Jane Doe's Return by Jen Talty Read Free Book Online Page A

“Can everyone in your family cook like this?” She closed her eyes, inhaling the rich aroma.
    Holding the pot in one hand and the spatula in the other he glared at her for a moment. What did she know about his family? He plopped some food on his plate trying to shrug off his sudden distrust. “Promise not to laugh?” he asked, deciding her comment had to be a blanket statement. Everyone had a family.
    “If it’s funny, I’ll laugh.” She smiled at him.
    “I’m the youngest boy and was always teased growing up.” He sat down across from her and lifted his glass. “Cheers.”
    “Cheers.”
    Her pink lips touched the glass and she took a sip of water. All he could think about was finding a way to get his lips on hers.
    “Teased about what?” She licked them.
    The table shook when he squirmed and tried to cross his legs, cutting the circulation to a specific body part. Having dinner with his hot female partner was a really bad idea. “My brothers were jocks. And big. Actually wide. They were known as the ‘Double Mac Attack Brown Brothers’.” Travis winced at the memories of his two older, bigger and much broader brothers. He had been a scrawny kid, but his choice in sports had been the clincher.
    “Why not include you in the ‘Mac Attack’ thing?” She pursed her lips, “You’re very…kind of…jock like.”
    Travis laughed out loud. “It’s the ‘kind of’ part that kept me from following in my older brothers’ footsteps. Let’s just say they’re three times as wide as me and twice as strong.”
    “Whoa.” She looked him over. “Still don’t get it.”
    “They used to call me Travina.” He found himself laughing. He’d hated being called that as a kid, but now it was just plain funny.
    “Excuse me?” She sipped her water. “As in a sissy? You? Never.”
    “I’d prefer to have been seen as that soft, sensitive kind of guy. You know, the ones you want to bring home and cuddle with.” He winked.
    “Being a nice guy has nothing to do with masculinity. Why call you Travina for having the ability to cook and being sensitive.”
    “Because they played football, hockey and baseball, and I was on the gymnastics team. I was a little more limber than most of the girls which caused me a lot of grief. Still does sometimes.”
    “I’ve seen some of those male gymnasts. You have to be pretty strong.” She held up her arm, making a muscle.
    Deciding it was time to change the subject, he took her fork and dug into a plump shrimp, lifting it to her mouth. “Here, try a bite.” When she took the fork from his hands to feed herself, he scowled. What was he thinking making shrimp?
    “Oh, God. You actually cooked this?” She stuffed another piece in her mouth. “Umm, my God.”
    The way she closed her eyes and rolled the food around in her mouth made a certain body part damn near climb right out of his pants. He forced himself to look at his own food and tried to think of anything other than the beautiful woman sitting across from him.
    “Do your brothers cook?” Her voice was like hot lava rolling softly down a mountain igniting a fire deep in his belly.
    “Nope. They think it’s for girls, like Travina.”
    “Your brothers must live in the dark ages and I think you’ve got a great sense of humor.” She smiled, waving her fork at him. “For the record, nothing about you is…well…hell, you’re all man.”
    “Thanks. My parents kept telling me my time would come. My oldest brother is jealous as hell, now. He thinks my job is too cool. My other brother lives in Lake Tahoe. Extreme skier of some kind. Still trying to find himself.” Travis ate slowly, watching her. She devoured her meal like it was the Last Supper.
    “You’re all close?”
    “Very. My oldest brother Bill lives in Lake George where I grew up. He’s a high school biology teacher, married with three kids. Larry doesn’t come home much, but we keep in touch. What about you?”
    She put her fork down and looked