Page 52 of Forever After All

Jess wouldn’t have invited Hadley in either because girl talk gave her hives.

With a mug of hot chocolate in one hand and a bowl of popcorn in the other, Jess padded back into the living room where Linc rested his head back with his eyes closed.

Jess handed him the bowl as he raised his head. “Sorry it took so long.”

“Not long at all. I called Paul and apologized for running out on him.”

Jess winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to pull you away from work.” In fact, she hadn’t called him at all, but he’d come running anyway.

“No problem. I wasn’t getting much done anyway.” He shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth and hummed. “This is good.”

“Butter lovers.”

Linc picked up another handful. “I think I’m going to devour this bowl. We might need another one in about three minutes.”

“There’s plenty. Are you hungry? I can make you something?”

Linc shook his head. “This is good.” He pointed to the TV. “Are we watching something?”

Jess grabbed the remote. “What do you want to watch?”

“I have no preferences. My cabin doesn’t have a TV.”

“Your choices are an old western, an evangelical talk show, andJeopardy.”

Linc chewed popcorn like someone might steal it from him if he didn’t eat it fast enough. “Which do you prefer?”

“Jeopardy. I’ve tried to watch the westerns, but it’s a little confusing.”

Her heart beat violently at that tiny confession. Jess hated admitting all the things she didn’t understand that other people seemed to grasp so easily, but Linc never made her feel stupid.

When he didn’t laugh in her face and question her intelligence, she kept going. “I have trouble with most movies. I don’t understand why most people do the things they do, and trying to work out how one person can act in multiple movies and have different personalities every time I see their face on TV is just…”

“Confusing. I get it,” Linc said. “I bet it’s because you’re so honest with people, so you expect them to be honest too. Acting goes against that.”

She’d never been able to put her finger on the reason why movies made her so uncomfortable, but Linc’s words made sense. Something unfamiliar bubbled in her middle. She cleared her throat and stared down into the dark drink she held in one hand. “Maybe. I also have a hard time watching the shootouts. I know it’s not real, but my brain doesn’t get the memo and it’s awful watching someone die, even if it’s all pretend.”

Linc pulled the popcorn bowl closer, hugging it to his chest like a kid holding a stuffed animal. “You any good atJeopardy?”

Jess chuckled. “Not really.”

“Me either. I never got any awards for being smart.”

Her lips tingled and tried to turn up in a smile. If anyone had asked her an hour ago if she’d be smiling, she wouldn’t have believed it.

She choseJeopardyand put the remote down. Tucking her legs underneath her and cradling the warm cup of hot chocolate with both hands, she settled in while commercials played.

“I really want to go back and deck that guy,” Linc said, not looking away from the TV.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m over it. Plus, you’ll be happy to know my reflexes are fantastic. I dodged like it was a horse hoof flying at my face instead of a guy’s lips.”

Linc sat up straighter, still hugging the bowl with little crumbles of his favorite snack in the bottom. “He did what?”

“He tried to kiss me, and I maneuvered my way out of it. I guess that’s why he told me to find another ride home and started throwing back whiskey shots.”

Linc stared at her with wide eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me this while we were there? Jess, that’s not okay!”

“He got the message. He didn’t need to hear it again from you.” Her body heated, and she huffed. “Well, I said I was over it, but it does make me mad. He didn’t say three nice words to me the whole night, then he put his arm around me and thought we were going to make out in public or something. He didn’t even know my last name, and he didn’t open the door for me or anything.”

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