Jade waves me off, immediately wrapping her arms around the canine's chunky neck, hugging her tight.
Worst guard dog ever.
“I didn’t peg you as an animal lover,” I observe, surprised by the easy affection she’s bestowing on my dog from her seat on the floor.
“Why? Because I’m cold and heartless?” Her eyes flare as she twists my words.
“You think you’re cold?” Surprise is etched into my tone.
Jade avoids eye contact, opting to hold each side of Pebble’s face, planting kisses on her cheeks and the sweet spot right between her eyes. She preens under the attention, face smiling, tail wagging, and I can’t believe I’m jealous of my own fucking dog.
“That’s what I’ve been told.” She shrugs her shoulders, smiling softly down at Pebble, but the set of her shoulders is stiff.
“That’s rubbish.”
“Excuse me?” She finally turns to look at me.
“Whoever made you feel like you’re either of those things is a pillock. Did they even try to understand you?”
“And you’re the expert on all things me?” She scoffs.
“I’ve gleaned some things,” I shrug.
Jade leans back on her palms, and Pebble rests her head in her lap. “Enlighten me then.”
My voice drops, softens. “You’re not cold, you’refocused. You are successful and intentional with your time, and anyone who’s called you heartless has clearly never bothered to see the real you. You uprooted your life so you could be near your father. Jade, you took the time to understandeveryplayer under your employ to make sure they felt heard. No one else had ever done that for us. Do you not realise how rare that is? Howvaluedyou made every man on the team feel? You quietly invest in small businesses.” She raises her eyebrows at that. “Yes, I Googled you, and I don’t care if that makes me pathetic. Which I am, by the way—pathetic for you.” She blushes furiously, eyes skipping away from mine, so I take pity on her and move on. "You’ve shown up to gigs for Aanya despite not having time, and you’re at every game even though it’s not a requirement, and there’s a million other things you could be doing. Youcareabout people more than anyone else I've ever met. And, as if the rest wasn’t enough to prove it to you, you’re practically big spooning my dog on the floor.” I step toward her, Pebble between us, now belly up, and I reach a hand out to Jade. She tentatively settles her palm into mine, and a zap of electricity shoots through my arm at the contact as I pull her up, tugging her further than necessary into my personal space. “So, no. You’re not cold, Jade. You’ve just never felt safe enough to let someone stand in your warmth. They never deserved to.”
Whoever they are, I want to kill them for ever making her think less of herself.
She searches my eyes with her own, and I track that spot of sky blue like my life depends on it, waiting to see what she’ll say about my quasi confession. I shouldn’t have noticed these things about her, but I did, and it’s as much ofan admission as tattooing on my forehead ‘I like you’ in big bold letters.
“Why have you been texting with my dad?” she whispers.
“Because I like him, and we’re currently neck and neck on Words with Friends.” That’s a lie. I do like Archie, and I look forward to our daily text exchanges, but he is kicking my arse in the game.
“That’s theonlyreason?” Implication saturates her tone, making it clear she doesn’t fully believe me.
“It’s the only reason I think you’re willing to hear right now.”
Tentatively, I reach out, grazing the tips of my fingers against the shell of her ear to brush a lock of hair that fell into her eyes when I pulled her off the floor. Her gaze flits down to my mouth, and my entire body tightens, begging to bridge that gap and finally kiss her again. It would be so easy to take another step, lean down, and take what I’ve been wanting for weeks. With anyone else, I would have, but with her, it means something—Iwantit to mean something. I want Jade to want it to mean something.
Even still, I can’t help myself from cupping her jaw, fingers threading into her hair, thumb tilting her head up to look at me. The heat of her stare grounds me, settling something restless and weary within me. A moment of weakness before I pull away, grabbing the bag of food from her hand and leading her into the kitchen.
Jade breaks the silence. “Your place isn’t what I expected.”
“So you’ve been thinking about my home? What else have you been wondering about? The thread count on my sheets?” I smirk, pulling the contents of the bag out and setting them on the marble top kitchen island as she settles into the stool opposite me.
“I have wondered if your pillows are thick enough to effectively suffocate you.” Reaching across the counter, shegrabs her Diet Coke, unscrews the cap. and brings it to her rosebud pink lips.
“I can think of something else I’d rather you suffocate me with.”
She chokes on her drink. “You have to stop doing that.”
“Doing what?” I ask, eyes flicking up to hers as I toss a prawn crisp in my mouth.
“Saying things just to shock me.”
“Oh, I promise you, they’re all true, Hellfire. Seeing that gorgeous flush creep up your chest is just an added bonus.” I toss her a wink just to irritate her further.
