too bad.”
“You’re still invited to put your game face on.” She leaned his way to bump shoulders with him, thrilled to pieces when Bandit flopped down on the floor between his legs. Her cat adored A.J. That said volumes about A.J.’s character.
A.J. swooped closer to brush his lips against her temple. “You’d really rather play games instead of necking with me?” His leisurely movements suggested he could’ve spent the rest of his afternoon doing exactly that.
She gave him a mischievous look. “Is that your way of saying you’re afraid of losing to me?”
“Not even a little,” he mocked.
“Oooo!” She narrowed her gaze at him. “Challenge accepted.”
As she curled to her feet, his stomach growled. Loudly. “Right after lunch,” she chuckled, hurrying to the kitchen toretrieve the enormous to-go box of grilled chicken fingers, steak fries, and coleslaw. She could dimly hear her brother on a phone call in his office and wished she could make out what he was saying.
On her way back to the living room, she grabbed a deck of Uno cards off the coffee table in front of the sofa.
She dropped back down on the floor with the box lunch and cards in hand.
A.J. bowed his head to say grace before digging into the chicken.
They ate with their fingers, dipping the chicken and fries in the restaurant’s signature sauce.
“So good,” Aurora moaned. “I could drink this sauce straight from the container.”
“Ditto.” He reached for another chicken finger. “Thanks again for sharing your lunch with me.”
“No problem. As you can see, it’s enough to feed an army,” she pointed out.
“Just about.” He watched as she shuffled and dealt the first round of cards.
