Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
J esse pulled up in the parking lot of the Chinese restaurant.
It had been a long-ass day. Hell, it had been a long week . Too many people doing the wrong thing and a hell of a lot of paperwork. But work issues felt trivial compared to Aspen.
His feelings for her were growing every day. She wasn’t in a place to be anything more than friends. He knew that. But when they were together, it didn’t matter. When he spoke to her, touched her , all he could think about was how right they felt together. How right she felt.
Did she feel it too? Sometimes, he swore he saw it in her eyes. Felt it in her touch.
With a long sigh, he climbed out of the car and slammed the door behind him. The entire situation was driving him crazy. But at the same time, if he had the chance, he wouldn’t go back and take away the offer for her to have his spare room. Because having her close without being with her was a lot better than not having her at all.
He crossed the parking lot and pushed into the restaurant, but one glance told him Luke wasn’t here yet.
“Hi. Do you have a reservation?”
He looked at the waitress. “Possibly. Is there something for two people under Luke?”
The woman looked at her computer and nodded. “Yes. Follow me.”
He trailed behind the woman to a two-person corner table.
He’d just sat when a text came through.
Luke: Running a bit late. But I forgot to tell you that I invited my friend April.
The fuck?
“Hi!”
He looked up to see a young woman with long brunette hair and a tight red dress standing beside the table.
“I’m April, Luke’s friend. May I?” Before he could respond, she lowered into the seat opposite him. “Jesse, right? Luke’s told me a lot about you.”
“He has?”
“Yeah. You’ve just been promoted to sheriff, right? After retiring from the military?”
What the hell was going on? He eyed his phone suspiciously before looking back to the woman. “And how do you know Luke?”
“Yoga.”
Jesus Christ. “Excuse me while I respond to a text message.” He lifted his phone.
Jesse: You’re not coming, are you?
Luke: Shit, man, I’ve gotten caught up helping my sister with something. Stay though, have a meal with April. She’s lovely. And very…bendy.
Asshole. He knew how Jesse felt about Aspen. Did he think he was doing Jesse a favor? He wasn’t. Jesse was gonna kill the guy. Murder him with his bare hands.
“Luke’s not coming.”
April frowned. “Oh, I know. This is…I mean, it’s a date for you and me. Why would Luke come?”
So Jesse was the only one who’d been out of the loop.
She lifted the menu. “Have you been here before? I’m not big on Chinese, but Luke said it’s your favorite.”
Of course he did. “It’s better than pizza.”
She laughed, and all he could think was that it wasn’t Aspen’s laugh.
He cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Look, April, this is nice, but if you’re not into it, we don’t need to—”
“You don’t like me.”
Shit . “No, it’s not that.”
“Am I not what you thought I’d be?” She started touching her hair as she looked down at her dress like there was a problem with her looks.
He was an asshole. “No. You’re beautiful.” The small smile returned to her face. “It’s just, I didn’t realize this was a date. I thought I was meeting Luke tonight.”
She frowned. “He didn’t tell you?”
“No. And I don’t like surprises.”
Her brows flickered. “Okay. But we can still have a nice night, can’t we? I mean, we’re both here, and we’re hungry. You don’t look like terrible company, and I can assure you that I’m not either.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. He clearly took too long to answer, because red tinged her cheeks like she was embarrassed, and she started to push her seat back.
He reached over the table to touch her wrist. “Hey. Wait. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, I just…I’m interested in someone else.”
“Someone else?”
“Yeah, and Luke knows that, so he never should have set this up. And trust me, when I see him, I’m going to kick his ass.”
“Oh. That’s a shame. But I get it.”
He was still holding her wrist when the restaurant door opened and Aspen stepped in.
“It’s not that embarrassing.”
Aspen’s fingers tightened around the phone. “Callie, did you not hear the part where he held my hair and rubbed my back while I threw up?”
She opened the fridge. Nothing. No food in sight. Well, nothing she’d made, anyway. There was plenty of Jesse’s food. Food she was sure he wouldn’t mind if she ate. Food she wouldn’t eat. He was already giving her ridiculously cheap rent. She didn’t like taking his food too.
Callie sighed. “That was really sweet of him.”
“I know. He is sweet. And cute and protective and a million other things.” She still got goose bumps when she thought about how he’d handled the guy at the bar, even if they had fought about it after.
She stepped into the pantry. There was rice. She could have that for dinner. Maybe add some tuna and soy sauce.
“You know,” Callie started, “you could always—”
“Don’t say it,” Aspen cut her friend off. “He and I are friends . He offered me the room in his house as a friend, and even if I did a complete one-eighty and decided I wanted more—flower girl.”
“Flower girl?”
“You can’t have forgotten. He bought someone roses.” And she was grabbing on to that excuse with both hands to stay away from him.
“We still don’t know that they were for a girl.”
“Of course they were.” She lifted the can of tuna and wrinkled her nose. She’d been living off rice and tuna for the last week. Why? Because it was cheap, and she was trying to be smart with her money while she hadn’t released a new book for a while.
“I saw your mom the other day, by the way.”
Aspen put the tuna back onto the shelf, trying not to tense at the mention of her mother. “Where?”
