From Temptation To Twins

He pulled up to the drive-through window, and a young woman slid back the glass.

Considering the late hour, the girl’s smile was positively perky. “What can I get for you?”

“Two cheeseburgers, two fries and two chocolate shakes,” Caleb said.

She rang up the order, and Caleb handed her some bills.

“Coming right up.” She pulled back, the smile still in place.

“Comfort food,” Jules said, thinking it fit the circumstances.

“I forgot you were a chef.”

“I wasn’t being critical.”

“You weren’t?”

She gave him an eye roll. “If you’re going to jump to conclusions, you should learn to interpret my intonation.”

“I thought that was sarcasm.”

“It wasn’t. I’ve got nothing against burgers and fries. They get a bad rap. They’re tasty. Okay, maybe not so nutritious as to be a daily recommendation. But I’m not really in the mood for nutrition right now.”

He smiled and seemed to relax. They both fell silent.

“Thanks for this,” she said a few minutes later.

“Not a problem.”

The window opened and the girl handed Caleb his change and the food.

He set the milk shakes in the console between them and passed the warm, fragrant paper bag to Jules. Then he pulled across the shoreline road into a parking lot overlooking the ocean. He shut off the engine and released his seat belt.

“This okay?” he asked her.

“Perfect.” She released her own seat belt and sat back in the comfy leather seat, letting the tension of the past few hours drain from her.

Melissa was going to be okay. Everything else would work itself out around that.

Caleb relieved her of the bag and handed back a burger wrapped in waxed paper, and then a small carton of fries. She popped one of the fries in her mouth. It was crisp and flavorful, salty and satisfying.

“Mmm,” she said.

He smiled and gave a small shake of his head. “You’re awfully easy to please.”

“My needs are simple.” She took the closest milk shake and drew the cold, creamy liquid through the straw.

“You surprise me, Juliet Parker.”

“You should be the one surprising me by appreciating burgers.”

“Why is that?”

“I’m an ordinary Portland girl. You’re a successful millionaire who lives in a mansion on the hill.”

“I suppose that’s true,” he agreed, a trace of laughter in his voice.

She unfolded the wrapper, pulling it away from the sticky cheese. “If anyone should be snobby about fast food, it’s you.”

“I normally add a garnish of caviar.”

“Now, that’s more what I expected.”

“Then I’m likely to keep surprising you.”

“Is this your pitch for being an ordinary guy?”

“I am an ordinary guy.”

“You own seventeen restaurants.”

“You did some research.”

“I did,” she admitted. “I’ve concluded you don’t need an eighteenth.”

He paused. “You really want to have that argument now?”

She didn’t. She wasn’t sure why she’d brought it up. Or maybe she was. They were getting along, and that made her nervous. She’d wanted to remind herself of what stood between them. She didn’t want to like Caleb. She didn’t dare.

* * *

The burgers finished and the drive complete, Caleb stepped out of his car at the top of the stairs that led down to the Parker house.