“It’s only because you like Lore Olympus.” She rolled her eyes at me but there was still a small smile on her lips. No matter how she tried to hide it, from turning away or taking a sip from her drink, I still saw it.
“Anything else you want to know today?” Melanie looked down at her phone. “I don’t want to bother Max and Alexa with Amelia for too long.”
“One more question then.”
“Shoot.”
“Tell me about Amelia.”
In an instant, Melanie changed character. The smile on her face was gone and she looked like the concerned mom at the gas station.
“You could have asked me anything, Jack, but when it comes to Amelia, I’m not ready to bring her into any of this. She’s already had questions about who you are from the gas station and why mommy was going to see you tonight.”
“What did you say?”
“That you’re a friend, Jack, because that’s all you are right now.”
“You called me your friend.” I gave her one of my Jack smiles, in hopes to lighten the mood.
“Jack.” She shook her head but still no smile. “I haven’t done this. Not since Wade.”
“Done what?”
“Seen someone. I’ve been busy being a single mom the last year, so I’ve never entertained the idea of going out and meeting a guy, even if it is just for coffee.”
“So, what brought you out tonight then, Melanie?”
She didn’t answer at first. Instead she took the last few sips of her drink, stood, and threw it in the trash. When she came back to the table, she didn’t sit back down but placed her hand on the back of my chair as she looked down at me.
“Alexa said you asked Max to give you a chance with me and he agreed. I remembered you telling me you’d promised my brother you wouldn’t break my heart but when she told me that, I knew I at least needed to give you a chance.”
“How did this chance go?”
I pushed myself out of the chair and Melanie didn’t move from where she stood. I reached my arm around her waist and pulled her close enough to me that our bodies were flush against each other.
“I think it went far better than I expected it to.”
“I like to hear that.”
I looked down at her, our eyes meeting for only a second and then mine traveled down to her lips, where she had her bottom lip between her teeth. As much as I wanted to take it, by crashing my lips to hers, she’d just told me that in the time that her husband has been dead, I’m the first man she’s ever contemplated on seeing. I didn’t want to lose her now when I had her right in my grasp.
“I want to kiss you, Melanie.”
She took a deep breath and let it out before speaking.
“Would it be crazy for me to tell you that I want you to kiss me?”
“Never.”
I lowered my head, lightly planting my lips against hers, finally feeling the softness against mine. She tasted like nutmeg and chai tea which left a little tang that spiced the kiss up. I let our lips rest against each other for merely seconds before I opened my mouth and if on instinct, Melanie opened hers too, finally letting me in, if even just a little.
I pressed my lips deeper into hers, tightening the grip I had on her waist as her hands came to my chest, grabbing for my shirt and pulling me closer to her.
I let my tongue roam momentarily in her mouth before pulling away, not wanting to get too heated in the cafe.
Melanie let out a soft moan when my lips released from hers. Our foreheads met and I refused to open my eyes. I knew that once I did, I’d have to say goodbye to her and that’s just not something I wanted to do just yet.
“I have to go, Jack.”
