Page 17 of Second Time Around

Six

Beck entered his childhood home and felt a rush of nostalgia. It had been updated over the years, but it still smelled the same, like homemade cookies and love.

Sure enough, when he went into the kitchen, there was a batch of freshly baked sugar cookies cooling on the counter.

His mom turned away from the sink and greeted him with a warm smile and a crushing hug. She was amazingly strong for such a small lady. Then his dad wandered in, probably lured there by the scent of cookies, and heartily shook Beck’s hand.

“The gang’s all here,” his sister said as she came in and joined them.

He’d missed their family dinners when he’d been in Chicago, but he hadn’t realized how much until now. Working in the restaurant business all these years, he was happy to have someone else cook for him, particularly his mom, who was an excellent chef.

“Sit down and I’ll bring out the food,” she said.

“I’ll help,” Maggie said.

“No, no. I’ve got it.”

Beck had been about to offer too, but seeing how determined his mom was, he sat down instead.

“So, how’s the new job going?” asked his dad, Jim.

“Good. The place pretty much runs itself.”

“You’re being too modest,” his mom, Barb, piped in.

“Did your special guest ever come in?” Maggie asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“What special guest?” Barb asked.

He should have known Maggie wouldn’t have been able to keep a secret. “I invited Jenna to the restaurant for lunch, but it was no big deal.”

“Jenna Young?” his dad said.

“Is there any other Jenna?” Maggie teased.

If she’d been sitting next to Beck, he would have flicked her on the arm, like he’d done as a kid. Now, though, he was sitting across from her, and he was much too mature for that anyway.

“That was sweet of you to invite her. How is she?”

Beautiful, witty, sexy… “She’s doing good.”

“She did a great job on Maggie’s hair,” Barb said as she set down a steaming bowl of spaghetti.

“Um-hmm,” he said.

“Come to think of it, you look like you got a trim too,” Maggie said, tilting her head and eyeing him suspiciously.

“I might have.”

“From Jenna?”

Barb set down a plate of rolls while everyone awaited his answer.

“Yes, but it was no—”

“Big deal. You said that already,” Jim teased.

They all laughed, except Beck. He wasn’t used to discussing his love life (or lack thereof) with his family. Living in Chicago had afforded him a great degree of privacy, which he hadn’t missed until that moment. Besides, Jenna could hardly stand the sight of him. She’d come to his restaurant strictly for the brownie sundae, and he hadn’t tried to convince himself otherwise. If anything, he might have made matters worse by tricking her into having lunch with him.