“You have a kiddo?” April asked, already knowing the answer. He had a kid. A little girl. The scandal surrounding her had cost him his show on The Nosh Network.
“Uh-huh.”
That’s all he said, and she did not push because she understood better than most how having your life implode could make you not want to talk about certain things.
“April makes fantastic chili,” Jack said, coming back to the kitchen. “You should grab the recipe before you leave.”
April’s entire presence bloomed under Jack’s compliment. She was pretty sure her cheeks were red because they were ten degrees warmer than they had been three seconds ago.
“That’s sweet.” She gave him a grin, hoping he knew how much she appreciated his compliment.
“I don’t think anyone has ever called Jack sweet.” Ethan laughed and went about pouring a box of gluten-free pasta into a bowl.
Jack’s jaw clenched at the comment, but he seemed to recover. “I can be sweet.”
Yes, she knew firsthand that he could be extremely sweet. Nearly saccharine.
“It’s a shame no one gets to see that side of you.” April heard her words but didn’t really focus on anything other than the warmth of Jack’s attention when it settled on her. The way she wanted to unbutton the pressed white shirt he always seemed to wear and wreck his precise image.
To meld his world with hers.
She gave a tiny headshake to rearrange her mind, because thoughts like these were not allowed. She’d savor what they had, while they had it. Then she’d get back to living her life.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Why do kids face all the ‘world is falling apart’ problems only when I step inside the bathroom? I need ten minutes for the world to not be on fire. Just ten. I’ll be super mom after that, I promise.”
—Sapna Bhog
April
“I think your sweet potato is not good.” April eyed the musty green veins inside the potato that were most definitely not supposed to be there.
The camera was rolling. They were live. And the sweet potato was rotten.
She was not going to panic about it. Not like either of them had peed on anything or started cussing.
“I tend to agree.” Ethan tossed the potato into the bowl he used for discard. “I don’t suppose you have a spare we could use?”
Actually, she totally did. She headed for the pantry to dig out the two she’d purchased to make sweet potato fries later that week.
She emerged from the pantry with two potatoes she hoped to heck weren’t rotted inside.
Ethan did a shimmy dance. She stared at him. Did he actually expect her to jump on in with something like that?
Fine. She did half a shimmy and tossed him a potato.
Ethan caught it like a football, eating up her impromptu pass. Which, she hoped, would mean that the viewers would, too.
April even gave a quick meditation lesson before they made the not-really-peanut butter. Also, turned out that meditating absolutely made the food taste better. At least, that’s what she’d said and it just came out of her mouth and was so witty and—
“And that is a wrap.” Jack did a slow clap with a huge grin that made April feel twenty feet tall. Given that her kitchen didn’t have vaulted ceilings, that was a particularly noteworthy feat.
They were done. She’d survived.
Rachel clapped along with Jack. She’d come to help out before the filming began.
“That was perfection,” Rachel said.
