Huh?
Harvey's deep voice jolts me back into the present moment, and why is he walking away? Man, Jack's game is weak. Good thing he's got a rottweiler bestie that won't take no for an answer.
"Are you free for dinner tonight?" I ask, halting Harvey in his tracks.
He turns around, his steel eyes flicking between the two of us. "I'll have to check my social calendar…"
Jack chuckles, and I grin.
"Be here at six. I don't know how well you knew my grandmother, but she's passed down all her best recipes to me."
Harvey's face lights up. "Including cupcakes?"
"Including cupcakes." I prop my hands on my hips. "Got a favorite flavor?"
"Mango cardamom," he answers back immediately.
I smile. "I'll see what I can do. See you at six."
"You were totally flirting with Harvey," Jack says the moment we're inside.
"What are you talking about?" I scan his face to see if he's kidding around, but I can't get a read. His tone isn't angry or accusatory, but in any case, he's dead wrong.
"Come over for dinner. I'll bake you some cupcakes," he says, putting on a breathy tone that's easily a few octaves higher than mine.
I roll my eyes, making my way to the kitchen counter where I left my phone so I can start putting together a shopping list for tonight's meal.
"Not only are you wrong, but you are spectacularly wrong," I say, snatching up my phone. "I sawyouflirting with him, and as such, took it upon myself to invite him over for you two to…you know." I wave my phone in front of him.
"Wait. So you're going to make dinner and cupcakes and then…leave?"
"Correct."
"You're an idiot."
"I know, but why in this particular instance?"
He slides onto a stool at the breakfast bar. "Okay, so, yes, maybe Harvey is the first guy in a very long time?—"
"Years."
"Okay, years."
"Many years."
"Okay, the first guy inmanyyears who has sparked a…curiosity in me. But that doesn't mean I want to do anything with him. Especially not on my own."
"I don't understand."
He kicks out the stool beside him and motions for me to sit down. Once I do, he says, "Remember those guys you set me up with a few years ago?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I realized something." He drops his gaze and starts fidgeting with his fingers. "I realized that I don't think I'm cut out for dating."
"I remember you saying that."
"That's only half of it. What I didn't tell you is that I don't think I'm cut out for dating without you."
