“No, a bit farther in. By Brooklyn College. Stop by and I’ll show you around sometime.” He pulled out his wallet and gave him a card.
“Thanks. I’ll check it out.” Carter said as he took it from him.
Jacks shuffled his feet and tugged at Reed’s arm. “Can we have pizza for dinner?”
Reed laughed. “How about we make some pizza? We can each make our own pies.”
“Yes!” Jacks shot his hand up in the air. “Let’s go. Bye, Henry. See you tomorrow.” He ran toward the door, then stopped and came back to Blake’s sister and her husband. “Thank you for having me. I had a great time.”
Jeremy stood and watched this exchange. He wondered if Blake wanted kids. Then he wondered why he was wondering about it. They were dating and having fun. Not that serious yet—but some seriously great sex.
After the three guests left, Michelle shut the door and locked it. “Why don’t we go into the kitchen and have some coffee and get to know each other?”
“In other words,” Blake said with a laugh, “the Michelle Alperin way of saying, ‘I’m going to ask you a million questions until I know everything about you.’”
“Oh, be quiet.” She elbowed him, and Jeremy grinned, happy to see Blake had the same type of relationship he and his siblings had. They didn’t get to see their sister much now that she’d moved three hours away, but the love between them all remained strong.
Michelle’s kitchen was like her: cozy, warm, and inviting. No hard edges, only soft, mellow colors like yellows, creams, and blues. He sensed there was always a bit of chaos but attributed that to having an almost teenaged boy. He couldn’t imagine how his mother managed with the three of them, but then remembered she was barely around, leaving his father to take care of him and Rochelle while she shepherded Noah to all his shoots and casting calls.
“Something wrong? You look upset.” Blake peered at him.
“Nope. I’m good.”
And he was. Sitting here with Blake and his family gave Jeremy a sense of belonging to someone. He’d never imagined it being important to him, but now that he had it, it was kind of nice.
“How do you take your coffee, Jeremy?”
“With milk only, thanks.”
Michelle poured him and Blake a cup and sat down across from him, with Evan at her side.
“Blake told us you met in a snowstorm. That’s kind of romantic.”
“If by romantic you mean me breaking my umbrella and freezing, yeah.” Blake’s thigh pressed up warmly against his, and Jeremy remembered the heat of their first kiss that evening.
Wanting to make a good impression, Jeremy smiled. “It kind of was. I saw him struggling and couldn’t walk by and leave him.”
Looking between him and Blake, Michelle seemed dubious at best. “Who would think a big, good-looking guy like you was a softie?”
“Are you kidding?” Blake knocked his elbow. “Jeremy cries at all the holiday commercials.”
“Hey.” He pretended outrage. “You weren’t supposed to tell. That was our secret.”
A tray of homemade chocolate-chip cookies sat on the table between them, and Michelle, watching their exchange with soft eyes, pushed it toward them.
“Take. I made them for you guys.”
Wanting to please, Jeremy took a cookie and put it on his plate, intending to take one bite. Spending so much time with Blake had meant curtailing his gym workouts, although the vigorous sex they enjoyed surely had to count for something.
“I guess owning a gym means you’re into watching your weight.” With a wry smile, Michelle gazed down at herself. “I’ve given up the battle. I have no chance to watch what I eat. I’m so busy during the day with Henry and the house. The best I can do is try not to keep junk food around to be tempted.”
“I can only imagine, and I know it’s rough. I can give you some quick workout tips if you want. Even fifteen minutes a day can help. But as long as you’re healthy, I wouldn’t stress.” He hoped his words were encouraging.
“That’s what I tell her.” Evan put his hand on hers, and they shared a smile.
“Do you work out a lot? You must, being at the gym all the time. It’s funny ’cause Blake has never been into that, as far as I know.”
Feeling defensive, Jeremy sipped his coffee, taking the time to parse his words so he wouldn’t come across sounding angry. “I actually don’t work out as much as people think. I run the gym. It’s my business, so I’m either paying bills, balancing the books, or looking for new ways to promote.”
