Page 65 of Some Like 'Em Burly

“My knight in shining armor.”

She’s teasing, but I grin and shrug. That’s what I want to be for Jem. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to be.

“Any trouble?” she asks, but there’s no fear in the question. No stress. The times when Jem had to worry about creepy guys or pushy customers or paying her bills is long gone, because we’re a team now. We handle things together.

Besides, the biggest threatI’mlikely to face in this market is if the pizza guy forgot my pepperoni.

“All good.” I open Jem’s box and arrange it in easy reach. “You don’t have to work late just ‘cause the market’s open, you know. We can go home whenever. Just tell me when you or the baby gets tired.”

“Okay.” Jem takes a giant bite of pizza, then lets out such a filthy groan that my skin flushes hot. I sit down gingerly, acting like I’m worried about the metal seat and not my sudden boner.

“Or we can always duck out if we think of something better to do,” I say as mildly as I can, but Jem flushes pink and yeah… I’m on to a winner.

“We’ll eat first.” She’s not trying to convinceme.She’s bargaining with herself.

“Or we could eat half,” I say. “Take the rest home for later.”

She bites her lip against a smile and nods.

Yeah, there’s nothing to stress about here. Life is good.

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