Her mother grimaced in response.
She found Jacob waiting for his car at the valet stand. He didn’t look her way, but the tap of her heels must have announced her presence because he stiffened. They rarely spoke to each other at these parties anymore. Or rather, he did his best to avoid her, and she did her best to pretend she didn’t care.
“You’re worthy of Davide’s, hmm?” she asked, hating the silence. Hating him a little bit. “That means a lot, coming from my mother.” And, thanks to the damn champagne, she continued bitterly, “She’s never even taken me there.” Akira had gone on her own, curious as to why her mother liked the small bakery so much. But it wasn’t the same.
He didn’t respond for a second, before a gruffly uttered, “I’m sorry.”
Mustn’t reveal too much.She lifted her chin. “Don’t be. It’s better that way. I have to keep my figure.”
He gave her a short once-over, and though she was certain he didn’t intend it, his gaze burned over her bare legs. “You look fine.”
She had been told she looked amazing, delicious, riveting, gorgeous, and once, from a sexy Scot, “bonny.” So it was silly to draw Jacob’s “fine” close to her breast, as if it were the greatest of compliments.
“Cold, though.” He started to shrug out of his coat. “Do you want my coat?”
She eyed the battered leather hungrily. Yes, she wanted it. She wanted to steal it and wrap herself up in it and never give it back. So tempting.
He was merely being polite, the same way he’d offer his coat to a chilly old woman or a small girl. “No. Thanks, Brother Jacob.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. He settled the outerwear back on his shoulders with a jerk as the valet drove a small, sensible sedan up to them. “Enjoy your evening.”
There was nothing but innocent meaning in Jacob’s words, but she gave him a bright, lascivious smile. “Trust me, I will. Night, Jacob.” She didn’t have to try to make her voice husky. That was automatic.
His gaze dropped to her lips for an instant before he got in his car and sped away.
Akira bit her lip, the memory making her chest ache all these years later. She edged open the bag, the scent of peaches and warm bread filling her nostrils. The scone inside was huge, the size of her entire hand. Peaches and cream.
Delicious. Her mouth watered, but a ball of melancholy had lodged in her throat. Jesus, but that encounter had been characteristic of all their encounters at her mother’s place, hadn’t it? She was the interloper, he the welcomed guest. She was the one who limped away wounded, while he sailed off, heart and soul intact.
A sane person might wonder why she had spent her life coming whenever her mother summoned her. There was no rational answer. Akira had told herself at the time it was an opportunity to annoy the woman to no end with her antics. Maybe a part of her hoped Mei would reward her attendance and hand over her grandmother’s legacy, but the chances of that were slim. Despite showing up, Akira never behaved the way her mother intended when she used the box as a carrot.
Akira guessed she simply liked the feeling Mei needed her for this small thing. And a tiny, weak part of her had been resistant to closing down the single chance she had to be around the woman. Because if she was around her mother, maybe one day her mother would…love her.
Akira released a shaky sigh. Damn Jacob. Dredging up all these memories. He was so closely entwined with her mother in her mind, it was difficult to think of one without thinking of the other. Pain either way.
Call him. End this.If she coldly told him to knock it off, he would.
She didn’t reach for the phone.
Would he send her something else? Would he do it today? Tonight? The eagerness with which she anticipated that worried her so much she placed the scone on top of the bag and shoved it aside. Attempted to turn her attention to the salad she had longed for not ten minutes ago.
The lettuce and grilled chicken tasted like sand in her mouth. Her gaze kept skating back to that scone, the scent of peaches making her dizzy. After choking down a few more bites of greens, her hand moved. Her pinky picked up a fallen crumb. She brought it to her mouth, savoring the burst of sweetness.
It was a slippery slope from crumb to scone. She pulled out a napkin from the bag to catch the crumbs as she brought the dense, chewy treat to her mouth. The rich taste of fruit and bread exploded against her tongue, the bakery’s treats as heavenly as she recalled from the couple of solitary forays she had made to the shop, curious as to her mother’s preferences.
She caught sight of the script on the napkin, and she held it up to read it. More of Jacob’s blunt, no-frills handwriting.I don’t really like sweets, so I never understood why this place was so amazing, but your mom should have taken you there. Or I should have taken you there.
She swallowed, sweetness lingering on her tongue. So he had remembered that encounter. This wasn’t merely a coincidence. “How I despise a clever man,” she murmured.
The problem was, she realized as she ignored the healthy salad staring at her in favor of finishing the calorie bomb in her hand, she actually didn’t.
Chapter Ten
When Tammy knocked on the door at half past five and promptly carried in a large brown bag, Akira heaved a silent sigh. Finally. Fuck work. About seventy percent of her attention during the afternoon had been on whether Jacob would send anything more.
“This came for you,” Tammy announced brightly.
For a moment, Akira missed her usual assistant. Kim would have teased her about her mysterious deliveries. Tammy was still too scared of her to dare.
