Jed snorted as they both took a seat. “Think I’ve spoken more to you tonight than I have to anyone else in the past week.”
That didn’t surprise her. He didn’t strike her as the verbose type. But he had no problem talking to her.
She picked up her fork and dug into the mashed potatoes. Damn, they were cooked perfect. Light, fluffy and buttery.
“Want me to cut up your steak for you?” he asked suddenly.
She froze. Stared at him with another forkful of mashed potatoes halfway to her mouth. Her mouth was open. She slammed it shut. That probably looked real attractive, Daisy. The potatoes slid off the fork and landed on her lap. Shit.
She sighed. “Crap.”
But instead of looking disgusted by her or making a smart-assed comment, Jed just stood.
“Don’t swear,” he scolded mildly. “Wait there, I’ll get a cloth.”
He returned quickly with a cloth, but when she reached for it, he pulled it back. She looked up at him with hurt. Was he playing some kind of game?
“Hey,” he said gently, reaching out to take hold of her chin. “I’ll clean you up, all right?”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I want to take care of you.” He used the cloth to tidy her up. “I enjoy it.”
Her heart raced. “You used to take care of me.”
He sat with a nod, putting the cloth down on the table. “I did.”
“Not like that.”
“Not sure we ever ate mashed potatoes together.”
“You know what I mean.”
He stared at her straight on. “I do know what you mean. Back then we were kids, but I always knew I wanted to look after you. Nobody else ever did.”
She flinched at that, even though it was nothing less than the truth. He reached out again and gently raised her chin so she had to look at him. “Didn’t say that to hurt you, sugar.”
“I know.” She tried to smile, but failed miserably. “It’s just the truth. My mom never even noticed I existed and I spent most of my time looking after Brad and Sylvie. You were the only person who ever watched out for me.”
And then she left him. And nothing had been the same since.
She saw something flash through his eyes and his hand dropped. Her heart raced with fear. Was he remembering too? Remembering the promises they’d made to each other? Promises she’d broken.
“Jed—”
“Eat your dinner,” he said abruptly.
“Jed—”
“Daisy, eat.”
A lump developed in her throat. Suddenly, her appetite was gone.
“Eat your dinner, Daisy.”
“I can’t. I don’t feel so great.”
He stared at her for a moment, she expected him to scold her or maybe get a bit impatient. Instead, he surprised her by reaching over and pulling her into his lap. She froze. She’d been in his lap before, as a teenager. But this Jed was a whole different experience. He was firm, large, and hard. She wiggled around.