Then she’d barricaded the doorway from children and Kitty.
Kitty was grumpier about that than the kids.
Third, there were lights with the umbrella things all around the island.
They definitely made the space appear to be a professional studio. Jack wasn’t taking any chances with this one. He’d said that many, many times.
The doorbell rang.
Her heart seemed to stop.
“Is it him?” She rotated toward the door quickly, Jack on her heels.
The unmistakable outline of Ethan Greene appeared through the etched glass of the side window. Her heart went from stopping to beating way too fast.
Holy crap, this was happening.
“Don’t pass out.” Jack pressed a kiss to her temple as he strode past her to open the door.
And then,thenEthan Greene meandered into her home like it wasn’t a big deal. Ethan, with his messy blond hair, clothed in his signature blue jeans and white chef’s jacket with the sleeves rolled up, exposing a sleeve tattoo along his forearm that she’d seen when he was on the Nosh Network. Two brown sacks of groceries in his arms. When he spoke, he sounded like a Foster’s beer commercial. He. Had. An. Australian. Accent.
The accent had nothing on Jack’s butterscotch, but she was still going to be swimming in double hot guy heaven for a while. Might as well enjoy it.
The polite thing to do would’ve been to offer to carry a bag. That’s what Jack did. She, however, stood stock still with her mouth open, ready to catch some of Rohan’s flies. She’d never, not ever, thought she’d see Ethan Greene up close, let alone in her own home.
“This is April,” Jack said, giving her an encouraging look that probably meant she should say something. Her mouth was still hanging open and her tongue wouldn’t move, so she wasn’t sure how to remedy that.
ThenEthan Greenewaved. At her. “Good to meet you.”
Four breaths in. Hold for four. Four breaths out. Don’t faint.
“You too,” she said, totally normal, like she was a totally normal person in a totally normal situation. “Ethan Greene.”
“Kitchen’s over here,” Jack said, leading the way.
Ethan in his chef’s outfit followed behind Jack—a total contrast in his pressed suit and red silk tie with little cream polka dots. A contrast that made her mouth water. While she might’ve been starstruck over Ethan Greene, her body clearly preferred the refined Jack Gibson.
Jack caught her gaze and gave her a reassuring wink.
She tried to wink back but, truth be told, she was never very good at winking, so it always looked like she was just having a hard time blinking.
The chuckle from Jack echoed in her marrow, and her body seemed to liquefy, her knees going weak, like it did whenever they were in the same room together.
Truly, when she thought about it—which she didn’t do often—she’d never had that reaction to any other person before.
For the first time in forever, she was consistently…relaxed. The Calm Mom was more than a name: it had becomeher.
“April mentioned she wanted to visit your restaurant,” Jack said, jolting April from her wandering thoughts. Jack was staring at her with his eyebrows raised.
Ethan also had a look of great expectation etched across his features.
“It’s true.” She couldn’t figure out what to do with her hands, so she pressed them into the counter. “It’s just never worked out.”
“You and Jack should come up,” Ethan said, unbagging the groceries on the counter.
Jack was… Jack would not be there much longer. She swallowed. “Maybe we can fit it in before Jack has to leave.”
Ethan might have believed it, but she and Jack knew it would not happen. The clock was running out of hours. She had ensured that would not change because it was the fact of the visit. What she’d signed up for. The expiration date loomed closer, minute by minute.
