At the mention of the military, she cleared her throat, not wanting to think about how that ended.
“How old were you then?” She frowned.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Fourteen. Fifteen, maybe.”
“I remember being terrified you’d laugh at me when I gave that to you.”
“Never.”
Her brows rose. “You teased me all the time. Worse than Tommy ever did.”
He had the decency to look contrite. “I guess I did. But I wouldn’t have teased you about this. It was a gift. You’d made it for me. How could I make you feel bad about that?”
She rolled her eyes. “It was stupid, wasn’t it?”
He shook his head. “No. Not to me.”
She smiled; surprised that all these years later, his words about a long ago gift still touched something in her.
“I used to always wonder why you were constantly stealing these.” He fingered one of the silver nuts.
“You never said anything, to me or to Tommy. Never once ratted me out.”
“Of course not.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I’m not a rat.”
“I was a pest. Always getting in your hair. You used to hate when I’d get in the way.”
“Maybe a little.”
“A little?” Her hands landed on her hips.
He grinned. “I used to love watching you get all riled up. Kinda like now.”
“You used to torment me. Constantly.”
“You used to pester the fuck out of us. You were an annoying little brat half the time.”
“I was not!”
“Oh, hell yeah, you were. And you did it on purpose.”
“I most certainly did not.”
“Yeah, you did, Jess. And I know why, too.”
Her brows arched. “Oh, you know why, do you? Do tell.”
“You were trying to get attention. Mine, specifically.”
“I was trying to get attention? From you? That’s a laugh.”
He rose and took a step toward her. “Is it now?”
She backed up a step, but then her chin came up. “I eventually got your attention, though, didn’t I?”