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Lea’s jaw clenched even tighter. Jewel swore if she continued, she’d break a tooth.

“Lea, please, just consider it.”

Huffing, Lea set the spatula down and turned around. She gripped the edge of the counter hard as she gave Jewel an unconvinced look. “Did you know there are already rumors around town?”

“That was fast,” Jewel muttered.

Lea raised an eyebrow. “This is a small town. You didn’t think—”

“I bet Brady has something to do it with, nothing more.”

Sighing, Lea rubbed her temple. “I can’t do this quickly, J. You know that, and we talked about it already. I need the time to slide into a relationship. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a committed relationship with someone, and even longer since I’ve lived with someone. Not to mention, at some point, we have to talk to the principal and the super. We have to tell them what’s going on.”

Jewel flushed. She hadn’t even thought of that. She’d been so excited that they seemed to finally break through whatever was holding them back that she hadn’t considered they’d actually have to tell people. At Lea’s unperturbed expression, she knew she’d been caught in that lack of thought.

“Right. So can I get like a timeline?”

Lea snorted and went back to making sure the chicken wasn’t going to burn. “The timeline is what we make it to be.”

“I get that, but are you like wanting marriage before we move in together?” Lea’s glare answered that question. “My lease is up in July. Would that be a reasonable amount of time?”

“I don’t know,” Lea mumbled.

“So much for help on figuring out when.” Jewel grabbed her wine and took a large gulp. “Can you give me some kind of hint?”

Once again, that glare. She was going to have to push to find some kind of answer, because she wanted one. She was tired of waiting for the right person because she had found the right person. She wanted to be in this with everything she had. Why couldn’t Lea see that?

“All right, I get it. I’ll back off.” Jewel put her hands up in the air.

“Good. Get us some plates, would you?”

Jewel grabbed two plates and watched as Lea carefully put their food on them. They sat together at the dining room table, the conversation starting back where it left off but without the tension of where they would go next. That was until Jewel couldn’t help running her mouth, which was her biggest downfall.

“So who’s talking about us?”

Lea grunted as she tensed and shook her head in Jewel’s direction. “Just rumors here and there.”

“Yes, but who is talking about us?” Jewel stabbed a bite of chicken with her fork and gave Lea a pointed look. “I want to know.”

“Jean asked me about you at our last game.”

“Asked what?” Jewel asked around her bite.

Lea sighed. “You know, it doesn’t really matter.”

“No, what did she say? You know I’m one for all the gossip. At least let me hear what the gossip about me is.”

Setting her fork on the table, Lea took her wine and held the glass as she looked Jewel over carefully. “Jean asked what you were doing at my house every night last week.”

“How’d she know I was at your house?”

“That’s the twenty-million-dollar question, isn’t it?”

Jewel eyed Lea carefully. “You thinking the Jamesons?”

Lea shrugged.

“They are kind of gossipy, and they also live right across from you and could see my car parked outside.”