“I bet.” He winked. “But don’t worry, afterward I’ll still take you home.”
We decided on cheeseburgers and fries from Better Burgers. We sat down, placed our order with the waitress, and were making small talk when Roger the Practical stalked over to our table, hands on his hips.
“Iknewthere was something going on between you two,” he hissed.
Before I could say anything, Jacob held up his hand. “You need to just turn around and leave.”
Roger snorted. “I don’t have to do anything. It’s a free country. If I want to stand here and tell you how disgusted I am at this relationship, I can.”
Jacob started to slide out of his side of the booth. I dropped my hand on his arm. “Please don’t. Not here. Just ignore him.”
“Ignore me?” Roger’s voice started to rise, and I couldn’t help but notice the furtive glances we were getting from other diners. “What’s the matter, you don’t want everyone knowing you’re sleeping with some kid?”
Jacob shot out of the booth and bent down until he was nose to nose with Roger. “Kid? I spent twelve years in the United States Army. I’ve done two tours overseas. You might want to watch who you’re calling a kid.”
“Got two cheeseburgers with seasoned fries,” the waitress announced loudly.
I could have kissed her.
“Right here,” I said, making a big production of moving our silverware and drinks around.
Jacob continued to stare at Roger.
“Jacob,” I said softly, “come eat.”
Without another word, Jacob slid back into the booth and smiled. “Looks good.”
“Can I get you some ketchup or anything?” the waitress asked.
Roger was still standing and glaring at us.
“Yes, please,” I said.
“Can we also have some Tabasco?” Jacob asked.
“Coming right up,” the waitress said. “You two enjoy. I’ll be right back.”
I surreptitiously slid my glance over to where Roger stood, and then breathed a sigh of relief when the spot was empty.
“What’re we painting tonight?” Jacob asked.
I filled him in on what we were painting as we ate, then hurried over to This and That so I could help Kieran set up. I’d just placed the last canvas on the table when people started coming through the door.
Kieran and I counted twelve people in attendance, and by the time they’d left, we were out of both pinot grigioandpinot noir. I’d need to make another stop at the store before Thursday.
“This was a lot of fun tonight,” Jacob said as we pulled into my driveway. “I can’t wait to hang up my picture. Pretty soon I’ll have to open a gallery to try and sell them all.”
I laughed.
“I’m pretty tired,” I said. “I think I’m just gonna go in and call it a night.”
He reached out and ran his hand over my hair. “You know I don’t want to go out tomorrow night with my third date, right?”
“Yeah.” I ran my tongue over my lips and smiled when his eyes dropped to my mouth. “But you need to go.”
He gathered me close and rubbed his nose against mine. I laughed and waited with bated breath for him to kiss me. When he only smiled, I realized he wanted me to make the first move. Happy to oblige, I reached up and lifted my mouth to his.
I could have stayed there all night kissing him, but I was beginning to hurt from the cramped quarters of the truck.
