“You could run a small university out of this room.”
He chuckled. “Don’t tempt me.”
As I turned back to him, I couldn’t help noticing that he seemed calmer than when we’d arrived, but there was still a faint tightness around his shoulders, like he wasn’t quite thrilled to be back.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. I just had a few work calls to return.” He glanced toward the window, where pale early morning light filtered through the glass. “You must be exhausted. Do you want to rest for a bit?”
I checked the time on the small clock on the desk and laughed softly. “I should be exhausted, but jetlag is a cruel and confusing thing. If I go to sleep now, I’ll wake up at three tomorrow morning, ready to reorganize your brother’s kitchen cabinets.”
Jesse considered that for a beat. “That seems like a valid concern. Does that mean you want to stay awake and pretend to be normal human beings starting our day?”
“What does that involve?” I asked curiously.
“Food.” He grinned. “Breakfast?”
“That’s a marvelous idea,” I agreed immediately. “Preferably somewhere that serves alarming quantities of coffee.”
“Done.”
Chicago in the morning felt different from the version I’d seen through the car window. It was still cool and quiet, but it was also waking up.
Doors swung open as we strolled down the streets, all sorts of paraphernalia being carried out. From tables and chairs, to blackboards and mannequins. I quite enjoyed the walk, but itwas also a relief when we ended up at a café a few blocks away, the scent of freshly baked bread and coffee drifting out the door.
Jesse headed to a wooden counter when we walked in, and minutes later, I was wrapping my hands around a mug roughly the size of a small bucket. “This is huge. Is that normal?”
“You said you wanted alarming quantities of coffee,” he said easily. “I think this is a prime example of be careful what you wish for.”
Because I just might get it.
As I stared at him across the table, I wondered if I’d wished for him too. I’d certainly had a bit of a crush on him back in the day and now, here we were, drinking coffee by the liter together while his ring sat heavy and pretty on my finger.
I took my first sip and sighed happily, murmuring into the mug. “Civilization.”
“Feeling better yet?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes as he watched me.
“Immensely.”
When a cheerful waitress came by to take our order, I opted for a pancake stack, which turned out to be a mountain of food. Jesse ordered more sensibly, being served fresh fruit and an egg-white omelet.
“I feel sorry for you with that,” I teased, pointing my fork at his sad plate after I’d demolished half my pancakes. “Of course, you’ll live longer, but I’ll be happier.”
He laughed. “At least it looks like you’re adjusting well.”
“I believe in embracing new cultures,” I said solemnly, cutting into another bite.
“Pancakes are a culture?”
“In America? Yes. I believe so. If the movies have been accurate, that is.”
He laughed again and took a sip of his coffee. Once he’d finished his depressing meal, he leaned back and watched meeat. “I’ve been thinking. We should probably talk about whether you have any preferences about where you want to live.”
I looked up from my mountain of fluffy deliciousness and frowned. “Where I want to live? I thought we were living here, in Chicago.”
“Yeah, but would you like to live in an apartment, or a house, or maybe even a property outside of the city?”
The sincerity of the question gave me pause. I hadn’t actually thought about that yet. Everything had happened so quickly that my brain had been operating in survival mode, and besides, I’d always just kind of assumed that I would be living with him, wherever and whatever that meant. I hadn’t realized there would be a choice.
