"Want some eggs?" he asked.
I had to laugh. He'd asked me that every morning since Saturday and the answer was the same today as it was the first two.
"No, thanks."
"You need protein," he replied.
"I'll get it when I have lunch and dinner," I shot back. "You made sure of that by making them for me."
It was his turn to laugh. "Fair enough. Do you have something against scrambled eggs?" he asked. "I could have sworn you used to eat them all the time as a kid."
I shook my head. "I don't have anything against them, usually, and I did eat them all the time as a kid. My stomach is still a little queasy in the mornings so tea and toast are about all I can handle. I promise I'll let you make me eggs at some point. Just not for breakfast."
J.J. grinned as he got a pan out of the cabinet. Over the weekend, he'd managed to familiarize himself with most of the kitchen. Granted, it was a tiny kitchen with only a few cabinets and the pantry, but he took the time to figure out where everything was.
It was something I noticed about adult J.J. that hadn't changed much from teenage J.J.
When he was interested in something, he learned what he could about it.
Which was also why he started bringing me dinner or taking me out for dinner every night that I worked at Crave after Monday. Once he realized that I was eating a sandwich and fruit for lunch and the meals he'd prepped for dinner, he started showing up at the shop with food.
I really wanted to be irritated at him but he made it impossible. Rather than bossing me around or trying to wheedle me into doing what he wanted, he did something nice.
It was a tactic that worked because my mother had hammered the concept of manners into me from a young age.
Friday night was a good example. He showed up with homemade tomato soup, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, and the news that I was officially on his insurance.
"I brought my dinner, you know," I said as we sat in Cam's office. She'd told me to go back there and put my feet up while I ate.
I wasn't sure if she'd gotten it from J.J. or he'd gotten it from her.
"I know," he said, pulling out two containers of soup and foil-wrapped sandwiches. "I thought it would be nice to have dinner together."
"Every night this week?" I asked.
"Too much?"
I studied him for a moment. He seemed genuinely interested in my answer so I was honest. I would have been honest regardless, but I was less guarded in my reply.
"No, not too much. Just...unexpected."
He leaned back in the chair he'd brought over to the little table in front of the couch. "What did you expect?"
I had to shrug. "I didn't expect anything. I wasn't sure how involved we were going to be with each other. We didn't exactly discuss it or lay out terms other than we were getting married and staying that way until the baby was born."
"I thought we agreed that we'd be open with each other," he said.
"I thought that's what I was doing."
He smiled. "I guess you have a point. Are you opposed to being involved with me while we're married?"
It was my turn to smile. "That's an odd question, isn't it?" When he nodded, I continued, "I'm not opposed to being involved with you. Or having dinner together."
"What about when you make your doctor's appointment?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
J.J. rubbed his hands together. "Well, I know I told you I wanted to be here for you during the pregnancy and after the baby is born, but I never asked you how you felt about me being with you when you go to the doctor."
