‘Coffee?’ he asked.
‘Actually, a cup of tea would be lovely.’
‘Tea coming right up.’ He filled the kettle then switched it on.
‘So do you make pancakes most mornings? I’m only asking because the girls seemed overly excited at the prospect.’
‘Usually only on weekends. I think their overexcitedness pertains to having someone over to share it with them.’
‘Oh. That’s nice. So why did they need to go and tell your mother they were having pancakes?’
Jasper’s eyes twinkled as he spoke. ‘They’ll be telling her about you, not the food.’
‘Oh,’ she said again, not sure what to make of this news. He didn’t seem to mind so she could only presume he was all too happy to introduce her to his parents. Was that good? Did that mean things were moving way too fast? Or was it simply a fact that she would meet his parents sooner or later, given their connection through Sara? ‘Is that a problem?’
‘Not at all.’ He brushed her worries aside. If he told her he’d never brought a woman into his home, into his life, she might start to feel even more self-conscious than she already was. ‘Now, as pancakes are your favourite food, I’m expecting an open and honest assessment of my secret recipe.’
‘Secret, huh? Very intriguing.’
He leaned a little closer, then looked first one way then the other, as though he was about to impart the greatest secret in the world. ‘I use buttermilk.’ He straightened, then shrugged. ‘Not so secret but, oh, so light and fluffy.’
Jennifer licked her lips. ‘I can hardly wait.’
‘But wait you shall. It’ll be easier if I feed the girls first.’
‘Of course. That’s the one problem with making pancakes at home—unless you have a big griddle plate, you basically can only make one at a time.’
‘You make them often?’
Jennifer shrugged. ‘When I was living in Melbourne, I did. It’s been a bit hard at Sara’s to just whip up a batch at two o’clock in the morning when I’ve finished wading through my mound of inherited paperwork.’
Jasper laughed. ‘I’m so glad the paperwork is your headache now and not mine.’ As he spoke, they could hear footsteps coming down the stairs.
‘Heads up.’ His words were soft as he continued to pull out the utensils and ingredients for pancakes as well as the eggs and bacon.
‘Good morning, Jasper.’ His mother’s calm tones greeted him as she came in to the room. Jasper’s mother was no taller than Jennifer, had short grey hair and sparkling blue eyes, big and vibrant, like those of her granddaughters.
‘See!’ Lilly remarked.
‘We told you Jen was here.’
‘So you did,’ their grandmother replied, and held out her hand, not waiting for Jasper to introduce them. ‘Hello. I’m Iris.’
‘Jennifer.’ The two women shook hands. ‘I’m happy to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.’
Iris arched an eyebrow in her son’s direction but Jasper shook his head. ‘Not from me, Mum.’
Jennifer smiled warmly. ‘I’m a friend of Sara’s. I’ve been staying with her for the past few weeks so I’ve seen the girls there a few times.’
‘Oh.’ Iris came and sat down beside her. ‘That’s what the girls were talking about. They said that Sara’s friend was here but that their daddy had brought someone home for pancakes. I was getting confused so I thought I’d come and see what they were on about.’
‘As it turns out,’ Jasper said, whisking the mixture, ‘Jennifer is my new boss.’
‘You work together?’ Iris was stunned as she looked pointedly at her son and then back at Jennifer.
‘Yes.’ Jennifer was working hard at not squirming—and she wasn’t doing too badly, if she did say so herself. She’d been scrutinised from all angles before, given her job in medical administration, yet she hadn’t been looked at this closely by a man’s mother before. ‘Is there something wrong?’
‘Remember how I said I like to keep my private and professional lives separate?’ Jasper reminded her as he put the first pancake on to cook. He spoke in a quieter voice but knew full well his mother could hear him.
‘Ah.’ Jennifer clicked then as to why his mother was astonished. ‘I take it you usually don’t invite colleagues home for breakfast after a gruelling night in theatre?’
‘No. Mum, Jennifer’s looking to buy a house,’ Jasper added before his mother could say anything more. ‘We’re going to have some breakfast, then go and see Mr Attenburgh.’