Page 47 of Barefoot Lake

“Have you eaten?”

That wasn’t one of the responses I’d prepared myself for.

“What?”

I frown as my brain processes his question.

“Food. Have you had food? Besides inhaling Halloween candy, I mean.”

Busted.

“Um… no? Not since lunch.”

He hesitantly smiles.

“Would you like to have a late dinner with me?”

“I— I—” I stutter, still reeling from the change in attitude and unexpected invitation. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

Now he’s fully grinning.

“I have a feeling our wires got crossed the other day, so to avoid another case of miscommunication, this is a date.”

CHAPTER 22

Alice

Instead of a table, Jake has a large custom-made kitchen island with two bar stools along one side. Another two stools are pushed against the wall, waiting to be needed. I’m currently inhabiting one seat at the island, stationed across from where Jake has piled a mess of ingredients and tools on the butcher block top.

I’m impressed… and kind of confused. I think Jake has been quietly humming while he collects whatever he needs, and I’m still not sure what he meant when he said our wires got crossed, or why he’s so chipper, but I love that he called this a date.

“You eat everything, right?” He quickly peeks over his shoulder to check in with me while he’s preheating the oven. I nod. He comes back to stand across from me and holds my gaze.

“Excellent,” he says.

His eyes sweep down the part of me he can see above the countertop, and he licks his lips. I’m immediately very aware of the fact that I’m still in a little sparkly witch’s costume and slide the tall hat from my head. The corners of Jake’s lips quirk up in the shyest smile.

Jake has collected two bell peppers, two gigantic tomatoes, an even larger eggplant, ground beef, a bunch of spices, and everything for a salad. He picks up one of the tomatoes, which suddenly looks small in his hand. This man really is massive. He carefully slices the top off the tomato, keeping the disc intact, before scooping out the seeds and guts from the base.

Now that Jake has set down his roll of paper towels, his costume looks like it could be an everyday outfit. Knowing what I do about Jake so far, I expect it likely is. The flannel suits him, and his rolled-up sleeves suit me. I’m so mesmerized watching his hands work, seeing the muscles in his forearms tense and release with each precise movement, that I’m startled when Jake speaks.

“I’m sorry,” Jake’s voice is clear over the quiet thud of his knife against a cutting board while he chops the scooped bits and starts on a pepper.

“You’re… sorry?”

“You were right before. It’s been awful since the other day, and if I’m understanding now, there was no reason for it.”

He pauses and looks up from his work to catch my gaze again. I roll my lips together to keep from interrupting him.

“You were also right — and wrong — about me. I’ve got issues, but they aren’t commitment-based, and this definitely isn’t a case of not being interested. I honestly tried to stay away from you. At first, it was because I thought you were a menace, but then it was because I realized how much you weren’t, and it was difficult for me to admit how much you affected me. It meant it would hurt that much more if things went sideways. Convincing myself to take the risk was hard, but once I did, committing to trying something with you wasn’t difficult at all.”

I gasp at his admission, and he pauses again, his hands stilling this time, too. He makes eye contact now, and I’m frozen in place by the intensity of his gaze.

“I like you, Ace. In fact, I think you’re magnificent.”

“You do?” My voice is quiet, but Jake’s grin spreads wide when he nods. “Then why did you shut me out when we were decorating your house?”

“I didn’t want to make assumptions, and I was waiting for you to bring up the kiss.”