Her shift ended when Matt came home. Anna toddled over to greet him with a hug, grabbing onto his tie until he pi
cked her up. Julie, on the other hand, sighed unhappily, because Jack had just sent her a cocky text telling her he was coming home early, so she should try to finish her studying by then.
"You're home already?" Julie asked, half smiling as she stood up and sat the book she had been reading to Anna down on the coffee table.
"Don't sound so happy to see me," he joked.
She forced a smile. "Oh, I was just enjoying not being home."
"Trouble in paradise?" he asked, putting Anna back down.
"Where is this paradise you speak of?" she asked in the guise of a light-hearted joke.
Matt chuckled. "Well, we would never dream of chasing you off," he told her. "Anna and I don't mind the company at all. If you want to stay, be our guest."
"I should study," she reasoned.
Seemingly unconcerned, he said, "So study, we'll be quiet, won't we, Anna?"
Anna shook her head no, smiling her endearing little smile.
He chuckled. "She means yes. Go ahead," he said. "If you want to you can even use my office," he offered. "It's nice and quiet in there."
"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly. She didn’t want to impose, but it would be nice to get some homework done in peace, and there was no room at her apartment for an actual desk.
"Absolutely."
Julie decided to take advantage of his offer, just that once.
About 45 minutes passed and she was happily finishing her second page since entering the study, which was much more than she usually got accomplished at the apartment. Matt finally opened the door and peeked in.
"Hey, making any progress?"
She smiled. "Tons. I'm half done with my first draft of my research paper. I'm so excited."
"Need a break?" he asked. "I made dinner. Do you like homemade ravioli served with garlic bread?"
"Only with my oxygen," she replied, standing up. "You have to stop feeding me," she said, pushing her chair in. "I'm going to get fat from working here."
"Hey, when I get the chance to enjoy a real meal with someone, I like to take advantage," he replied.
"You made homemade ravioli?" she asked, impressed.
"I'm pretty good with pasta.”
"That's good. I like a man who can cook," she said lightly.
“I aim to please," he said with a playful wink.
For some reason, that made her blush.
"Nana!" Anna said from her high chair, happily reaching out to Julie.
"Hey, beautiful," Julie said cheerfully, bending automatically to give Anna a kiss on the forehead. "Are you eating your daddy's ravioli?"
Anna shook her head no, squealing a little and holding up a fist full of cereal for Julie to see.
Julie looked down to see the toddler had opted to eat her Cheerios, although she did have one cut up ravioli on her plate. "Oh, Cheerios,"' Julie said, patting Anna lightly on the head.