“Is the pizza for the distraught toddler or her very-tired mom?”
“Both of you. But I’ll also bring wine for when she’s in bed.”
“You’re too good to me,” I said.
“Not nearly good enough,” he said. “See you tonight.”
I said goodbye and hung up the phone, slipped it in my apron, and went to find Jackson in the kitchen. His dark, bald head was leaned over a cutting board where he was rapidly chopping onion.
He looked up and shook his head at my approach. “You took Jace’s offer, didn’t you?”
“Are you going to hate me if I say yes?” I asked, leaning on the counter.
Jackson wiped his hands on his apron and brushed the onion into a pot on the stove with a chef’s knife. “I would have been pissed if you didn’t.”
“Really?”
“Yep,” he said, turning on the burner. He faced me, his dark eyes stern. “I won’t be running this place forever, so maybe don’t forget about us, but for now, you have to do what works for you and your little girl.”
“Thanks, Jackson. Three weeks?” I asked.
“That’s fine.” He grabbed a wooden spoon and started stirring.
“I’m going to go out there before Clarence comes in to yell at me for being late,” I said.
Jackson shook his head. “I don’t need his drama today, so off you go.”
I left the kitchen, and he yelled, “Congrats” as I made my way to the bar. I took over for Clarence who kept his mouth shut for once, but whose eyes told me he knew I’d been in the back five minutes too long.
By the time my shift was over, my feet were sore, I’d spilled soup all over myself, and I was ready for a nap. But the promise of wine and pizzawith Jace motivated me to perk up. I walked back to Mom’s to get Kaylee and stopped at Ackerson’s Wine and Coffee Bar for a pumpkin latte on the way. Another one of the bars owned by Adrian, Ackerson’s always had a sunshiny feel compared to the dim lighting at Harrison’s and it was hands down the best local coffee in Back Bay.
I’d no more than gotten Kaylee home and in the process of taking her shoes off when a knock sounded on the door right behind where we stood in the small entrance to my apartment.
“Jace!” Kaylee exclaimed, grabbing the handle and throwing the front door open.
He smiled at me and bent down to hug her, a large pizza in one hand and a bottle of wine grasped in the other. “Hey, Peanut. How was your day?”
“Mom washed Teddy,” she said with exasperation.
“I heard,” Jace said, standing back up. “I figured some pepperoni pizza would help ease the pain of your mom’s mistakes.”
“Yeah!” Kaylee jumped up and down, grabbing the leg of Jace’s dark jeans.
“Really? Mistakes?” I grumbled as Jace hugged me.
He chuckled, his arm around my upper back feeling more comforting than usual after the long day I’d had. “Sorry, Liv.”
“Mhm.” I reluctantly released him and took the bottle of wine. “I’ll open this.”
His eyes scanned my body as he stepped back and he crinkled his nose. “You smell like cream of broccoli.”
I closed my eyes and tipped my head back with a groan. “Hence why I need the wine. It was a very long day, my feet are killing me, and I spilled an entire bowl of soup all over myself.”
“Liv,” he said, setting the pizza on the kitchen table. He pulled the wine bottle from my hands. “Go take a shower. Better yet, take a bath and relax. Kaylee and I can watch a movie.”
“I feel like you’re telling me I smell.”
Jace shook his head and grabbed my shoulders with both hands. I took a deep breath to hide the way my body relaxed into him. “I’m saying you’ve obviously had a shit day. Go do something for yourself. But yeah, you also don’t smell great.”
