Been There Done That (Leffersbee #1) - Hope Ellis Page 0,70
an unmanly grunt, then captured her hand in mine before she did any more damage.
And I held onto it. Her gaze settled on our clasped hands and didn’t move away.
“Now who’s the bully? You haven’t changed at all with your schoolyard intimidation tactics.”
She tugged at her hand in mine. “I was never a bully. Let go.”
“No, you can’t be trusted. I’ll hold onto this until I feel safe again.”
Teasing her, touching her . . . damn, it felt good.
“Why’d you do it?” she repeated, having abandoned her efforts to free her hand.
I heaved a sigh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. But if a person were to do something like that, I imagine it’s because he or she wanted to help out a single mother. I had a single mother. I remember how hard it was for her, trying to do everything on her own. And I remember what it was like being a son who wanted more than anything to protect and help his mother. For a kid in that position, one of the worst things you can do is make him feel like a charity case. So whatever you do for one, you do for everyone.”
Her gaze moved over my face as she bit her lip. “What you did, it was so—”
“Well, isn’t this cozy.”
Startled, we both looked up.
Jackson James stood at our table, brows raised pointedly at our joined hands.
I relinquished my hold on Zora and sat back to get a good look at him, this man she claimed to love.
Zora was right, he’d changed. A lot. He wouldn’t pass for the class shrimp anymore, judging from the way his shoulders filled out the sheriff uniform. I’d never liked the classmates who teased him, and I’d spoken up on his behalf on more than one occasion. We’d never really become friends, though, because Jackson had had more than a little asshole about him for years.
He certainly looked different now. I wondered how else he might have changed, and what the hell Zora saw in him.
Jackson smiled the toothy grin I remembered, but his gaze was flat and without expression as he watched me. Cop’s eyes.
“Nick! It’s been a long time.”
I made a deliberate effort to relax. “It has. Good to see you.”
“You did good for yourself, didn’t you? I looked you up.”
I nodded back at him. “Same can be said for yourself.”
“Nah, I don’t think I’ll ever be on Fortune’s ‘40 Under 40’ list.”
“Who says you need to?” I had no desire to follow this conversational trail.
“You’re right.” He smiled wider. “Who needs all that money when you’ve got the love of a good woman?”
He paused meaningfully.
I let silence fill the space he apparently expected me to fill.
From the corner of my eye, I watched as Zora’s gaze bounced between us while she rabidly chewed her lower lip.
“I don’t know if you’d heard that Zora and I are together. Have been for a while now. I’m not sure how I pulled it off, but . . .” He gave a slow smile, one intended to provoke. “But here I am. And damn sure happy to be reaping the rewards.”
I looked down at Sir Duke. He’d lifted his head from Zora’s sandal and fixed Jackson with an unflinching stare.
Jackson followed my gaze to the 150-pound dog half-hidden under the table, leaning on Zora’s legs. I caught the briefest twitch of the thumbs he’d tucked into his belt loops.
Sir Duke stared back.
I smiled, loving Jackson’s obvious discomfort.
Good dog.
Jackson looked back at the register. “Since when do they allow dogs in here?”
“It’s good to see you, honey.” Zora gave him a meaningful glance, her tone full of . . . something.
He whipped around, face lighting with recognition as if he’d just realized she was there. Keeping a wary eye on Sir Duke, he picked his way to Zora’s side.
As I watched, he lowered his head to Zora, ostensibly to kiss her. Her eyes widened at his approach. She flicked a wide-eyed glance in my direction, turned her head to Jackson’s descending head . . .
The speed at which it all happened made it all the more funny. Their faces met in a collision of foreheads and teeth, both of them pulling away from the ridiculous farce with pained expressions.
It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen, and went a long way toward staving off any irritation I might have felt about this display of affection. Jackson reared back, his hand on his lip. Zora rubbed her forehead, frowning.