“In the grocery store. She was arguing with one of the managers. I think I heard her say she was going to sue.”
Aspen rolled her eyes. How many people had the woman threatened to sue in her lifetime? So many she’d lost count.
“Sounds like Mom.” She lifted a packet of noodles. She could cook those with an egg.
“I saw Dylan the other day too.”
The noodles slipped from her fingers. “Really? Where?”
“He walked past Sugar and Spice and glared at me through the glass. Lock was a step away from getting up and going after him.”
She shuddered. Even thinking about the guy made a sick feeling swirl around her belly. “It makes The Tea House sound a bit better.”
“The Tea House?”
“I’ve been going there almost every day. The coffee’s terrible, but the coffee’s terrible everywhere in Amber Ridge. And I really like Mrs. Gerald, the older English woman who runs the place. She kind of feels like the grandmother I never had.” They talked every day. About little things. Big things. Work. She’d even mentioned her rocky relationship with her mother.
“It sounds nice,” Callie said.
“I’m kind of liking tea now, too.”
“You are not.”
“I am. I’ve tried a dozen different types, but I think Earl Grey is my favorite.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”
“I’m a tea-drinking Amber Ridge woman now.”
Callie chuckled, but that chuckle became a sigh. “I miss you.”
“I miss you more.”
“All right, Lock’s calling me for dinner. Chat tomorrow?”
“Obviously.” She hung up and opened the fridge again, the same food staring back at her.
Oh, screw it, she was getting takeout. Cheap Chinese takeout, but that was still takeout. Pizza would be cheaper, but she’d been warned off Burt’s Pizzeria, and that was too far to walk.
She called and ordered. As she grabbed her house keys, her gaze flicked to Jesse’s closed bedroom door. Where was he tonight? Was he working late? He’d been working a lot since taking up the role of sheriff. And maybe a teeny tiny part of her missed him. But just as he was working a lot, she was out writing a lot. Or…trying to write.
With a deep sigh, she headed outside. The Chinese place was only about a twenty-minute walk, and thankfully, it wasn’t dark yet. She really shouldn’t be eating takeout, but man, did it sound better than plain steamed rice and tuna.
As she walked, a text came through on her phone.
Mom: I spoke to Dylan today. You need to call him. He misses you.
All the fine hairs on her arms stood on end, and for a moment, she just stared at the text as if hoping the words would dissolve in front of her.
She’d told her mother things hadn’t ended well. Why was she talking to Dylan? Why was she trying to convince her to talk to Dylan?
She clicked out of the message and walked faster. When she entered the Chinese restaurant, the scent of Asian spices surrounded her. So much better than rice and tuna.
She was just stepping up to the counter when two people across the room caught her attention—and one of them was Jesse.
He sat at an intimate corner table with a woman.
“Flower girl.” The whispered words slipped from her lips.
She wore a tight red dress that exposed her shoulders. Aspen had never thought of shoulders as sexy before, but on that woman…yeah, they were definitely sexy. Jesse was leaning forward and touching her arm. It looked…intimate.
He was on a date. Jesse Hayes, her roommate, the man she was in complete denial about her infatuation with, was on a date.
His gaze collided with hers, and she gasped and looked away.
Shit. Wrong move. She looked back at him and gave a forced, awkward, I-don’t-care-that-your-date’s-gorgeous smile.
Good job, Aspen. You were about as convincing as a two-year-old saying they hate chocolate.
She switched her focus to the lady on the other side of the counter. “Hi. I have a phone order for Aspen.”
“Sure. I’ll go get it.”
When the woman turned, so did Aspen—right into a big, broad chest.
“Jesse. How the heck did you get over here so quickly?”
“I walked.”
Oh, so he was a funny man as well as the date of a beautiful goddess tonight. “How, um, how’s your date going?”
“It’s not a date.”
Yeah, and she was the Queen of Poland. “It’s okay. You’re free to date whoever you like, just like you’re free to send flowers to whoever you like.”
“Flowers?”
Shit. Stop talking, Aspen.
She shook her head. “Nothing. I should…”
He inched closer, and the words just died on her lips. Because he was right there. Right freaking there and he smelled so good .
“It’s not a date,” he repeated.
Her mouth opened and closed. “I didn’t…I mean, that’s your business.”
“I know. But I want you to understand my position.”
“Your position?”
“I’m not dating her or anyone else, because there’s someone I’m interested in.”
Her pulse picked up speed. She needed to get out. She needed a freaking bullet train out of here. “Well, that’s, um, that’s lovely for you. And totally your business.” She stepped back, and her legs hit the counter behind her. “I—”
“Here you go.”
Thank God. She paid for her food and grabbed the bag. She actually held it in front of her like a shield; any small barrier between her and Jesse had to be a good thing. “I should go. You enjoy your…not date.”
“Did you walk?”
“What?”
“Did you walk here?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll drive you home.”
“No.” Well, that came out way too fast. But really, even a two-minute drive in such close quarters with him felt too much. “I mean, I really enjoyed the walk and it’s still light outside.” Kind of light.
“Aspen—”
“Really. I’m fine. You finish your…whatever it is, and I’ll see you at home.”
Then she ran out of there like the place was on freaking fire.