“I was. But near misses like this one,” he said gesturing to his scar. “Make me think I might need to change professions.”
“That’s very true. But you’ve only been here one day... I didn’t think you’d started job-hunting.”
“Well, one of my buddies owns the company so it wasn’t exactly hunting that had me find it. He knows I’m due to re-up and wanted to see if I’d be interested in joining him instead,” Jay said.
She wasn’t sure what any of this had to do with her but she did know it would be helpful for a long-term relationship if he got out of the Corps and took a job here. That was an interesting tidbit.
“What is the job?”
“Can you take a break? I don’t want to talk about it in the store,” he asked.
“Let me check with Staci,” Alysse said. She left the shop to go into the kitchens and found Staci standing right inside the doorway, clearly eavesdropping.
“What are you doing?” Alysse asked her friend.
“Listening in on your conversation, obviously. So that’s the guy?”
“Yes,” Alysse said. “I guess you aren’t working now.”
“No. I hit a snag and need to think about what I want to do. I really want this dish to be more than a main. But it just tastes so bland... Not enough wow,” Staci said.
“I’ll give you a hand if you want,” Alysse offered. Even though she knew Staci would decline the help. Staci was always trying to prove something to herself with her cooking, and, Alysse suspected, to the world.
“Nah, I’ll figure it out. So are you going to do it, go talk to him?” Staci encouraged, peeking around the corner at him.
Alysse wanted to, but a part of her thought getting to know him better was stupid. He was the one man who’d hurt her worse than any other. Was she really going to open herself up to that kind of pain again?
“He is one hot-looking guy,” Staci said.
“Yes, he is.”
“I can see why you fell for him, but you aren’t the same person you used to be. I think you are in the right place to deal with him,” Staci said.
“Me, too,” Alysse said with a confidence she was far from feeling. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes or so.”
“Take your time,” Staci said. “It’s not like we’re busy right now.”
Alysse took off her apron and went out front where Jay was still waiting. He was studying the glass cases but she sensed his attention was really on her.
“I’m ready to go,” she told him.
“Good. Do you want to go someplace on my bike? Or we can walk,” he suggested.
“Let’s go to Old Town. It will be busy but there are a couple of quiet streets where we can walk and talk,” Alysse said. Her plan to use Jay made sense when she was in the throes of wanting him sexually and trying to justify that to herself. Now, in the bright light of day, she wanted more. She wanted to find out what kind of man Jay was.
Finding out more about Jay would be hard and she’d have to stay focused because Jay didn’t give up much information about himself and she didn’t blame him because she also played her cards close to her chest.
She’d learned the hard way that being as open as she used to be didn’t pay off. And she hated that she’d become so guarded and afraid to risk herself. Jay had stolen thatconfidence from her. She wanted it back, but she also wanted to fix him.
Oh, my God,she thought. That was what this was about. Jay was her latest project. Someone who needed her help. But she wouldn’t fix Jay for herself. She’d help him so he could move on and so she could finally be over him.
JAY WATCHED ALYSSE out of the corner of his eye as they strolled down the hilly street. The weather was a temperate eighty degrees today and as he watched other people nearby he felt almost normal. For the first time in a long time he was exactly where he belonged, but he knew that was false. He didn’t really belong with Alysse and even though to the world they probably looked like every other couple walking through town on this nice afternoon, he knew they were different.
She led him to a quiet park where an empty bench stood under the shade of a tall tree that he didn’t know the name of. She sat down and stretched her legs out in front of her, then tipped her head slightly toward him.
“So, talk,” she said.
She seemed relaxed, but in spite of her posture he could sense the tension in her. She wasn’t sure of him and didn’t trust him, and he knew that he would have to earn back her trust. He just wasn’t sure he deserved it. Didn’t even know how he’d go about winning her over because for years he’d been alone. And though he wasn’t happy about it, there was a part of him that could get along just fine with Fantasy Alysse running through his mind.
