“What are you in the mood for?”

Her eyes swept him and she smiled, opting not to voice her less than clean thoughts. “Chinese?”

“Sounds good to me.” He headed toward the car, tossing her a towel and grabbing one for himself. He folded it on the driver’s seat and Jennifer followed his lead.

“Last I knew you were supposed to be getting married. What happened?”

Any trace of a smile on his face disappeared. “She killed herself the day before the wedding.”

Shocked silence filled the car.

“I’m so sorry.”

He kept his eyes on the road.

They drove in silence until he pulled into the restaurant parking lot and shut off the car. “I haven’t been able to let it go. I never finished school. I put my focus into restoring this car and when I finished, I decided I’d shut myself off from the world long enough.” He ran his hand over the dashboard. “This car kept me sane.”

She studied his profile torn between throwing her arms around him and asking the flurry of questions assaulting her mind. He was five years older, so he should have graduated long before two years ago. She tilted her head, taking a closer look, but all she saw was layers of pain and anguish.

“And here we are,” he added, reaching to grab his t-shirt on the floor in front of her. “You don’t have a shirt, do you?”

“No.”

“What do you want?”

“Spicy chicken with fried rice.” She looked into his eyes. The hurt was still there under the surface, and more than ever she wanted to wrap her arms around him and make it disappear.

Steve paused and stared at her. The muscles in his jaws tightened. “Don’t look at me like that, Jen. I’m not a charity case.” He headed into the restaurant without waiting for a response.

At the door, he stopped and glanced over his shoulder. Their gaze locked and warmth spread through her and she closed her eyes, sinking in the seat, drifting back ten years.

She remembered the day he left—him waving good-bye, the taste of her salty tears at the corner of her lips, the hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach growing as the car pulled out of sight. They wrote to each other frequently at first and she remembered her heart pounding in her chest as she ran to collect the mail each day, her hands shaking as she ripped open the long-awaited envelope from him. Excitement turned to disappointment as time wore on and his letters became more sporadic and then non-existent. By the time she got to high school, she stopped writing all together and her boy next door became just a precious memory. Jennifer opened her eyes and looked at the man who had made such an impression on her as a child.

Steve dug his wallet from his back pocket and peeled off the cash. Handing it to the cashier, he grabbed the bag, trotting back to the car.

“I didn’t know how much I missed you until I saw you today,” Jennifer said.

This time, the smile touched his eyes. He started the car and glanced over his shoulder as he backed out of the parking spot. The heat from his arm’s proximity to Jennifer’s shoulder gave her a peculiar tickle in her stomach.

“I still remember how cute you looked in that little yellow dress, like you got all decked out just for me,” he said.

“I did.” The heat bloomed in her cheeks.

He took a deep breath and pulled to a stop in front of the apartment building. His eyes scanned her briefly and then he turned away.

Jennifer noticed his quick inspection and it reminded her of the way Tom used to look at her when they had a block of alone time. “What were you thinking just then?”

“How green your eyes are,” he said, opening the car door and taking the bag of food from her, ignoring her steady gaze.

She bit her lower lip while they waited for the elevator. Standing close was like being an inch away from an electrical fence, the current between them alive and twisting and dangerously close to ignition.

The elevator started its climb to the penthouse and he sent a smile in her direction, letting the silence fill the space between them until they were in the apartment. “This really is a nice place.” He headed onto the balcony with the food.

Jennifer followed and sat on the lounge chair next to him, watching as he arranged the boxes on the table between them. Their fingers brushed when he handed her a pair of chopsticks, and his slow lazy smile made her heart flutter. Oh what I wouldn’t give for a taste of those lips. Remembering Tom, she brushed that thought from her mind.

“I still can’t believe Tracy’s father did this for her.” She glanced back at the apartment.

Steve nodded. “The benefits of money.”

She plucked the spicy chicken from the white box using the chopsticks and slid it into her mouth.

“You’re pretty good with these things.” He held up his own chopsticks and awkwardly grasped a piece of chicken from the same box. Halfway to his lips, the chicken shot from between the sticks, bounced on the balcony and rolled off. He glanced between the chopsticks in his hand and the edge of the balcony with raised eyebrows before he slid his gaze her way. “Oops.”

Jennifer giggled. “I can’t wait to see what you do with the rice.”

Steve reached into the bag and pulled out a plastic fork with a grin. “I’m not that much of an idiot.” He put the chopsticks down and began to eat with the fork.

Jennifer roared. She held her stomach with one hand and covered her mouth with the other, trying not to let the food spout with the laughter.

“Stop laughing at me,” he chuckled.

She swallowed. “I can’t help it,” she said, winding down. “That was too damn funny not to laugh.” When she took a healthy portion of rice on her chopsticks and put it in her mouth without dropping any, she started to giggle again.

“Now you’re just showing off.”

She nodded and swallowed. “You want a beer?”

“That’d be great,” he said, and put another fork full in his mouth.

* * * *

After she retreated inside, he let his eyes drift to the magnificent scenery. A three quarter moon rose over the mountains, the light reflecting on the surface of the lake below. By the end of the week, the moon would be completely full and the view would be breathtaking.

Music blared in the living room and he jumped, spilling rice all over the table. His gaze jumped from the scenery to the room behind him. Jennifer frantically turned knobs and he chuckled. Not one of her attempts decreased the volume and Steve stood, stepping inside to lend a hand.

“I don’t know how to turn this down,” she said over the music.

Steve crossed the room and scanned the hardware in front of him. After a few seconds, he reached down and turned a knob. The music lowered to a respectable level. He raised his eyebrow. “That was interesting.” He headed back out on the balcony, grabbing the beer Jennifer had left on the bar on his way out.

He laughed lightly under his breath and continued to eat. “You’re about as good with that as I am with these.” He pointed to the stereo and the chopsticks respectively.

Jennifer blushed and sat, opening her wine cooler. After they finished eating, she leaned back in the lounge chair, looking out over the moon-drenched lake. “The lake is beautiful.”

“Mhm,” Steve agreed, glancing at her profile. Not as beautiful as you are. “I like your choice of music.” He leaning back in his chair as Nickleback’s ‘Far Away’ piped onto the terrace.

“When do you think we should tell them?”

“Let them sweat it out for a while.” Steve took a sip of the beer. “I don’t like being set up and if I didn’t know you, I’d have been pissed at the shit they pulled tonight. I can’t believe they left us alone after that fight, even if it was all bullshit.” He took another swig.

“I’m not sure I can keep this up for very long.”

Steve smiled. “You’re the best actress I’ve ever seen. You’ll do just fine. I’d be more worried about me.” He returned his attention to the scenery. Yeah, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep my hands off you.