“Everyone act like we weren’t talking about their sex life,” Eli suggested.
Brek thumped him upside the head, and then she was there in the doorway and Jase was stripped raw.
“Sorry. I didn’t realize everyone was here.” Heather slid a glance between them all.
“What’s up, sugar?” Jase asked, the endearment slipping through his lips like a buttered grenade.
Brek coughed into his hand. Eli dropped his head to the table. Dean just smiled like a candy-ass.
Heather took it all in, briefly, before shifting her gaze back to him. “The afternoon deliveries are ready, so I thought I’d come over and let Ethan know.”
“He’s not back yet, but I’ll send him over when he gets here.” That wasn’t why she’d come by, though. That was a phone call Candy usually made. Not a trip across the asphalt for Heather.
“I also wanted to see which flowers you wanted to use for the prom, so I can coordinate the cookies.” She shifted from foot to foot. “I want them to match.”
“I’ll text you some pictures.” He couldn’t help but notice the way her breaths were coming more quickly than usual.
Her hair was back in its ponytail and she’d changed clothes. No apron this time, so she obviously wasn’t in a rush when she’d headed his way. “I need to talk to you about your grandmother. Have you talked to her?”
Shit. No, he hadn’t even thought about Babushka since… Negative…he hadn’t talked to her.
“I guess that’s a no.” Heather’s chest started to heave like it had when she was upset that morning. “Okay, so she figured out that we’re together. Back together. Just together. Whatever.”
Fuck. If she knew, his mother knew… If his mother knew? Everyone knew.
Heather went on, “And I’m sorry, I know you didn’t want to tell her. Yet. She just overheard…you know. She just…”
Heather had no idea what she’d just done. To both of them. There would be no escape for either, once his family knew. He and Heather would get sucked into their vortex and they’d never get any time alone.
“We’ll just step out,” Dean stood and ticked his head toward the door. “Brek? Eli?”
“You might as well stay. I mean you’ll hear all this anyway,” Heather replied.
Dean slid his gaze between the two of them, finally settling back on the stool.
“Okay. She knows. I’ll take care of it. Just…the family is going to descend.”
“I can handle that.” She nodded.
Ha. No one could handle a roomful of Dvornakovs.
“Also...there’s another thing…”
“Maybe we should step out now.” Dean stood again.
Heather took a deep breath. “Babushka wanted to move in with Morty, but I told her that’s a bad idea and she should stay with me or move back in with your parents. But she was really not into those ideas, because she’s still mad at your dad and she wants us to have our space. So I convinced her to consider the retirement home where we’re hosting prom. She’s got a tour later today and she’s really excited—”
She kept talking, but Jase couldn’t hear her over the buzzing in his ears. Her lips were moving, but he just stared at them, not really able to process what she was saying. When had his life spun so far out of control because he’d had a crush on a girl with a cute ponytail and a bouquet of erection cookies?
Oh, she’d stopped talking and was staring at him like he was supposed to respond.
“Jase?” she asked.
He opened his mouth, looked to his buddies, then back to the woman he’d committed to that weekend. He closed his mouth.
“She asked if you want to go,” Brek chimed in.
“Go where?” He couldn’t pull his gaze from Heather’s red lips.
