28. Jameson
“Ifeel underdressed,”Kat said as I guided her into the restaurant with one hand on her back. I stepped up behind her, gripping her shoulders and moving my mouth next to her ear. “You want me to get you undressed?” I slipped the strap of her tank top off her shoulder and kissed it, leaving my mouth against her smooth skin and thinking about when I’d get my next taste. “I don’t know if this is a proper venue for stripping, but I aim to give you what you want.”
She spun and shot me a look that was too sexy to be as scary as she intended it. “You have very selective hearing, I’ve noticed.” “Guilty as charged.” I gripped her hips and turned her back around, then nudged her over to the hostess stand, where a girl in her mid-twenties looked beyond bored. She must be new because I didn’t recognize her.
“I called a little while ago. JT Stone, table for two.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but the place books up weeks in advance, so if you just called?—”
“If you’ll look at your list, I’m sure I’m on there.”
The hostess ran her pen down her pad, then did a double take, and her expression morphed into a much warmer one. “Right this way, Mr. Stone.”
As we walked through the place, it was pretty noticeable that everyone else was dressier than we were. I wore a suit more often than not, and I’d planned on eating at a more casual place so I wouldn’t have to dress up. I wanted to relax and enjoy a day where Kat and I were just two regular people enjoying a carefree day.
But as we’d pulled the boat back into the dock, I’d thought maybe it wasn’t so much that Kat belonged on the water, but that she belonged next to me.
That led to lungs tightening and a touch of freaking the fuck out. I didn’t do relationships and she was leaving anyway. The thought of her being hundreds of miles away didn’t console me, though. It sent enough panic to eclipse the panic over things getting too serious.
So I’d called in a favor.
Tables at Savor were hard to come by, but when the owner and chef was one of your oldest friends, he was able to pull a few strings.
We followed the hostess to a table in the back with a perfect view of the harbor.
Kat took a step toward the window instead of the chair I’d pulled out for her. “Wow, it’s all lit up now. It almost makes me want to hop back on the boat and go see the panorama view. Except I’m too starving for that.” She shot me a smile and then returned her gaze to the window.
The hostess told me that someone would take our order, and once she’d left, I joined Kat at the window. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her back to my chest and tucked her head underneath my chin. “You know, without the heels, you’re kind of short.”
“That’s why I wear the heels. Well, that and I love them, and they make my legs and butt look good.”
“As someone who’s reached expert status in that department, I can attest to the fact that they always look good.”
She twisted her head and smiled at me. “Sweet talk will get you everywhere.”
All sorts of tempting ideas filled my head as it turned to the gutter to decide what everywhere could mean—especially since her ass was nestled right against my crotch.
Movement caught my eye, and I turned to see Ben coming toward us. We exchanged a quick bro-hug. “Haven’t seen you in a while,” he said.
“I know. Life’s been crazy.” I gestured to my date. “Kat, this is my friend Ben—he’s the chef and owner of this place. Ben, Kat.”
He extended his hand and shook hers. Then he gave me a curious look.
“Jameson doesn’t usually bring dates here—I thought he wanted the special table tonight so he could be alone with his laptop.”
Kat laughed, and I clapped Ben extra hard on the back. “Okay,” I said. “That’s quite enough.”
What was I thinking bringing Kat here to meet one of my oldest friends? I didn’t want to examine the reasons too closely, actually, but now I was wondering if it was a bad move. I felt too exposed, like having her meet Ben gave away the fact that I was starting to fall for her, and she’d use that against me.
Even though she wasn’t the type. Then again, no one was until they were.
“So how long have you known Jameson?” Kat asked. “As long as I can remember. We grew up together.”
Kat rubbed her hands together. “Excellent. You can give me the scoop on Jameson Stone. I want to hear it all.”
“He’s got a restaurant to run,” I said.
Ben dropped into the chair next to the one I’d pulled out for Kat. “I have well-trained employees who can handle the kitchen for a few minutes.”
She looked at me as if to say youshouldtakesometipsfromhim, then she sat down and turned her full attention to him, chin propped on her fist. “Lay it on me.”
Yep, this was the dumbest idea I’d ever had. I pulled out the chair next to her and tried to telepathically tell Ben to take it easy on me. What I wanted him to do was get a read on Kat, not spill all my secrets.
“Let’s see, where to start on our boy…I could tell you about the many hours he spent in detention. It wasn’t enough to land himself in detention, either. He always managed to convince me to go along so we’d both get busted.”
“Did you get kicked out of the fancy private school too?”
Another surprised, pointed look from Ben. “I managed to graduate by the skin of my teeth, but it sure sucked having to spend my last semester without him by my side.”
Kat clucked her tongue at me, but the way she also curled her hand around my thigh made it seem more like a reward than a scolding. “Such a bad boy.”
“Not just bad, but crazy. One of the craziest things I ever saw him do was jump a motorcycle between two buildings, just to win a bet.”
Kat’s expression changed, concern filling her features, and she shoved my arm. “Jameson! That sounds dangerous. Why would you do that?”
I shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea at the time, and as you can see, I’m fine.” I spread my arms to display how fine I was.
Ben chuckled. “Jameson’s all about high risk, high reward.
Always has been.”
“I can’t exactly deny that, but I try to take more calculated ones these days. I also feel like my risk-taking has paid off well for me, especially in business.”
“So what made you so bossy?” Kat added with a big smile. “Besides being so spoiled and knowing so many random things about fish?”
I cocked an eyebrow at her. “I’m going to show you bossy here in a minute.”
The look on Ben’s face made it clear he was drawing some conclusions, but I was having trouble taking my eyes off Kat so I could get a read on him.
“He’s probably like that because he’s so used to being a boss,” Ben said. “I’m sure he’s told you about the company he runs.”
Amusement flickered through Kat’s eyes. “He has. I’ve even had a tour of his office.” Her eyes widened and her cheeks turned pink, so I was pretty sure she was thinking of one of her more private tours. “I mean…”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “She means she’s working with me, but just for a few weeks.”
Kat bit her lip like she was worried what else I’d say, but I didn’t plan on sharing all the whys, or even everything we were working on together.
Ben tapped the table with his palm. “It looks like you guys are about to start a heated make out session that my poor waiter is going to walk in on, so I better give you dinner options and then get to cooking.”
We picked our entrees and then Ben gave us a nod. “Swing by the kitchen before you go, okay? I want to hear how much you enjoyed the food.”
“And what if we don’t enjoy the food?” Kat shot him a teasing smile, and I felt a hint of jealousy until I reminded myself that Ben was one of my best friends, as well as gay. He also had a gift for reading people, and I wanted to know what he thought about Kat. Not that I needed permission to keep doing what I was doing, but navigating these unfamiliar waters left me on edge. Maybe I even wanted him to tell me she wasn’t as special as I was making her out to be, or that he could see she had bad intentions, which was horrible, but my head hadn’t been right since I met her on the
train.
I could afford a little heartache. I couldn’t afford to screw up the company restructure that’d been in the process long since before Kat crashed into my life.