IHEAD TO THEtrain, growing angrier and angrier with each step. Who the hell does Jake Taylor think he is, waltzing into my place of work like that? Being a celebrity does not give him the right to barge into places anytime he chooses.
The train arrives, its seats sparsely populated this late on a weeknight. Exhausted, I collapse into one, closing my eyes as I attempt to organize the threads of my furious inner monologue.
What if this had affected my job?Despite his calm tone, I could tell that Chef was pissed. I don’t know if anyone has ever been fired for having kitchen visitors, but I am not interested in finding out. Things are finally going the way I want them to, and the last thing I need is for Jake to barge in and mess everything up.
This is exactly why I didn’t want to get involved with anyone to begin with. Relationships are just too complicated, too messy. There are far too many opportunities for emotions to jeopardize everything I’ve worked so hard for.
I’m still seething when I turn the key in the lock and step into the dark living room. I expected to find Jake awake, but he’s sprawled across my sofa, fast asleep beneath my white throw blanket. Two untouched glasses of wine are sweating on the coffee table. It’s a little after midnight, and I realize I never told Jake what time I’d be home. I wonder how long he waited up.
He stirs as I shut the door behind me, pushing himself up into a sitting position.
“Hey.” His voice is thick with sleep as he brushes a messy lock of hair off his face. “I tried to stay awake, but I guess I dozed off. How was work?”
“How waswork?” I ask incredulously, my voice rising an octave on the last word. “Hmm, let me think. There was the customer who had me remake her salad three times because she wasn’t satisfied with her ‘dressing-to-arugula ratio.’ Oh, and then this guy I spent one weekend with a year ago barged in and tried to mark his territory like some sort of caveman.”
“Lexi, I…” Jake starts.
“Do you actually think that just because you wrote a hit song about me that it means you’ve staked some sort of claim? I’m not yours, Jake. You left, remember?”
Two bright splotches of color blossom on his cheeks. “I know that. I didn’t mean…”
“Just forget it,” I say curtly as I slip off my shoes and place themneatly on the rack by my front door. “It’s been a long day and I’m going to hop in the shower. Go back to sleep.”
I take two steps toward the kitchen when something catches my eye. The cabinet beneath the sink, that one that used to dangle from its hinges, is now repaired, its door sitting straight and uniform with the rest of the kitchen cabinetry. Something stirs in the pit of my stomach.
“Yeah. I fixed that for you,” Jake’s voice comes from behind me. “I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s… it’s great,” I say, my heart twisting with an emotion I can’t quite place. Hurrying to the bathroom, I shut the door behind me, exhaling slowly as I lean against the wood. I close my eyes and take a few steadying breaths before turning on the shower.
The hot water does wonders to soothe my aching muscles, and I linger in the shower for a good fifteen minutes, letting the steady stream wash over me. By the time I get out, wrap myself in a fluffy white towel, and brush my teeth, I feel like a human again. But every ounce of calm is erased from my body when I return to my bedroom and see Jake sitting on the edge of my bed.
“Um, hello.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. Or, uh, intrude. I just wanted to apologize for today. I was trying to be supportive. I really am proud of you, Lexi. And I’m trying to make up for all the time that I wasn’t around. But it was wrong of me to come into the kitchen unannounced. I realized my mistake the second I saw your face. In my world, it’s all about people showing up, coming to performances or whatever. I didn’t think about how, for you, that’d be an intrusion.”
I raise one eyebrow skeptically. “So you’re telling me that jealousy played no part whatsoever in this little visit of yours.”
Groaning, Jake drags a hand across his face. “Okay, okay. It’s possible that amodicumof jealousy factored into my decision.” He stares at me, and his expression is remorseful. “Look, I know thatwe’re not together. I blew any likelihood of that happening a long time ago. I just thought…” He trails off, then shakes his head once as if to clear whatever thought is plaguing him. “I truly am sorry for any trouble I might have caused tonight.”
The air goes thick with unspoken words, until I finally gather the courage to ask the question that’s been on my mind since the moment he stepped through my doorway a week ago.
“Why did you come back, Jake?”
Jake’s head snaps to attention and blinks at me. “What do you mean? I told you the other day, I—”
“But whynow,after all this time? You said you came here once before, but didn’t have the guts to ring my bell. So what’s changed?”
His Adam’s apple wobbles as he swallows hard, and a splotch of red creeps up his neck.
“I saw that you liked my Instagram post,” he admits quietly. “After the way I behaved, I figured you wouldn’t want anything to do with me. Then I saw that, and I thought… I don’t know, that maybe I still had a chance. It was stupid and arrogant of me, and I can see now that you’ve moved on. But I’ve missed you, Lexi. And I’d really like to be a part of your life, in any way that you’ll let me.”
His confession steals the breath from my lungs. Leaning against the doorframe, I grasp the handle for support. A long beat passes before I speak again.
“I’ve missed you too,” I admit. “But I meant what I said. Getting involved again… I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Jake nods quickly, as though this was the answer he was expecting. “Yeah, I get it.”
“And if you’re going to stay here, you need to be more considerate,” I continue. “This is my life, and you can’t be so reckless with it. You have to understand what the stakes are for me. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, and I can’t let anything mess me up.”Or anyone,my heart whispers.
