Page 10 of This Time Around (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #3)

She stood up and headed down the hall, wondering if she should have seized the chance to tell him goodnight and bid him farewell.

She rinsed her face quickly, then toyed with the idea of smearing on a little lipstick.

She decided against it, ruling out the hairbrush, too.

It seemed pointless now. He’d seen her at her worst already.

She turned and walked back down the hall to find Jack standing by the door with his shopping bag in hand. He flashed her an exaggerated grin, showing teeth that no longer bore the film of whitening strips. “Better?”

“Definitely,” Allie said. “Here, don’t forget your whipped cream.” She hustled around the couch to grab it off the table, then met him back at the door and thrust it into his hand.

“You sure?” he asked. “I wouldn’t want to deprive you.”

“Deprive me, please. I don’t need the extra calories.”

“You look perfect to me.”

She laughed. “It’s the sweatpants. I know they’re a turn-on, but please try to control yourself.”

He grinned at her and reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. It was an intimate gesture, and one so unexpected that Allie realized she wasn’t breathing.

Jack seemed startled, too, and he stepped back a bit. He didn’t say anything for a second, and Allie wondered if he was waiting for something. He scuffed his toe on the carpet, then cleared his throat. “Look, if you need any help with the B he’d give it that.

“So,” he said. “Where do you want to start?”

“I guess I can give you a quick tour of the place,” she said. “I don’t imagine you remember much from sixteen years ago.”

“I remember plenty.” He didn’t realize until the words left his mouth that it sounded more meaningful than he’d intended.

Like a commentary on how they used to be together, which wasn’t what he meant at all.

Or was it? “But I’m sure tons of things have changed over the years,” he added. “About the house, I mean.”

“True,” she agreed, holding his gaze for a moment before turning to walk down the hall.