I glanced around at other diners, who weren’t being moved. “Why?—”
“Did I say counter? I meant stool,” Selena quickly interjected. “Here, let me get your silverware and drink for you. It’s the least I can do since I’m making you move. Thanks for understanding. Did I mention we have a big group coming in for lunch, so you’ll have to share a booth? Sorry about that. But you’re such a friendly guy, I know you’ll make the best of it.”
Selena abruptly prattled on about some town gossip that, blessedly, wasn’t me—without taking a breath. The lung power was impressive. As we approached the booth, she stumbled a little and dumped water on the bench on the far side. The physics of the move seemed…odd.
“Gosh, I’m clumsy. Here, sit on this side,” she said in a rush. Selena plunked down the items in her hand and managed to shove me into the booth in a single move.
“What the hell?” I turned to her before I even registered that a small, lithe body was pushing against my bicep.
“Sorry. It’s so busy in here. Introduce yourselves,” she said hurriedly, and with a breezy wave, she was back to the kitchen.
“Hey, Daddy.”
Jasper scooted down the bench to give me more room, but I wanted to haul him closer. The warmth was gone when he wasn’t crammed into my side. The biddies in town were gonna have a field day dissecting every part of our lunch today.
“Fancy meeting you here.” Jasper’s smile was as bright as ever, but after yesterday, I recognized the shadows flirting around the edges. He was nervous.
“They’ve got the best burgers and shakes in town, so you picked good.”
“What the heck? How did I miss that?” Jasper pulled a plastic menu from behind the napkin dispenser and homed in on the shake section.
Before I could answer, Selena popped up next to the table with her pad. “Hank, I told the kitchen to hold off on your order. I knew you wouldn’t want to eat in front of your friend.”
Her innocent smile wasn’t fooling anybody, least of all me. On a hunch, I glanced over my shoulder. Yep, someone was sitting where I’d been. I looked back at her, at my old spot, then at her again. She followed my gaze before giving me a quick wink.
“I’m Selena, by the way. There’s a rumor going around that you’re staying at Sissy’s place.”
“Hey, yeah, I’m Jasper.”
“She was such a cool lady. I’m real sorry for your loss. She’d come in every Friday, sit in the back with her book, and treat herself to a chocolate shake. I thought she might be feeling better with all the renovations she was doing out there.”
“Yeah, we were related, but we didn’t get the chance to meet in person before she passed.”
Selena nodded like she understood. “I’ve had a few friends I never met in person—only online—and I think we were closer than some I see every week.”
“Then you get it.”
“Yeah, I do. But before I make my new customer cry, how about I take your order before the boss man starts yelling?”
“Since when is Sammy the boss man?” I cut in. Everyone knew Selena ruled the roost at home and at DeeDee’s.
“We let him think so now and then. It makes him feel better.” Her voice softened. Everyone also knew she was head over heels in love with her laidback husband. “Jasper, you ready?”
“Could I get the Bruno Curve Burger and fries? And if Sissy’s chocolate shake was her reward, I’ll do the same.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get your orders in.”
I waited until Selena was gone before leaning in close to Jasper’s ear. “Do you deserve a reward, sugar?”
The temptation that was Jasper was too much. I kissed his earlobe, slow and sweet.
“Hank!”
“I like Daddy better.”
And because no one could see us in the back booth, I kissed him again. Selena might be nosy and interfering, but she was getting a damn good tip for this stunt.
It hadn’t occurred to me until now that the quickest way to get a blushing, flustered Jasper was a little PDA. If that was all it took to see the heat bloom across his cheeks, I’d do it every damn day. For all his sass, it seemed like he wasn’t used to being publicly claimed. If I thought too much about that, I’d get pissed, so I forced myself to stay in the moment.
