“You guys want to talk to her for a bit?” he asked, partly because he knew Jes would love it and partly because he’d be able to delay the conversation aboutThe Onehe was trying to figure out how to have with her.
“Good try, but you aren’t getting out of it that easy,” Chloe said with a soft laugh. “Just be honest and talk to her. It’s easier than you think. And be careful with whatever you’re doing there, okay?”
Jake promised both of them that he’d be careful and that he’d let them know how it went with Jes. Sighing, he closed the laptop and opened the door.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your call with Zoe and Chloe, but it didn’t take nearly as long to pick up the food as I thought it would,” she said, holding up two bags that were putting out some awesome aromas. “You want me to give you a little more time? I can come back in a little while.”
He shook his head and motioned her inside. “No need. In fact, your timing is absolutely perfect. I just finished up the call with the girls. I’m glad you’re back. There’s some stuff we need to talk about.”
She gave him a wary look as she set the food on the tiny table in the room’s kitchenette, her heart suddenly beating faster. “That sounds a little serious.”
Jake chuckled. “It is serious, but in a good way. It might be a bit freaky for you to hear, but it’s all good—if you’re open to the impossible.”
* * *
Jes chewed her lip as she opened the paper bags and started setting everything out on the table. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Jake open the small bottle of wine the maître d’ had insisted would go perfectly with the dinner she’d ordered. There was no way to miss how tense Jake was. He’d said there was somestuffthey needed to talk about, and while he’d insisted it was all good, that part about beingopen to the impossiblehad her a little freaked out.
What the hell does that even mean?
“Dinner smells amazing,” Jake said, pouring the chenin blanc into the two plastic wineglasses the restaurant had included. “What’s on the menu?”
She popped the takeout containers open and slid his dish in front of him with a flourish as she sat down across from him, trying to remember what she’d ordered. “Wild peccary fricassee with rice and kidney beans, and for dessert, we have doku, which is a creamy mashed corn with cinnamon and brown sugar.”
“I don’t know what wild peccary is, but it sounds good.” Flashing her a smile, Jake picked up his wineglass, tipping it toward her in a toast. “To being open to the impossible.”
Jes tapped her plastic wineglass against his, wanting to ask what he meant by that, deciding to simply go with it instead. Trusting Jake hadn’t failed her yet.
“To the impossible,” she murmured, having no idea where this was going.
For the next few minutes, it didn’t go anywhere in regard to the impossible. Instead, they ate dinner—which was delicious—and talked about the subtle blend of French, Creole, and Caribbean seasonings in the dish. They’d both eaten a lot of different food from around the world, and it was fun to talk about how the spicy peccary fricassee compared to other things they’d eaten. The peccary tasted like pork to both of them, so they concluded that peccary must be a type of pig. Within minutes, Jes stopped worrying about whatever bombshell Jake intended to drop and relaxed like she would on a date with a man she was completely into.
Then again, it was difficult to be anything but relaxed when she was with Jake. His mere presence was enough to calm her nerves, even with the prospect of tomorrow morning’s dangerous mission looming large in the back of her mind.
But it was more than him making her feel relaxed. And yeah, more than the fact that she wanted to jump on him like he was a jungle gym and stay in a bed with him for days on end. The truth was, Jake made her think about things she’d never given much thought to. Like the future and sharing it with someone special. Like having something more than work to make her get out of bed in the morning. Like letting herself get close to someone.
After what had happened to her previous teammates, she didn’t think she had it in her to do that again. And she hadn’t even been romantically involved with any of them. That’s what made falling for Jake even crazier.
She couldn’t believe she was contemplating something like this, especially within a week of meeting a guy. But Jake was different. Special. What she felt for him was exhilarating. And also a little terrifying.
While the sweet dessert was definitely delicious, Jes couldn’t nurse it for the rest of the night. The bowl wasn’t that big. Jake said they needed to talk, and she was done waiting for him to start the conversation. So, after finishing her dessert, she pushed the empty bowl aside and went for it.
“How are the girls?” she asked, figuring that was a good segue, not to mention a safe topic. “I’m bummed I didn’t get a chance to talk to them.”
Jake smiled. “Yeah, they wanted to talk to you, too. But when I told them you were back with the takeout, they said they’d rather I spend the time talking to you about us instead.”
The nerves she’d felt earlier came back with a vengeance, her shoulders tightening and her heart racing. Jake reached across the small table and took her hand in his, tracing soothing circles over her skin with his thumb.
“Jes, relax,” he murmured in that deep, sexy voice of his. “It isn’t anything bad. At least, it doesn’t have to be.”
She took a deep breath, wetting her lips. “You keep saying that, but all you’re doing is confusing me. So why don’t we stop tiptoeing around the subject you obviously want to talk about and get on with it?”
Maybe this was his way of letting her down gently and telling her he didn’t want to be in a relationship with her. If so, his timing sucked. Couldn’t he have waited until after tomorrow’s mission? She needed to be focused one hundred percent on what they were doing, not moping around in a funk.
Crap. They’d slept together once and her heart was already breaking a little at the idea of not being with Jake.
Taking his hand away from hers, Jake went back to eating his dessert. Yes, she’d gotten him four servings of everything, but this procrastination of his was ridiculous. Even if watching his sensuous mouth move while he ate the creamy confection was extremely enjoyable, never mind distracting as hell.
“Does it feel like this thing between us happened really fast?” he asked suddenly, gaze focused on what was left of his dessert. “That we went from zero to sixty at warp speed?”
