He looked sheepish. “I was looking for your music,” he explained as he held up a stack of CDs. “I hope that’s all right; I wasn’t snooping or anything.”

“That’s fine.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the look on his face. “You look like you’ve been caught with your hand in the cookie jar. Are you sure you were just getting CDs?”

He smirked and pushed gently past me toward the kitchen. “Yes. Are you hungry?”

“Famished. You?” I followed him out and flopped down on the couch, kicking off my shoes and stretching.

“The same. You didn’t have much in the way of food, though, so I had to improvise. How does a really late—or really early, depending on how you see it—breakfast sound?”

“Sounds as good as it smells. What are you making in there?”

“Well, let’s see … we have bacon, waffles, hash browns—”

“Are you serious?!”

“—eggs, toast, and, yes, I’m serious. I never joke about breakfast. And since its the only kind of food you have, you apparently don’t either.”

I laughed. “You’re priceless.”

“Actually I’m seven million for lead parts, but for cooking I’m a lot cheaper. And more useful, some critics would insist.”

That cracked me up. He waggled his eyebrows and turned his attention to a steaming pan on the stove. “Put in one of the CDs,” he said over his shoulder. I got up and shuffled through the jewel cases he’d left on the kitchen counter, selecting an Ella Fitzgerald collection. Jazz filled the apartment, and I flopped again onto the couch, watching as Jack jockeyed from one pan to another. I felt on the edge of exploding, dying to know what he’d thought of the concerts and what he and Greg had discussed. I closed my eyes and listened to Ella crooning and Jack buttering toast. The sheer normality of it all—relaxing on the sofa, breakfast cooking, Jack at home in my kitchen—was at once perfect and begging for disaster. This was too good. It couldn’t possibly last.

It was Jack’s turn to lounge on the sofa while I cleaned up and did the dishes. “It’s only fair,” I’d insisted after we’d finished eating. “You cooked, I clean. That’s how it always works.”