Though he couldn’t deny how easy it was to spend time with her, how comfortable he felt around her. There was no denying the tension in the air between them. But above that there was a sense of familiarity and warmth he hadn’t yet experienced with another woman.
Or anyone else, for that matter.
“So you never told me exactly what this award is your mother is getting,” he ventured as the waitress dropped off their orders.
Given what he knew about Jess and her giving nature, he presumed her mother must be up for some type of humanitarian honor. And that a renowned magazine had sponsored the charity. The apple and tree and all that. He definitely hadn’t been expecting the reason Jess gave him.
“A photo spread she did last year for Geographic World magazine garnered a lot of praise and attention. They’re granting her their excellence in photo journalism award.”
Jordan stilled in the act of salting his fries. “Your mother is a photographer for Geographic World magazine?”
She nodded and popped an olive into her mouth. “That along with some other publications and websites. It made for an interesting childhood.”
“I had no idea.”
“Well, why would you? It hasn’t exactly come up, has it?”
Because she’d never brought it up, Jordan thought. Even when she’d been telling him about the award gala. There had to be some kind of reason for that. Though he couldn’t venture to guess.
“Your mom sounds like she leads quite a life.”
“I suppose. Her job is more adventurous than it is glamorous. And it certainly doesn’t pay as much as one would think. Especially considering the lifestyle she’s had to lead.”
He knew he wasn’t imagining the hint of resentment in her voice. Probably something to do with that cryptic interesting childhood comment. It occurred to him just how little he knew about her. And just how badly he wanted to find out more. Everything, in fact.
“How?” he asked her.
“How what?”
“How did it make for an interesting childhood?”
A faraway look clouded over her eyes at the question. “Actually, unconventional might be a better word. It was great at first. Until it wasn’t.”
“How so?”
Jess didn’t touch her food as she spoke. “My earliest memories are of traveling to these wonderful places and meeting the most wonderful people. Given her profession, my mother was quite the nomad. And I was nomadic with her for those early years.”
“That changed, I take it.”
“It sure did. Right at the time I turned twelve. She decided I could no longer travel with her then. That I needed a more steady education. And that it was hard enough for her to ensure her own safety and well-being while on the road less traveled. I had begun to attract more and more male attention in some of the more remote places we visited.” She swallowed. “Her heart was in the right place, I guess.”
“And after you turned twelve?”
“Constant change. My mom had quite an extended family. But no one really close. I was tossed from distant relative to distant relative as they would take me. Mostly throughout the Midwest.”
Jordan let out a low whistle. “You’re right. That is pretty unconventional. Right from the very beginning.” No wonder she’d sought residence in a tight community.
“And what of your father? If you don’t mind my asking.”
She tried to hide her sudden flinch of pain, but it was hard to miss. “He wasn’t in the picture much. You see, I’m a product of one of her adventures. She met a local man on one of her assignments. In Malaysia. A brief affair that led to... Well, that led to me.” She spread her arms out wide.
Yeah, that certainly explained a lot. He’d wondered why a college graduate with her whole future ahead of her would stay in her roommate’s hometown long after that roommate had moved away.
“My father stayed where he was and my mother simply moved on to the next assignment.”
The same way she’d eventually moved on from her own daughter, Jordan thought. He couldn’t resist the urge to reach across the table then and take her hand into his, half-afraid she would pull away.
She didn’t.