Feeling the Buzz Read Online Free PDF

either Wayne
or I would do? Do you?” His voice rose toward the end of his sentence, and he
waved his spatula in time with his abrupt words.
    “There’s no need to get defensive.”
    “Anyone I sleep with knows the score ahead
of time.” His level look drove the point home. “And I don’t need to get them
drunk. What sort of books do you like to read?”
    Jen accepted the change of subject even
though she wanted to ask more nosy questions. “I like mysteries and thrillers.
Romance is okay, but I like to have a mystery angle combined with the romance.
I doubt I’ll have much time to read for pleasure once school starts.”
    “Are you nervous?”
    “Not yet. I probably will be when I walk into
the classroom for the first time.”
    Sebastian handed her another beer. “You’ll
be fine once you settle in, although I’m glad it’s not me. I hated school.”
    “Why?”
    “I lived in a foster home. That made me
stand out.”
    Jen laughed out loud. “Don’t tell me about
different. I’m nervous enough about joining class.”
    “Ah, but you’re choosing to go to school. I
only went to eat my lunch. Would you like to have a glass of wine with your
dinner?”
    Obviously another touchy subject, one she
couldn’t let pass. “You’re not stupid, Sebastian. You and Wayne have built up a
successful business. That takes brains and initiative.”
    He snorted. “You didn’t see the comments on
my school report. Have you seen any good movies lately?”
    “No, I’ve been concentrating on getting
everything shipshape at home. It’s such a big house to look after on my own.
I’ve been thinking about selling and buying something smaller.”
    “But?”
    “Alexanders have lived there for four
generations. Mum inherited it from her parents when they died, and it’s full of
memories of my mother and my childhood. I don’t know. My head tells me selling
is a good idea while my heart sings a different tune.”
    Sebastian flaked the salmon and added it to
the drained pasta. Fascinated, Jen watched him put the dish together and garnish
it with fresh basil. He made it look effortless, and watching him did something
to her, made her see him differently. No, that wasn’t quite the truth. The
change had occurred last night when he’d held her so tenderly and kissed her
neck while she’d fallen apart at the seams.
    He was a good man even if he didn’t see
himself that way.
    “If you need help to do anything around the
house, let me know. Okay?”
    She nodded, silently placating him even
though she had no intention of asking for help.
    “Verbal agreement,” he said with a
meaningful rise of eyebrows.
    “Yes,” she said crossly.
    “Good.” Sebastian set out placemats and
cutlery at the breakfast bar. “I think we’ll drink Wayne’s bottle of wine with
our dinner. Here, take these.” He handed her a bowl of pasta and she winced a
bit at the throb of pain in her hand.
    A few minutes later, Sebastian took the
seat opposite her.
    Jen swallowed a mouthful of the pasta.
“This is delicious.”
    “You sound surprised.”
    “I am. None of the men I’ve dated could
cook.”
    “I used to hide out in the kitchens at the
foster home. The cook said if I stayed there I had to work.”
    “Hide out?”
    “I was small as a kid. The other kids
picked on me.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Why?” Sebastian sounded surprised.
“There’s always a pecking order amongst kids. Besides, Wayne stuck up for me.”
    Conversation meandered after that, and they
didn’t touch on anything too personal again. Sebastian opened another bottle of
wine, and after doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen together, they
settled down in front of the TV. They both sat on the couch, their shoulders
and legs touching.
    “If I didn’t know better I’d think you
intended to seduce me,” Jen said, feeling surprisingly comfortable.
    “Because I’ve been plying you with
alcohol?”
    “Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
    “I didn’t force you to