“Oh, fine. She moved back to France not long after the divorce was finalized.”
He stops and looks up at that, his eyebrows knitting together. “She just left you here?”
“I’m not some helpless kitten. I was nineteen when she moved. Busy with my own life.”
His gaze locks on me again, and I wish I could tell what he’s thinking. “I’m sure you were. You’ve…” He hesitates for a second, then says, “You’ve really blossomed.”
I blush and tilt my head. “I’m not the shy kid who used to live here. Not anymore.”
“I can see that.”
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “You know, I am who I am in part because of you.”
He stirs the soup, frowning down at it. “Me?” Then he looks up, and I can’t stop staring at this man for the life of me.
I nod. “When you danced with me on the night of my prom and said all of those…those wonderful things, it meant a lot to me. I started to believe in myself more, care less what others thought. Because if you could see me that way, then…” I shrug. “It must be true.”
A heavy silence falls between us, and for a second, I wonder if I shouldn’t have said that. But then he grins. “Maybe I’ve got a second career coming as a motivational speaker then.”
I laugh. “Maybe you do. Although motivational speakers usually aren’t…scary.”
He looks up at me again. “You think I’m scary?”
“Me? No. But to most of the world? Oh, yeah. In one of my finance classes, we actually did a case study on you, and the hostile takeover of SMG bank.”
He rubs a hand over his mouth and tsks. I swear I feel that sound in the hollow of my stomach. “Hostile is such a loaded word.”
“What would you call appealing directly to shareholders via tender offers and proxy fights despite the board’s opposition?”
“A smart way to get what I want.”
Our eyes meet, and a wolfish grin slides across his face. I can’t help but return it.
A moment later, he brings me a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of steaming tomato soup. “The ultimate comfort food,” I say, the scent of the tangy tomato and the buttery melted cheese making my mouth water. “Thank you.”
He sits down across from me. “My pleasure. Eat up.” He watches intently as I raise the sandwich and take a bite.
“Mmm,” I mumble, holding my hand in front of my mouth. “So good.”
His eyes have gone darker, and they’re zeroed in on my mouth. Heat flickers low in my belly.
“You have a crumb,” he says as I set the sandwich back on the plate. “Just here.” He starts to reach out for me, but then it’s like he realizes what he’s doing and instead gestures at his own face, showing me the location of the crumb.
“So are you—“ I say at the same time that he says,
“Tell me about—“
We pause, laugh, and he gestures for me to continue. “So are you seeing anyone?” I ask. I might be intruding on his life by staying here, and I don’t want to cause problems for him.
But he shakes his head. “No, I have no time for that. You? Although, I suppose if you had a boyfriend, you’d be there instead of here.”
I grin ruefully. “Nailed it. No boyfriend.”
My skin prickles with awareness as he watches me take a sip of soup. “That’s surprising,” he murmurs, sitting back in his seat.
“Oh?”
He opens and then closes his mouth, as though he’s thought better of whatever it was he was about to say. Instead, he steersthe conversation back to school, friends, work as we catch up. Soon, my food is gone, my stomach is no longer rumbling, and my cheeks hurt from smiling. I’d forgotten just how charming and engaging Jacob can be. He’s more than just good looks. He’s smart as hell, interesting, and has this way of listening to others that makes them feel incredibly special.
