Listen to Me (Fusion 1)

“Did you go back to school, or did you do the model gig for a while?”

“I put school on hold for one year, and let me tell you, that was an education all on its own. My parents hated it, but I’m stubborn as hell, so—”

“So you did it anyway.” He grins. “I like your stubborn streak. What did you learn?”

“To develop a thick skin. Some people are just dicks. But some are really great too. It’s not a glamorous life. At all. There are drugs and sex and seedy things that happen behind the scenes, probably just like in anything else.”

He cocks his head to the side and eyes me shrewdly. “I can’t imagine you getting caught up in the drug scene.”

“Trust me, if I’d been the one snorting the coke, I would have been much thinner,” I reply with a wave of my hand. “That doesn’t interest me. I also met some of the most amazing people, and Cici is in our lives. So, it all worked out in the end.”

“And why did you stop doing it?”

“I wanted to stop all the travel. I wanted my friends. I wanted to eat cheeseburgers and go to football games and live a normal life.”

“Those all sound like good reasons.” He nods and sighs, then changes the subject. “Do you like to cook?”

“Do I like to? Sometimes.” I dip a fry in ranch and munch on it. “I’m pretty good at it. I guess I have to be in the mood. I’m no Mia.”

“No one but Mia is Mia,” Jake says with a smile.

“How about you?”

“I like to cook,” he replies and sips his shake. “I don’t do it much for just me, but I like to cook for others. In fact, I’d love to cook for you.”

“That would be awesome,” I reply with a grin. “Can I help you chop stuff?”

“No, but you can sit with a glass of wine and look beautiful.”

“That’s not a very difficult job.”

He shrugs, chewing his fries. “I don’t need you to work at my house, baby. I enjoy taking care of you sometimes.”

And who knew that I would love him taking care of me?

“I know, it’s not really PC to want to take care of a woman,” Jake adds before I can respond. “And I know that you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself.”

“But sometimes it’s nice to have someone around that you can lean on,” I say. “And I like that you have some old-fashioned values.”

“Don’t let it get out,” he says with a wink. “I don’t want it to affect my badass reputation.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” I laugh and eat my lunch, content with the silence.

“You’re very easy to be with,” Jake says out of the blue. “And I don’t always find it easy to just be with anyone.”

“Thank you.” I grin and steal one of his fries. “You can just be with me, whenever you like.”

“Not if you’re going to keep stealing my fries.”

“Suck it up, Keller.”

Chapter Twelve

Jake

“Are you sure you want to go?” Addie asks from the passenger seat of my car, fidgeting with the ruffles on the front of her sleeveless blouse. “I mean, I would understand if you don’t.”

We’re on our way to Mia’s parents’ house in southwest Portland for a barbecue. Mia’s older brother, Landon, is home on leave from the navy.

“Addie, you’ve spent time with Max and Christina. I haven’t had a chance to spend time with the people you love outside of the restaurant. But if you don’t want me to go¸ just say so.”

“No.” Her head whips over to mine. “I do want you to go, I just don’t want you to feel obligated.”

I shake my head with a chuckle, following the directions on the GPS. “Sweetheart, I don’t feel obligated to do anything where you’re concerned. I simply want to be with you.”

Her smile softens. “Okay. It’ll be good to see Mia’s parents. Just Cami and I are going because Riley and Kat don’t know Landon well, so they’re holding down the fort at the restaurant.”

We pull up to the house in the upscale neighborhood of the city and cut the engine. Addie smiles when she hears the commotion coming from the backyard.

“Let’s go find them.”

“Let’s do it,” I reply and let her lead me by the hand around the house. There’s a fire pit in the back corner of the expansive yard with chairs set up around it. It’s not lit yet, but the grill on the covered patio is sizzling, sending the aroma of cooking meat into the air.

“You’re here!” Mia exclaims and runs over to hug us both. “Dad won’t let me cook.”

“Good,” I reply before Addie can. “You should just relax and enjoy this evening.”

“Mia doesn’t understand the meaning of those words,” a tall man says as he approaches us. He’s dark, just like Mia, but where Mia is short and curvy, her brother is tall and lean. “I’m Landon. You must be Jake.”

I nod and shake his hand. “Pleasure.”

His smile widens when he turns to Addie. “Hey, blondie.”

“It’s about time you came home, handsome.” He hugs her tightly and lifts her up off her feet. “I missed you.”

“Missed you more,” he murmurs, then sets her down and ruffles her hair, the way someone would do to their sibling.

“You’re messing up my hair!”

“Sorry. Not sorry.”