glances to the car behind him—the one parked right beside us. It’s a dark-green Mini Cooper. “This is hers.”
“Oh,” I whisper. “See? I was right. She’s already inside.”
Jake nods silently.
I watch, unwilling to move my eyes from his. It’s like my brain refuses to understand that I can be the one to break contact.
Finally, he looks away from me and back at Chloe’s car before giving me the space to get out of the doorjamb. I comply, and he shuts the door to the truck behind me.
“I guess we should get inside, huh?”
I nod, without mentioning that I’ve been saying that for the last five minutes. It feels like our weird little exchange is Fight Club, and neither of us is allowed to talk about it.
Which, personally, I’m okay with. I don’t have the slightest idea what I would even say—what I would be willing to admit.
That maybe you’re kind of, sort of, forgetting the whole reason you’re with him is because he’s Mr. Bachelor Anonymous…? my mind questions. And maybe, you’re getting a little too lost in a guy who should be one-hundred-percent off-limits?
Yeah, now is not the time to think about all that insanity.
Not the time. At all.
Jake
Hand to Holley’s back, I guide her into Boogie’s with a million things running through my mind. It feels like a jumbled mess, to be honest, and I’m pretty sure a part of me is still back there in the damn parking lot, standing in the door of my truck, staring down at her.
The way she was looking at me felt electrifying—entrancing—and I couldn’t seem to look away, no matter how hard I tried or how many times she reminded me that my daughter was inside waiting for us.
I can’t be sure, but I think it had something to do with the feel of her skin as I lifted her down from the truck. Warm and supple, and I hadn’t expected it when I’d reached up to pull her down.
Because for as cold as she claimed to be, I’ve never felt anything warmer.
The door swings closed behind us, and the hostess greets us with a smile. “Hey there! Table for two?”
I shake my head, but before I can open my mouth, Holley is already answering. “Thanks, but we’re meeting someone.” She spots Chloe over the woman’s shoulder and points. “And, actually, I see her right there.”
The woman glances back to the booth and then to Holley and me. “Enjoy dinner with your daughter.”
Holley’s mouth gulps like a fish out of water, stumbling over herself to try to explain, but I talk over her, putting my hand to her back and giving her a gentle push again. “Thanks. We will.”
Holley’s eyes bug out as she looks back at me, but I ignore it and head for Chloe. She has her head down, looking at her phone, but as soon as she spots us, she sets it on the table and forgets it.
I lean down to give her a kiss on the cheek while Holley slides into the seat across from her.
“Hi, Daddy,” Chloe greets sweetly, scooting over to make room for me.
I smile in response and take my seat next to my daughter, stretching an arm across the booth behind her.
“So, Chlo, how was your wild day of shopping?”
Instantly, her shoulders sag, and a heavy sigh doubles the air around us.
“That bad?” I ask, and she offers a lazy shrug of her shoulders.
“I mean, for the most part, it was good. I even managed to get Sarah a few things she really wanted.” She rests her elbows on the table and blows out a breath. “But you know how Miss Bethanny can be.”
I definitely know how Garrett’s she-witch of a wife can be. As a responsible adult, however, I don’t put a voice to any of the nasty comments that come to mind.
“Anyway, she was really hard on her,” Chloe explains. “Hayden is easy, you know? He doesn’t care what he wears, so he’s kind of like her little puppet. But that just makes it worse on Sarah when she wants to have an opinion of her own.”
Holley looks on as we talk, her eyebrows squished together as she tries to crack the code on our conversation.
I smile and clarify a little for her benefit. “My good friend Garrett is a San Diego firefighter, so his schedule is pretty wacky. Lots of twenty-four-hour shifts and sometimes longer stints when we’re having wildfires like we are now.”