“No, nothing weird.” Julian shook his head. She’d just been happy to see him, which was so nice that he never wanted to leave. “I just wanted to make sure before I totally blew our cover like an idiot or something.”
Isaac nodded. “Yeah, well, it took her a while to come around to the plan, but it definitely helped that it was you. She likes you.”
“I’m charming.” Julian grinned. He pulled a chair away from the kitchen table, settling down happily.
“Yeah, yeah,” Isaac agreed reluctantly, flicking the burner off and taking the pan he’d been working on off the stove.
“You see how helpful Isaac’s being?” Mrs. Hudson asked as she came back into the room, bottle of wine in hand.
She’d changed into dark pants and a pretty, casual top, which made Julian feel better about his jeans-and-button-down ensemble. He hadn’t thought he needed to dress up for dinner with an old friend and a woman who’d been like a second mother to him.
Isaac was wearing old jeans and an older t-shirt, so he’d obviously been right.
“Very helpful,” Julian said, grinning over at him. “He’s gonna make a great house husband someday.”
Mrs. Hudson chuckled. “I think he’s trying to impress you,” she said.
“Gotta make up for nearly taking his eye out,” Isaac said.
Unexpectedly, Julian’s heart fluttered. He wasn’t sure exactly where that had come from, but the idea of Isaac trying to impress him—andadmittingit, well…
It was new, if nothing else. Isaac impressed him all the time, but never intentionally. He never set out to impress Julian.
For once in his life, it was nice to feel as though he was worth impressing.
“I’ve got another one,” Julian said, hoping to cover up the sudden rush of emotion he’d just felt.
“They’re kind’ve a pair,” Isaac responded.
His concern was adorable, and while Julian remembered Mrs. Hudson’s advice about taking advantage, he didn’tneedto.
Isaac was paying him attention. Sad as it was to admit, that was all Julian had ever really wanted.
“What smells so good?” Julian asked, wanting to change the subject before he gave away how much he was enjoying Isaac’s sympathy.
“Braised yearling steaks,” Isaac said. “Which are hopefully gonna taste just as good,” he added, putting on an oven mitt to extract the pan.
“Youcooked?” Julian asked, shocked.
Isaac chuckled. “With a whole lotta guidance, yeah,” he said, beaming proudly.
“He did okay on his own. He just needs more confidence,” Mrs. Hudson said. “Or more practice.”
“Yeah, well…” Isaac shrugged. “Maybe it’s time I grew up, huh?”
A surge of pride welled up in Julian’s chest. Isaac had changed—changed alot—but almost all of it was good. He was turning into the man Julian had always imagined he’d become.
Mrs. Hudson finally marched over to the kitchen, grabbing a corkscrew from the drawer. “Now, you can haveoneglass of this with dinner, but no more, because you’re driving Julian home.”
Isaac blinked. “He didn’t drive here?”
“I don’t own a car.” Julian shrugged. “It’s really no big dea—”
A look from Mrs. Hudson cut him off mid-sentence.
“Isaac will drive you home,” she said.
“Of course. You should’ve told me, I woulda picked you up on the way.”
