Right Place, Wrong Time

55. You Are in Love

A perfect day turned into a perfect evening as everyone returned to the Lopez-Albain household for dinner. Lauren captained the kitchen, with Joey as her first mate. Initially she'd refused his help, but he insisted her two course meal was an equivalent gesture to his breakfast, so now she delegated him to the least demanding tasks.

Fresh flowers sat in the middle of the table as the three of them sat down to eat together, picked up on Joey and Lauren's way home. Joey made Lauren sit at the head of the table, meaning it was all the easier to get distracted looking at her instead of eating the food, although every mouthful of that was heavenly.

"Okay, dessert's up," she said, clearing away their plates and heading back into the kitchen to collect her pièce de résistance.

"The best part," he said.

"You haven't tried it yet."

She returned carrying a cake stand with all the care as if it were a newborn babe. Joey knew she took as much pride in this dessert as she would her own child.

"I already know," he said.

The dessert in question was a caramel apple upside down cake. As she set it on the table, the caramel topping glistened, oozing down over the sides of the cake. The sponge gave way easily under the knife, and Joey could almost feel himself drooling.

"I wish we had more ice cream to go with it," she murmured to herself. She slid a slice onto a plate and handed it to Joey, who couldn't even wait for anyone else to be served before he dug his fork into it.

"Doesn't need it," he said, the sound that came out of his mouth borderline inappropriate.

"You like it?" she asked, looking up with a smile in the middle of cutting Julia's slice.

"I'd marry you for this," he said, echoing the sentiment she had once expressed to him.

Their eyes locked, the knife still, Lauren's cheeks flushed, Joey's heart pounding. She may have said it first, but he was worried she could tell that he meant it.

Julia cleared her throat, and Lauren went back to cutting the cake. "Second opinion," she said, sliding the slice to Julia.

Julia tried it. "Perfect as ever."

By their second helping of cake the moment was put to the back of their minds. Full with a good meal and good company, there was little that could make this day any better.

Joey was itching to do the dishes before anything else, but Lauren pulled him down on the couch.

"Later," she said. "We have more important things to do."

"Really?"

"Yes," she grinned, and pressed play on an episode of Real Housewives.

For her, he tried to keep an open mind. But ten minutes in, he was totally lost.

"So who are these people again?" he asked.

"Joey," she said, waving a hand at him without taking her eyes off the screen.

"What?" he said. "I'm just trying to follow what's going on."

"They're fighting," she said.

"But why?"

She put a hand on his arm. "Shush."

He smiled to himself. He may not get the appeal of her show, but there was certainly appeal in how adorable she was when she got into it like this. Her reactions were entertainment enough, and several episodes passed before she finally said she was ready to head to bed, and they said goodnight to Julia.