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reminded about what her mother always said about things that seemed too good to be true.
    “An enormous attack dog would be mandatory, of course.” He grinned at her as he poured syrup over his pancakes. “How long are you going to be babysitting?”
    She blinked at the change of subject. “Just a few hours. Jo just wants to get her weekly shopping done. I volunteered to watch Frankie since she’s sick and Jo’s husband Gabe is out of town this weekend.”
    “Call me when you’re done and I’ll swing by on my bike and pick you up. We could go for a ride, stop somewhere for some pizza and a beer?”
    She stopped pouring syrup over her pancakes. “You mean go on a date?”
    He arched an eyebrow and drawled out, “Yeah.”
    Her stomach tightened. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
    That little frown flickered between his eyebrows again and stayed. “Why not?”
    She took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to phrase it.
    “It’s just…with you and Aaron being friends and all.” She blushed.
    “Friends?” He snorted a derisive laugh. “Since when have Aaron and I been friends? I tolerate him because Leo seems to like him, and I don’t think Leo even likes him very much. Forgive me if there’s any love lost between you, but the guy’s a dick. Especially after what he did to you.”
    She didn’t know whether to laugh or hang her head in shame.
    “So, wait.” She set her fork down, suddenly not hungry as something dawned on her. “Does everyone know he was running around on me behind my back?”
    He frowned at her. “Who’s everyone?”
    “Everyone at the shop.”
    He shrugged. “I don’t get involved in shop gossip, so I have no idea.”
    Leni pushed her plate away and folded her hands on the table in front of her.
    “But you knew.”
    He looked at his plate, sighed and set his fork down.
    “That he was cheating on you? No. I didn’t get involved in his business so I didn’t know for sure. Not that it would have taken a rocket scientist to figure it out.”
    “Great.” She pushed her chair back, needing to get away. “I’m a fucking asshole.”
    “Wait, wait, wait.” Jamie slid away from the table as he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap. “No one thinks you’re an asshole,” he assured her. “I’m sorry. What I said came out wrong. I was not calling you stupid.” He tucked a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear, pinched her earlobe gently. “You know, the way you dumped him was the talk of the shop for days afterward.”
    The day she showed up to Aaron’s apartment and found a girl just leaving, she’d gone straight back her apartment and packed up the few things of his that had accumulated there. He’d already gone to the tattoo shop by the time she caught up with him later that day. She’d gone in, told him she wanted him to look at something on her car, then handed him his box and drove off without another word.
    “No screaming or making a scene, just snip,” Jamie scissored his fingers in demonstration, “and walk away. It was really beautiful.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “You just told me you don’t pay attention to shop gossip.”
    “Once in a while I get a whiff of something worth paying attention to.”
    She shook her head and looked at her hands in her lap. “It’s still going to be awkward with Amber and Aaron still hanging around the shop.”
    He looked at her for a long moment. “So you’re not over him yet.”
    “Of course I am.” She deflated. “It’s practically ancient history.”
    “Then why are you getting all pissed off about whether I knew he was whoring around or not?” He chuckled when her eyes went wide and she bristled.
    “Listen to me.” He tightened his grip on her so she couldn’t wriggle out of his grasp. “You have to know something. I’ve always liked you, even when I could only like you as the cute little bookworm that I occasionally ran into here and there. And when you agreed to let me bring you home