“Oh. I just wondered how you like the spaghetti?” Jessie flutters her eyelashes at Gavin and I try not to scowl.

Gavin picks up his fork. “It’s delicious. It reminds me of the pasta I had at a little family restaurant in Capri.”

“Oh wow. I’ve never been. Sounds amazing.” Jessie picks up her fork and drags it through the long noodles. She waits until Gavin starts to roll spaghetti around his fork then she moves her fork trying to capture his moving noodles.

I’ll be…

She might actually pull off this noodle kiss farce.

I watch the noodles on her fork go taught. She smiles in triumph. Gavin doesn’t know it, but their noodles are connected.

He starts to raise his fork to his mouth. Jessie raises hers in anticipation.

No way.

I grab my fork and quick as I can I slash it through their joined noodles. Jessie gasps. I take the noodles and shove them in my mouth.

Gavin laughs. "You really are hungry.”

I chew loudly. “Mhmm,” I say through my mouthful, “starved.”

Gavin goes for another bite and Jessie drags her fork through the plate and tries to capture the ends of his spaghetti.

“You were telling me about your adventures. I’d love to hear more,” she says.

Gavin lifts his fork to his mouth. I grin as a single noodle of his slips through Jessie’s fork.

“Jessie’s going to do a travel book article in her next library newsletter. She wants to use my experiences as a basis for it,” Gavin says to me.

I perk up. “This is a work dinner?” That’s interesting. Jessie hasn’t been honest with Gavin.

“Funny, right?” Gavin says. “I’ve never had a work dinner and even when you try not to, here you are, at another one.”

“Hilarious,” I agree.

Jessie won’t look me in the eyes.

The waiter comes by with another wine glass and the menu. I assure him I’m content sharing the family plate of spaghetti.

Gavin launches into a story of ballooning in South Africa. Jessie nods and smiles and tries her hardest to pretend I’m not here. I keep my eyes on her. It’s not hard. I could watch her for hours and never grow tired of it. Gavin is entering the exciting part of the story, the bit about the lion and the jeep, when Jessie finally breaks. She subtly turns my way.

She points at me, and then makes the “get out of here” gesture with her thumb.

“And then the lion jumped over the…” Gavin continues.

I raise my eyebrows and point to myself, feigning confusion.

Jessie nods and makes the “get out of here” gesture again.

I shake my head, look around, and pretend I don’t understand.

“And that’s how a jeep and a baobab tree foiled a lion and saved my life,” Gavin says triumphantly.