Bonham (Pushing Daisies Book 3) by Heather Young-Nichols (the little red hen read aloud txt) 📗

had felt as natural as anything else. Though I had to keep reminding me that she worked here. This was experience leading her to what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, I didn’t think it’d be in the accounting department though. The way she loved being on the radio, as much fun as she had, I wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up becoming an on-air personality.

It reminded me of when I’d switched from piano lessons to guitar to drums. That was when I’d found the love of my life. Musically speaking. I could still play them all, though.

Since Jurnie was driving herself tonight, I took a shower when I got home, got dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, and cleaned up the apartment. It wasn’t a deep dive or anything, but two guys did live here. Though every time we left for a period of time, Mom brought a cleaning lady in. She did it for Mack and Daltrey’s place too. None of us were disgustingly messy, but it made her feel like she was still taking care of us.

I appreciated it and I know they did too.

Due to a class, Jurnie wasn’t set to arrive until seven, which gave me too much time on my hands. I tinkered with my drums for a while. There had been a melody in my head that I needed to get out. We’d see if it was useful since Daisy wrote most of our songs with help from the three of us guys. We only recorded our own songs too. No covers and nothing written by someone else. Courting Chaos was like that too.

At six forty-five, I received the dinner I’d ordered for us and took it to the kitchen. Then I pulled out plates and set the table with everything else. I’d plate in the kitchen and bring it to the table. At five to seven, there was a soft knock on the door.

Sometimes Jurnie was so bold and others, timid. Being shy tonight didn’t surprise me. I’d shaken like a leaf the first time I’d had sex. I’d had no idea what the fuck I’d been doing then and she’d been a virgin too, so we had both been groping around blind.

That wouldn’t be the case tonight.

To be honest, I hadn’t been with a virgin since that first time, so there were some nerves for me too. I’d do everything I possibly could to make sure this was good for Jurnie.

When I opened the door, Jurnie was on the other side, looking like an innocent angel. She’d changed from work into a thin-strapped dress that could only be worn in the simmer. I immediately wondered if the thin straps meant she wouldn’t be wearing a bra underneath it, but damn, they weren’t that thin.

Before asking her to come in or even saying hello, I reached out, cupped her face, and pulled her to me. She came willingly. My lips touched hers and for a few moments, dinner was forgotten. We kissed, and kissed, her hands sliding up my back as I pushed the door shut. Mrs. Neumeier across the hall didn’t need to see any of this.

But then it hit me. We had dinner in the kitchen. So I pulled back, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Happy to see me?” she asked with a wide grin.

“You have no idea.” I dropped another quick kiss to her lips, then her forehead. “I got us dinner. You can drop your purse anywhere. Take your shoes off if you want.”

She pushed her ballet flats off, leaving her barefoot. The nice thing about summer was that there’d be less clothes to remove later and I only knew they were called ballet flats because Daisy wore them a lot when she wasn’t wearing her Chucks.

“It smells really good in here. Did you cook?”

I’d already gone into the kitchen, but her voice was getting closer, so I assumed she was coming toward me. She appeared in the doorway of the kitchen and leaned against the wall, one foot resting on the other.

“No,” I told her, which I would’ve done even if she hadn’t caught me plating from the to-go containers. “I ordered from Lucky’s Steakhouse.” Then I froze. Fuck. I’d forgotten to ask her if she liked steak.

“Don’t worry,” she said as she giggled. “I love steak.”

How she’d seen it on my face, I don’t know, but crisis averted.

Once the plates were full with a small steak, steak fries, green beans, and a roll, I took one in each hand then headed out to the dining table. We didn’t use the table too often because Van and I were guys who ate on the couch most of the time we were home, but for tonight, I wanted to.

Jurnie took the seat closest to her and I took the one next to it. Well, sort of next to it. I was at what my dad would call the head of the table and she was on the side. We were kitty-corner from each other, I guess.

“Do you cook?” she asked as she took her first bite. Her eyes fell closed and she moaned to herself, but I heard it.

“I can cook enough to not starve. Does that qualify?”

“Technically, yes.” When I took my first bite, I totally understood her reaction. The steak was tender and juicy and cooked to perfection. “It’s not like you have a lot of time to practice anyway.”

“Not really, no. What about you?” Lucky’s had the best rolls. As I buttered mine, my mouth began to water in anticipation.

“Yeah.” She nodded. “Delaney and I can both cook pretty well. We didn’t have a choice. With Mom and Dad both working, once we were old enough, we made dinner more nights than they did, but it was fun.”

“Cooking was fun?”

“No. It was more time for her and me to hang out together and talk. Like, really talk.” She leaned in closer to me. “Without