Serves Me Wright (Wright #9) - K.A. Linde Page 0,50
and I headed toward her house. She looked focused and thoughtful. I didn’t dislike whatever was going on with her. But I wouldn’t mind knowing why.
I hadn’t planned to ask. “What are you thinking about?”
She hesitated a second before saying, “I’m not ready to go home.”
My head jerked over to her. “Really?”
“Yeah. Maybe…we could go somewhere else to talk?”
I blinked. I couldn’t believe she was suggesting this.
“Sure,” I said without pause and turned the car around, heading toward my place. I didn’t want to make it a big deal. Casual and fun were the words I’d used. I certainly wasn’t going to say no.
We drove the rest of the way to my house in companionable silence while the radio played Top 40. We pulled up to the driveway of the house I’d had built my first year in town. I’d lived with my mom in her remodeled ’70s-era home while she was sick and had this place built in the meantime.
I parked in the garage, and Jen followed me with wide eyes into the house. The space was a sprawling open-floor plan with vaulted ceilings and an industrial farmhouse kitchen. My mom had taught me to cook, and I enjoyed it. So, I’d put all my time and love into the kitchen design.
Jennifer’s mouth hung open slightly. “Wow. This is your place?”
“Yeah. Benefits of being a Wright.”
“Tell me about it. Geez,” she muttered as she wandered the room. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks. Probably too big for me,” I admitted.
“Probably. And you’re here all alone?”
I nodded. “Yep. Just me. Hollin joked about moving in, but he likes living closer to the vineyard.”
“Annie always gushed about Jordan’s place. You know, she used to study there before moving in. I didn’t really get it.” She stopped with her hands on her hips, looking out the back windows to the pool beyond. “Now, I get it.”
My eyes remained on her the entire time. I’d always thought that Jennifer was shy and maybe a little insecure but generally just really shy. My teasing had always made her blush. She didn’t speak up much when in big crowds. I’d thought that was who she was. But now, I could see there was something else simmering there. Something I only saw when she had a camera in front of her face.
“You seem different,” I finally said.
She turned to face me. “Do I?”
“Yeah. I can’t put my finger on it.”
She arched an eyebrow and crossed the room to stand before me. “I don’t think I’m any different.”
Then she smiled that smile. The new one. It took all my self-control not to kiss her right then.
“It’s that smile. Like you have a secret.”
Her eyes dipped down, and then she looked up at me from under her lashes. “Maybe I do.”
“Oh?”
“I heard a rumor…that you like me.” She swallowed. “That you liked me when you proposed our fake dating.”
My eyebrows rose to the ceiling. “Is that so?”
She nodded. “Is the rumor true?”
“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I like you. Of course I do.”
Her body trembled slightly at my words. “And you wanted to fake date me…to real date me?”
“I…yes. I wanted to ask you out, but I didn’t think you’d say yes.”
She blinked. “Why would you think that?”
I laughed and ran a hand back through my hair. “Honestly, I didn’t think you were interested in me.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I mean, you hide your feelings so well. I couldn’t ever tell if you were humoring me or what.”
Her mouth fell open. “Oh God, you’re serious. I thought everyone in Lubbock knew how I felt about you, Julian.”
It was my turn to blink in confusion. “And how do you feel about me?”
She stepped forward, clearing the last bit of distance. “I’ve liked you since you fell into the pool on top of me at Landon’s party almost four years ago.”
My pulse jumped. I wanted her so fucking bad. I’d been trying to deny myself, to tell my body that whatever we were doing was fine. But I could no longer deny that I wanted her. I wanted all of her. And to hear that she’d wanted me all along…
It was so much wasted time. I refused to waste another minute.
My lips sealed to hers in a searing kiss. I should have told her how I felt from the start. I should have dived right in. Instead, I’d feared that she’d turn me down, and after my last relationship, I hadn’t wanted to put myself out there.