Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
“Umm…I—”
Jake laughs and pats me on the shoulder. “I’m just fucking with ya. You wanna come inside and break in the house?”
“Break in…?” I whisper.
“Yeah. Have a piece of this lemon tart with me,” he replies. “You and I will be the first ones to eat at my new table in my new house. What do you say?”
I think if I try to eat right now, I might actually throw up from how anxious I am after what just happened, but there’s no way I’m going to turn down Jake’s invitation either. And maybe by the time we’re seated, I’ll be able to muscle down some tart without tossing it back up.
“Sure.” I smile. “Let’s do it!”
3
Sadie
The inside of Jake’s house is sparse, to say the least, but I don’t hold that against him considering he’s not even fully moved in yet. What he does have is a kitchen table and four chairs, two of which are clear to sit on. But instead of sitting across from each other, Jake pulls his chair up beside mine, which immediately has me feeling even more off-balance.
“Do you have plates?” My voice is quivering so I do a fake cough into my shoulder to pretend like I had something in my throat.
“I do, but they’re still in boxes.” He smiles. “I do have forks, though, so we won’t have to eat with our hands like cavemen.”
He gets up and goes to a box on the counter, and I hear the sounds of silverware as he rummages through it. I join him at the sink and take them from him before he can start to wash them. A pleased look comes over his face.
“Your hands are rough,” I say. “But my guess is you don’t work landscaping.”
“Your guess would be right.” He smiles. “Ex-military.”
Well, that explains the attire. I dry the two forks, and we go back to the table and sit down.
“Navy Seal?” I ask.
Jake chuckles. “Why is it whenever a guy says he was in the military, everybody always asks if he was a Seal?”
Again, my stomach drops. “Maybe because most people don’t know anything about the military.”
But before I can feel like too big of an idiot, Jake forks a piece of my tart and tastes it. His eyes light up, and he grins.
“Wow, Sadie. This is delicious.”
My whole body warms up. This is crazy. This man is playing my emotions like a fiddle, and I don’t think he even means to. One single sentence and I’m anxious. Another sentence and I’m all excited and warm.
I can’t remember the last time a man had this kind of power over me—if ever.
“I’m glad you like it.” I smile.
Jake nods. “That’s probably it. Most of what they know comes from bad television or Top Gun.”
“So you were a fighter pilot?” I tease.
“Yup. You got me,” Jake laughs, taking another bite of tart. “Actually, I was just your average grunt. Average Marine. Nothing special.”
“And now?”
Somehow I don’t believe him. Somehow I feel like he’s lying. There’s nothing average about this man. Nothing.
“Private security,” he replies. “Corporate events. Escorting rich people. All that jazz. Pretty boring most of the time.”
“Bet it pays well, though,” I reply, taking my first bite finally. I’m actually relaxed enough now that I’m able to swallow and keep it down. The tart tastes better than I thought it would, considering how distracted I was while making it.
“I do all right for myself.” Jake smiles. “What about you? What do you do? Or what does your husband do?”
For a moment, I’m taken aback, and the expression on my face more than likely shows it. “My husband?” I reply indignantly. “What are you implying? That I’m just some gold-digger-stay-at-home housewife who can’t work for herself and just lives off her husband’s money and—”
“Whoa, whoa, easy there,” Jake replies, putting a hand up. “I wasn’t saying all that. But hey, look where we’re living, ya know?”
I frown and purse my lips before answering. He does have a point, I guess. In this neighborhood, most of the women don’t work. Their husbands make enough money that they don’t need to, so they stay at home while he goes out and brings home the bacon.
I don’t begrudge them for it, though, do I? I guess I hadn’t really thought about it until now. Without a husband of my own to provide for me, that’s not even an option. I couldn’t do that if I wanted to.
“Okay, I get your point,” I say. “But no. That’s not me. I have a job.”
Jake looks back at me, waiting for me to go on. But my mind is stuck at a crossroads; either tell Jake the truth and get into a conversation I really don’t want to have right now or lie and end up having a conversation later that could potentially be even worse.