“I suppose we need to get to know each other. Would you like to go grab a cup of coffee?”
CHAPTER 10
ALEX
Although I would never admit it, I was glad I didn’t offer to come back later and take her out to dinner instead. Giving myself a moment to regroup after watching her sign on the dotted line, agreeing to legally become mine, would’ve been a bad idea.
Frankly, I’d needed the walk, the cold air, and every second between Thayer House and the tiny restaurant we’d ended up in just to get myself under control. Because Jane had undone me.
With just a look, she’d managed to knock the air right out of my lungs, and as much as I hated it, that look was filled with uncertainty. She sat across from me in the dim midday light that was filtering in through the windows, looking caught between bolting out the door and curling in on herself.
Cornered. Conflicted. Still breathtaking.
When my mother had still been alive, I remembered her going through a phase where she’d been obsessed with Carolyn Bessette’s sense of style. I was pretty sure the first time I’d heard the wordiconhad been from my mother in relation to Ms. Bessette.
And after Mom had passed, I’d been the one who’d wound up having to explain to Charlotte, not even an official teenager yetat the time, who Carolyn Bessette had been. Ironically, Jane had that same old-money dressing sense.
Even though I’d dropped in on her unannounced, she was once again impeccably dressed, just as she had been that first day I’d met her in the cab and then again at dinner. Her dark blonde hair shone like honey, twisted into an elegant bun at the nape of her neck.
Those gray eyes were on mine, but they gave nothing away. The only evidence I’d seen of today being different to her than any other had been the slippers she’d kicked off before we’d left her bedroom, swapping them out for a pair of flat leather boots.
The restaurant was a few blocks from my building, between her place and mine, and quiet enough that no one paid us any attention. I handed her a menu, but she shook her head. “I’ll just have some coffee.”
“You don’t want anything to eat?”
“Nope.”
“Drink? Something heavier than caffeine, maybe?”
“Just coffee.”
I nodded, ordering two espressos and a selection of pastries neither of us would touch when the server came by. Even though I knew it was unlikely she’d even pick at a pastry, it felt like I needed something to offer.
Neutral ground in the middle of two unraveling worlds.
Her hands were steady as she adjusted her scarf and exhaled softly. I sure as shit didn’t feel steady myself, but I was learning very quickly that this woman just might be stronger than me.
“So, uh, logistics,” I said when it felt like the silence had dragged on for a beat too long. “Do you want to get that out of the way?”
“I suppose we might as well.” She shrugged. “When do you want to do this?”
“How do you feel about the courthouse on Monday?”
“Done,” she said without skipping a beat, her tone as level as if we were discussing quarterly reports rather than a lifetime commitment.
She definitely hadn’t been surprised by the suggestion. Our espressos arrived, but as she reached for hers, I finally noticed a slight tremble in her hand. So slight that I wouldn’t have been aware of it if I hadn’t been watching her like a hawk with a stalking problem.
“If you’d like a real wedding?—”
Her gaze shot back up to mine and she shook her head, effectively cutting me off. “No. The courthouse is fine.”
For the briefest second, I imagined what she might look like in a wedding gown, but I shoved the thought aside when I felt my cock twitch in response. Instead, I took in how she fixed her coffee, adding a spoonful of sugar and only a small blot of cream. The perfect ratio. She stirred once, then set the spoon aside with an ingrained precision that made my chest tighten.
“Alright.” She suddenly looked up at me again. “The courthouse on Monday it is. I’ll be there.”
Relief trickled through me. This had all been really easy so far. I genuinely hadn’t expected it to. I hadn’t expected her to go for it at all, actually. “I’ll handle the paperwork.”
“Of course you will,” she murmured, almost smiling into her cup. “Just let me know if there’s anything else I need to sign or look over.”
