‘My pleasure,mademoiselle,’ the waiter murmured back. ‘And shall I bring over the dessert menu?’
Jessy’s lips parted, but I got there first.
‘No need,’ I said graciously. ‘We’ll take two of everything.’
‘Of … everything.’ The waiter’s eyes bulged as Jessy attempted, and failed, to stifle a giggle. I tried not to feel too proud of myself.
I nodded sagely. ‘Yes, please.’ I waited for him to leave before turning my eyes back to Jessy.
I tried to slow my breathing.What is she doing to me?
Had she put that body glitter stuff on her shoulders, or was that just the way her skin shimmered in the candlelight? Looking at her felt like gazing upon some great maestro’s work. She was more than just beautiful, she was ethereal.
And right now, she was mine.
‘So, what was I saying?’ Jessy pressed her lips together, an adorable expression on her face as she tried to pick the conversation back up. ‘Yeah. We probably would never have even met pre-fame. Maybe it’s better that it went this way?’ She cleared her throat. ‘Obviously I didn’t expect to meet in person, when we were on Butterflies – and then when Irealized you weren’t just some guy called Paddy, but one of the world’s hottest men according to –’
My loud groan only sparked laughter.
‘What! That’s what you were voted!’
‘Never remind Derek of that. I think I’ve finally got him to forget it,’ I said, jokingly threatening, the twist of joy at her laughter making it hard not to laugh along with her.
As the desserts began to arrive, Jessy continued. ‘I’m just saying – we never expected to meet this way. But I’m glad we did.’
Fuck, that felt good to hear. ‘You are?’
Without hesitating, she responded, ‘I am.’
I reached out across the table, avoiding the stacks of desserts I wasn’t sure we would ever manage to finish.
But Jessy was already reaching for me.
The moment our fingers entangled, I knew. This wasn’t just some deal Derek had concocted to save face – some mutually beneficial situationship.
This was something more. More than I’d ever had with Celine. More than I’d known before.
Everything I shared with Jessy was new, fresh – utterly unique.
Her sister and best friend hadn’t needed to demand anything from me. I wasn’t going to hurt Jessy. I couldn’t imagine it. I wasn’t going to do anything that could risk this feeling.
It made me want to pull out my phone and start tapping out more lyrics. The writer’s block was well and truly gone, and all I’d needed was a gorgeous woman to cure it – which was perhaps a little pathetic.
Or perhaps it was inspiring. Perhaps all the poets had this, all musicians: that moment when you looked at someone andtheir smile held all the comfort of a home that you’d never known.
I was pulled out of my musings by the buzzing of my phone.
‘I thought you put it on silent?’ Jessy teased as I took it out of my pocket – again.
‘I thought I had – but this piece of crap is dying on me.’ I glared at my phone. Derek had tried to get me to replace it with some new, fancier model, but I was the type to hold on to something until the wheels had fallen off.
Incoming call: Unknown (Cassie Fletcher?)
Fuck off.
I declined the call. I really needed to figure out how to block her number.
‘Who’s Cassie?’
