Page 73 of Second Time Around

“Besides the stories are great. Lots of blood and guts.” Will smiled.

“Like video games,” Zion said, making explosive sound effects that were surprisingly realistic.

“Except with spears and swords,” Kyra said, slashing through the air as though she held a blade.

Jayden looked skeptical. “Spears and swords are lame.”

“Have you heard of the Spartans?” Will asked.

“Ain’t that a movie?Three Hundred Fightersor something?” Isaiah said.

“Something like that.” Will looked at Kyra. “Do we have a minute?”

“You’re here to help us, so you have all the minutes you want,” she said. “Although I may have to duck out to put the snack in the oven.”

Will settled more comfortably and began to describe Spartan society in which the boys trained as soldiers from the time they were seven. His audience soon stopped interrupting as he went on to the legend of the three hundred at the battle of Thermopylae.

Kyra slipped away without stopping the flow of his narration. He started to rise as he saw her begin to leave, but she waved him back onto the sofa arm.

Just as he got to the exchange of messages when Xerxes demands that the Greeks hand over their arms and the Spartan king Leonidas fires back with, “Come and take them,” Farr and Emily walked up.

“Are you terrifying these young men with tales of ancient violence?” Farr drawled.

Will looked at the three young faces, eyes fixed on him, bodies leaning in, enthralled by the story of men who had died thousands of years ago. He wanted to stay, to share his passion for the glorious past with them, but he smiled and stood. “I think today’s video games surpass anything I can describe.”

“Hey!” Jayden said. “You didn’t finish the story.”

“How about if I come back next week and tell you the rest?” As he turned to Emily, Will caught a look of surprise on Farr’s face. “If that’s all right with Ms.Emily.”

“We’d love to have you any time,” the director said, her smile like the sun.

He could hang out in the kitchen, too, drinking in the sight of Kyra in her element.

A feeling flowed through him like a clear, buoyant Caribbean Sea tide. He wasn’t sure if it was happiness or peace.

Tearing herself away from Will had been hard, and not just because she enjoyed the chance to let her eyes rove over his long, suit-clad body. She’d been as spellbound by his stories about the Spartans as the three boys were. She’d known that he could play with words in brilliant ways but this was the first time she’d seen him share his knowledge with an audience. A very appreciative one, too.

But she’d had to get the casseroles in the oven and now she was finishing up the fresh salad to accompany them. As she scattered halved cherry tomatoes over the freshly washed lettuce, she heard footsteps behind her.

She knew it was Will before she turned. The air around her felt different when he was in the room.

As soon as she pivoted, he took her face between both of his hands and kissed her with a strange tenderness that spoke of gratitude. Whenhe lifted his head, the angles of his face seemed less sharp somehow. “May I watch you cook?” he asked.

“Do you have a fetish I don’t know about?” She rested her palms on his chest, savoring the steady beat of his heart under the smooth cotton of his dress shirt and wondering what the strange kiss meant. “Doesn’t matter because you have no choice. I have to finish the snack. In fact”—she eyed his expensive suit—“I could use some help. The tour messed up my schedule.”

He shucked off his jacket and tossed it over a stool. “Put me to work.”

“How do you feel about wearing a chef’s apron? I don’t want to get spots on those million-dollar duds.”

“I could take them all off.” His eyes danced.

“Keep it in your pants. There are forty kids upstairs.” But she loved his playful mood, so she snapped his butt with a dish towel.

“You shall pay for that later, woman,” he said. “In the most sinful of ways.”

“You promise?” She grinned as she grabbed a clean white apron and handed it to him. “I wish I had one with ruffles.”

He wrapped it around himself with an expertise that surprised her. He noticed her reaction. “You forget that I make my living selling food,” he said. “I used to spend a lot of time in the test kitchen.”