***
“You never told me what you found,” he says as he putters about the small and chaotic kitchen. There are stacks of dirty dishes in the sink and mugs on the table.
I found you, a voice in my head whispers, and I shut it down. What happened between us—or almost happened—turned my world upside down.
I want Jesse Lee. I can’t hide from this glaring fact any longer.
What I found…
Oh God. I’d completely forgotten about the leather band, and it’s still clutched in one of my hands. I uncurl my fingers slowly, one by one. They’re cramped and stiff from gripping the band so tightly and for so long.
“I, um. I found what you lost.” I lift my hand, palm up, offering the band to him. “Under a cushion on one of the armchairs.” He says nothing, staring at me, his eyes wide, and I forge on, nervousness making my hand shake. “I came by to give it to you. Because you asked for it.”
Holy crap. Shut up, Amber. Just shut the hell up.
He drops the bag of coffee he was holding back on the counter and walks toward me as if in a daze. He lifts the leather band from my hand and stares hard at it, as if unable to believe it’s real. Then he sinks into one of the rickety chairs and slides the leather band over his wrist, fumbling to tie the loose ends into a knot.
Without a second thought, I reach over to help him. He stills when I touch him, doesn’t lift his eyes, but lets me tie the small knot, securing the band in place.
“Thank you,” he says, his voice a little rough. “I… Damn, I really appreciate it.”
I nod, my hand still resting on his wrist. It’s his inked arm, and the thin scars scattered on his skin tickle my palm. His pulse ticks under my fingertips, fast and uneven, when I trace the nearest scar.
“JJ…”
He pulls his hand away and rubs at his eyes. Then he shoves his chair back and staggers to his feet. For a long, frightening moment, I think he may fall, his knees buckling slightly, but he catches himself and walks over to the coffee maker. I don’t dare ask again if he’s okay, let alone ask ab
out the scars, or the bracelet.
That almost kiss made things even more awkward between us than they used to be, and here I thought it wasn’t possible. He jams a filter into the machine, measures out the ground coffee and fills it up with water, his movements jerky. The muscles in his back shift and glide under silky bronze skin, distracting me, as he starts the machine percolating.
His shoulders rise and fall, and he braces his hands on the counter, bowing his head. From the top of his muscled back to his long legs, he is…
Beautiful. So very beautiful. No wonder all the girls want him.
Damn.
“So… Saturday a week from now.” His voice is still rough around the edges, but when he straightens, pours the coffee and returns to the table with two mugs, his step is steady and there’s no sign of anything dark in his expression. “You said you’re going, right?”
Either he’s an excellent actor, or I really imagined the pain I glimpsed in his eyes, and I don’t know which is freaking me out more.
I drag one of the mugs toward me as he takes again his seat across from me, my gaze snagging on the leather band, which is back where it belongs.
“Well, I can’t think of a way to bow out of this one without pissing Ev off.”
“Then go.” He pushes the sugar pot toward me. “You said you wanted to become more sociable and shit. Go and shine.”
Yeah. Put that way… I did say it, didn’t I? It’s what I should try and do.
“It’s not hard,” he says and gives me one of his wicked, lopsided grins that send butterflies tumbling in my stomach.
Well, it really looks like the awkward moment has passed… For him, at least.
“Easy for you to say.” Easy for you to do, to pretend nothing almost happened between us. I glare at him as I grab the sugar and dump two spoonfuls into my coffee. “I need a crash course in sociability.”
“Yeah.” He chuckles, not denying it. “And I need training in shopping.”
“You’re serious about this, aren’t you? Why is shopping a problem for you?”