Pulling into the nearest fried chicken place, she put the car in park and closed her eyes. She did her best to breathe and leave her day behind her. The day hadn’t been bad, yet it was exhausting. She was grateful that there were only two more days until the weekend.
The chicken place was busy for early afternoon. She ordered a bucket of chicken, because it was on special, along with two sides. She’d never eat all of this food by herself. Whatever she had left, she’d put in the break room at work tomorrow. Sitting down at a table, she wanted to eat at least one piece of chicken while it was fresh and hot. Knowing she’d take an early morning run tomorrow, she dug into the mac ’n’ cheese. Steam poured out of the container, and the aroma of the cheese was delightful.
Kassie took a bite of chicken. The crispiness of the fried breading and the grease was just what she needed after today. It was comfort food and was as cozy as it was greasy. She took a spoonful of mac ’n’ cheese, using her tongue to catch some rogue cheese sauce off the side of her mouth.
“Mind if I join you?” A man’s voice, the tone deep and with a sexy touch of smoke, interrupted her mid bite. But he wasn’t just any man; she’d recognize that voice anywhere, and for some reason, her heart skipped a beat.
It was Luc Marcella.
He stared down at her with those gorgeous dark eyes. He wore a black knit toque that hid his hair and highlighted his brown eyes, and was smiling and motioning to the side of his mouth.
“What? Oh…” Crap. Cheese sauce. Grabbing a napkin, she quickly wiped her mouth, and sure enough, she still had cheese sauce on her face. Smooth move, Kass.
“Mind if I join you?” he repeated, holding a little bag of food and a drink. “Unless you’re here with someone?” He looked at the large amount of food she had on the table.
A groan formed in her throat at the realization of what she must look like with all this food. “No. Have a seat. This… When I get chicken, which is not very often at all, I like to get enough for leftovers. It saves me from cooking dinner, or it makes a nice packed lunch. Sometimes I share with the girls at work, too.” She had no idea why she was explaining herself to him. Why did it matter what he thought? Even though it did.
“Sure. I agree. Especially with the special they have going on.” Luc pulled out a chair and sat down. He opened his to-go bag and dumped three sliders onto the table.
Great. Look at his order of just three sliders. And look at my order. “You don’t have a very big meal.”
“Nah. I was going to take it to go, and make some mac ’n’ cheese at home.”
Kassie looked at all her food. “Well, I have mac ’n’ cheese and coleslaw. You’re welcomed to share. And if you want a chicken leg or something, there are plenty. Help yourself.”
“Thank you, Kassie, I think I will. Nothing like a nice greasy piece of chicken once in a while.”
“Exactly.” Wasn’t she just thinking that?
“By the way, nice scrubs.” His eyes flashed with light as he looked her over.
She shrugged at his comment. They were just scrubs; why did everyone keep commenting on them? “You know, uniform.”
“Yeah, well, that’s the nicest set of scrubs I’ve ever seen.” Luc smiled as he said the words.
She’d had a long day at the office, and ending her work day with Rob hitting on her had left her exhausted and defensive to more comments. “Please. You’re getting a little cheesy now.”
“Oh, sweets, you haven’t seen cheesy. Plus, I’m just being honest. Uniform or not, you make them look good.”
“Look, Luc, before you start flirting and trying your playboy ways on me, understand that―”
“My playboy ways? Interesting.” The corner of his lips curled up. Her words appeared to amuse him.
“Let me finish, please. I don’t date athletes. Also, I’m not that easy.” Her boldness even surprised her, but she was going with it.
“So, as I’m understanding it, you can’t be swayed by my playboy ways. Because you don’t date athletes. Oh, and you’re not that easy.” Luc repeated with that sexy smirk on his face.
That damn. Sexy. Smirk.
“But you couldn’t help but invite me to eat with you.” Luc took a bite of his slider, but his amused eyes never left hers.
Kassie shrugged. “I didn’t say we couldn’t be friends. We’re going to see each other all the time.” She knew it was messed up the moment she said it. Having to keep her distance, and yet still have him around. Not to mention dealing with the way he still made her feel, regardless of the guy code that had been drilled into her brain since her childhood. “Besides, there weren’t any vacant tables, so why wouldn’t I let you sit with me?”
Her words fell on deaf ears, as he focused on the wrong part of her comments.
“Oh? So maybe my playboy ways do affect you just a little wee bit?” Luc held his thumb and forefinger close together to show a little bit, his smirk more devilish than ever now.
“I, uh, no. I never said that. I just—”
“You just want to see me as a friend. Right? ’Cause that’s what you said.” Luc ate a spoonful of mac ’n’ cheese, but never took his amused gaze off her.
“What I said was, we’ll still end up seeing each other. You know, because of team stuff.”
“And that you want to be friends.” Her words weren’t getting through to him. He was focusing on only the ones he wanted to hear, again. With the same cocky look on his face, he continued. “Because we can totally do that.”
The words spun in her brain, but she was too tongue-tied to string a sentence together. This wasn’t good. He was in her head. The worst part was, he knew it.
Kassie took little Kaleb out of Ali’s arms as she looked around the arcade. She was trying her best not to watch Luc, but he was a hard guy to keep her eyes off. Besides being too good looking for his own good, he was also quite the showboat.
“Did Luc just do the ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’ dance?” Ali asked, her attention focused in his direction.
“Um, yeah. I believe so.” What a dork. “He’s a bit of a show-off, isn’t he?”
“No one ever accused him of being modest,” Ali said with a laugh. “He’s quite the character. I’m not sure he can help it.”
“Yeah.” Her eyes lingered on him as they talked. “But they are being pretty cocky about their skee ball game. You might have to go over there soon and show them who’s boss.”
“I will. Just waiting for Kaden to tag me in.” Ali gave an exaggerated sigh. “You know he always does.”
Ali was especially good at skee ball and liked to show the boys up when she got the chance. This looked like one of those times. Kaden was never shy about turning the spotlight on her when it came to the game.
“That’s because you’re better at skee ball than him.” Kassie danced around with little Kaleb, trying to head off any crying. “Hey fussy boy, hey now. No crying with Aunt Kassie.”
“Want me to take him, sis?” Ali asked.
“No, he’s fine. I’ve got him. You’re fine, aren’t you little guy? Yes, yes you are.” She continued to speak baby talk to her nephew as he calmed down.