Shrugging out of my jacket, I hung it and my tie on the coat rack next to the front door and headed to the living room. I felt at least half-dead, but I still slammed to an abrupt halt in the doorway when I saw Eliza sprawled across my couch, blissfully comfortable in silky pajamas with her bare feet tucked underneath her.
The coffee table was covered with an impressive spread of freshly ordered Chinese food. Noodles. Dumplings. Egg rolls.
She’d thought of everything.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d cried, but I almost burst into tears at the sight of her in those goddamn navy blue pajamas, lounging on my couch like she’d been waiting for me to get home. With food, no less.
She finally looked up as if she’d sensed me there, and I swore, the smile she gave me actually made my eyes burn. “Oh good. You’re back.”
“Yeah.” I finally managed to convince my feet to move and blinked hard, doing my best to appear entirely unaffected. “Are we expecting someone? You ordered enough food to feed a village.”
Her cheeks flushed, those blue eyes slightly brighter than usual. “Yes, well, about that. I panicked.”
“You panicked? About what?”
She fidgeted with her fingers in her lap for a beat. “The menu.”
I laughed, but as I stood there watching her, so relaxed, happy, and completely at home in my house, that same dangerous thought creeped back in.This is a future I could get used to.
But it wasn’t me she had been waiting for after work. It wasn’t me she would be ordering for by this time next week.
It was Jesse. This was all for him, but maybe, just for tonight, I would let myself have it. I could let myself savor every moment and pretend she was mine.
“I should start leaving you alone more often if this is the result,” I said, striding to the other end of her couch and sitting down. “Seriously, you did well.”
“Don’t you dare leave me alone just for food,” she joked, poking at my leg with the chopsticks she’d just opened. “I’ve had Chinese before, of course, but I’ve never actually ordered it.”
I leaned forward and opened one of the containers. “You could’ve waited for me.”
She waved the chopsticks dismissively. “Google and I had a great time figuring out the menu. It was just a bit intimidating, but I managed. Besides, I’m sure you had a long day at your mystery job for the family. I figured food therapy would help.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you,” I said, smiling. “Also, it’s really not much of a mystery. I’m in sales. I told you that.”
“Yes, well, I’m extremely thoughtful when dumplings are involved, and sure, you’re in sales, but you also dabble in operations and God only knows what else.”
“It’s really not that interesting.” I grabbed a pair of chopsticks of my own and snagged a dumpling. “Hey, after this, do you want to go out and see the city?”
She thought it over for a moment before she looked down at the food. “I’m fine here.”
“Really? Are you sure? Chicago is pretty impressive at night. There’s a lot to do and see after sunset.”
“Oh, I’m sure.” She gestured at herself. “I’m already in my pajamas and I’m not much one for nightlife. Plus, we’re pretending to be normal human beings, right? That means going to bed at a decent hour so we adjust to the time zone faster.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” I said after a beat. “All of it. You really could’ve just chosen one reason, though. Even just saying you didn’t want to would’ve been enough.”
“Variety is the spice of life,” she said cheerfully. “Besides, there’s no way you could argue with all that.”
“I wouldn’t have argued anyway.”
She looked up at me. “You’re welcome to go out if you’d like. Personally, I’m going to eat enough to qualify as a national security threat to the food supply and probably go to sleep.”
I chuckled. “Thanks, but I’m fine here too. I’ve seen Chicago at night plenty of times and I haven’t really missed it.”
“Fabulous,” she concluded. “In that case, I vote we stay exactly where we are.”
“That’s the most convincing argument I’ve heard all day.”
Both of us tucked in, eating our way through most of the insane amount of food she’d ordered. When she was done, she smiled and leaned back on the couch. “Do you know what I love?”
