“All right!” I snap. “I’m…mad. Sort of. But I’m not sure why, okay?”
I expect him to cackle in my face. I mean, I sound ludicrous. Instead, he reaches out and pats my hand. “There we go!” He smiles. “Doesn’t that feel good? To get the truth out in the open?”
I frown a little, but I can’t help but consider what he’s saying. I do feel better. It makes no sense at all, but all the tension in my shoulders has softened. “I’m very confused by you, Jake.”
He laughs at that. “And I you, Holley. I think that’s the way of our genders, though. Let’s not fight it, okay?”
I nod. I don’t know what I’ve just agreed to, really—it feels like some kind of illicit or illegal treaty—but I have no choice but to run with it at this point.
“Now,” he says. “As far as breakfast is concerned, you really can’t go wrong. Everything is great, but I usually get two eggs, over medium, a large side of bacon, wheat toast, and a side of seasoned, cubed hash browns.”
“That sounds good. I think I’ll get that too.”
“Great. Do you want coffee?”
I scoff. Do I want coffee? What kind of a question is that?
He grins, understanding my nonverbal cues better than I understand them myself. “Coffee’s a yes, then.”
The waitress finally stops at our table after running the feet right off her legs. She looks like she’s one of the only people here, and the place is packed. Jake smiles up at her, and I swear, she looks down at him like he’s Christ reborn, here to save her.
“Jake,” she says, her voice warm.
“Hey, Shell. Crazy today, huh?”
“You have no idea.” She breathes out a deep sigh. “SEALs are supposed to graduate BUD/S tomorrow. Families are in town.”
Jake nods like he knows what she’s talking about, but my eyebrows pull together. Seals? Buds? As in Navy SEALs? I really should have researched this more after he saved me the other morning.
“That’s right,” he says with a smile. “Almost lost track of what day it is.”
She chortles and reaches down to touch his shoulder softly. “You and me both.”
“We’ll both take my usual, okay?”
Shell finally looks over from Jake to me, but I’m pleased to see her eyes warm on me too. There’s no jealousy or angst from her. She’s just friendly. I make sure my answering smile meets my eyes.
“Nice to meet you, Shell,” I say. “I’m Holley.”
“You too, darlin’. Be right back with your coffees,” she says to us both with a wink.
“She’s nice,” I say as soon as she walks away.
Jake nods. “She is. Works really hard, too. She has a couple kids and a deadbeat husband, so tips are really important to her.”
I purse my lips as I think about Shell struggling. I don’t want that for her. Instantly, I dig down in my purse to try to find some extra bills to leave for her on the table when we go. She needs them more than I do.
Jake’s hand comes down on my own to stop me, but when I look up, his eyes make Shell’s look like glaciers. Geez. I don’t really know if I’ve ever been looked at like that. “She won’t take it,” he whispers. “That’s why I come here every morning. You have to spread it out a little bit at a time.”
My throat closes around itself as he sits back in the booth and looks out the window. His jaw is strong, and Lord Almighty, he’s attractive. Now, after telling me the reason he comes here every freaking morning, dare I say, more than ever.
And let me tell you—he’s pretty dang attractive all the time. So, being more than that? Should be impossible.
I set my purse back down on the seat beside me and lean my elbows into the table with a sigh, asking, “So, what else should I know about you?” He raises his eyebrows, and I shake my head and clear my throat. “What should readers know about you, I mean.”
“I’m just a regular guy.” He shrugs off his words. “Have been for a really long time.”
My eyes narrow on his way-too-vague answer, but I don’t have time to argue it. Shell arrives with our plates, and I have to shove back out of the way so she can place it in front of me. “Wow,” I say. “That was quick.”
Shell winks at me before setting down Jake’s plate. “Let me know if you all need anything else.”
She’s barely out of earshot when Jake leans into the table to whisper. “She probably snuck our order to the front of the line.”
I smile. “Shell is quickly working her way on to my Christmas list.”
I was really only speaking to myself, but Jake laughs anyway.
I look up at the sound, and as luck would have it, that means I’m just in time to see him pick up the leafy garnish under the wedge of orange on his plate and toss it into his mouth.