Chapter 9
9
“ Y ou look like you have a spring in your step,” Allison said.
Mia was at work the following morning. The dinner with Jackson’s family was fun, but she knew his brothers were trying to get him riled up by continually bringing up her dates. Despite them being convinced that Jackson was getting jealous, she still wasn’t so sure.
Allison had already taken up residence in the library that morning and had been punching away on her computer. But now she was leaning back in her chair, staring at Mia as she shelved books.
Mia looked at her and smiled. “Do I?”
“What’s going on?”
“Um, I’m working?” Mia pushed a book into its spot on the shelf before pushing the cart to the next aisle. Allison stood up and followed her.
“Seriously, I haven’t seen you this happy in… well, never. Except maybe when you hang out with Jackson.” Allison’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute. Did you hook up with Jackson?”
“What? No. We’re just friends.”
“Point being…”
“Point being, he doesn’t see me that way. Or he didn’t use to.”
Allison’s eyebrows shot up. “ Used to? Oh, please. Go on. I must hear this.”
Mia laughed. “I don’t know. Over the weekend, we went to Brewbirds. While we were sitting there, Jeff approached us and asked me out for dinner. Jackson almost looked… jealous, I guess?”
“Was Jeff another plant?”
“I think so. He’s good friends with Noah, so I assumed he put him up to it.”
Allison put a hand on her hip. “Dang. Those boys are working hard at getting you two together. I’m surprised Jackson hasn’t figured it out since they’re sending in their friends. Did you say ‘yes’ to the date?”
“Yeah. I figured it would be fun if he’s serious. I’m not getting any younger. And if Jackson doesn’t want to make a move, then I need to find someone else to settle down with. You never know. Something may come of it.”
Allison remained silent while Mia pushed another book on the shelf. Mia looked over to find Allison watching her.
“What?”
“Are you giving up on Jackson?”
That question had many feelings running through her. She suddenly felt devastated at the thought of losing him to another woman. But he wasn’t hers to claim as much as she had hoped he would be someday. Even though the attention she was getting from other men was all staged, she still enjoyed having someone look at her like she mattered. It made her realize how much she wanted to find someone to be with. And if it wasn’t Jackson, then it wasn’t Jackson. The last thing she wanted to do was force him to be with her.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to keep waiting for him. At some point, I need to move on.”
Allison slowly nodded. “I wouldn’t give up yet.”
Mia’s cell phone rang in her pocket, and she pulled it out to look at the screen. Jeff’s name flashed across the front, and she flipped it around to show Allison.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mia. It’s Jeff.”
“Hey, Jeff. How are you?” Mia raised her eyebrows at Allison, who smiled before walking back to her table to give her some privacy.
“I’m doing well. I wanted to confirm our plans for dinner tonight.”
Mia played with the pages of a book sitting in her cart. “I don’t want you to feel you have to since I know Noah put you up to it. If you prefer, we can just say we did.”
Jeff lightly chuckled. “Honestly, he asked me to ask you out, but I’m not an unwilling participant. The truth is, I’ve always liked you, but I thought you were spoken for with Jackson. Noah explained what was going on, and I figured if I want to shoot my shot, I better do it now. If the end game is for you to end up with Jackson, then so be it. But maybe we’ll have fun in the meantime.”
Mia smiled. “Okay, yeah. That sounds like fun.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up about 5:30?”
“Sounds good.”
They said their goodbyes and Mia immediately turned to go tell Allison but was met with Jackson’s solid chest. Jackson’s arms came to hers to steady her.
“Oomph.”
“Whoa there. Why are you in such a hurry?” he asked.
Mia laughed. “I think the better question is ‘why are you standing so close to me without announcing your presence?’”
“You were on the phone. It would have been rude.”
Mia’s face heated. “How much did you hear?”
If he had been standing there before she mentioned Noah putting Jeff up to it, the whole plan would go up in flames. But maybe it would be best if it just ended now. Despite always having feelings for Jackson, this little ruse had intensified it when it used to be a low simmer in the background. Now it was constantly on her mind.
“I heard you say something sounded like fun. Why?”
Mia internally breathed a sigh of relief. “Just curious.” She pulled a lip between her teeth, trying to decide if she should tell him about the date or just let him hear it through the grapevine. Of course, he already knew Jeff had asked her out, but he didn’t know they had officially made plans.
“Do you have plans tonight? I’m wondering if you’d like to do movie night? I can grab wings.”
“I’m actually going on a date with Jeff. But raincheck?”
Jackson blinked as he watched her. And if she didn’t know any better, she would have thought it was a blip in the matrix.
“You okay?”
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Tomorrow then?”
Mia nodded. “Yeah, sounds like a plan.”
He strolled out of the library, but not before looking back at Mia with an unreadable expression on his face.
Mia pulled on a dark blue flower sundress before grabbing a light cardigan to keep her warm for when the temperature dipped. He had said originally they would go to Antonio’s, but she wasn’t entirely positive that was still the plan. Either way, she thought a sundress was the safe option.
A knock sounded on her front door, so she grabbed her clutch and pulled it open. Jeff stood on the other side, holding a bouquet of purple tulips. He wore tan slacks and a blue button-up shirt, with his short, dark hair styled in a messy, yet attractive way.
“You look beautiful,” Jeff said. He handed her the bouquet, which she immediately sniffed.
“Thank you.”
They stood in silence for a moment before Jeff held his hand out toward his car.
“Shall we?”
She nodded and locked her door, pulling it shut. Jackson pulled into his driveway at that moment and got out of his truck. Mia could feel his eyes raking over her, and she smiled slightly at him.
“Hey, Jackson. How’s it going?” Jeff asked as he pulled the passenger side door of his car open for Mia. She slid inside and he closed the door, muffling Jackson’s words, but she could make out him telling them to have a good time as he walked into his house. His eyes briefly met hers before he shut his door. She couldn’t read the look on his face, but he almost looked disappointed?
No. That wasn’t possible.
As they backed out of the driveway, Mia saw Jackson looking at them through his living room window with that same look before the blinds slid back into place. She pushed the thought of him out of her mind the best she could and focused on Jeff.
They drove over to the next town, making conversation as they went.
“Have you ever been here before?” Jeff asked as he opened Mia’s car door.
She stepped out and looked up at the small restaurant. The parking lot was full. The biggest attraction in the area was the resort in Wintervale, but tourists stayed in all the neighboring towns as well. Everyone profited from the resort being where it was, and each town tried to start up an attraction in their area to draw tourists to stay with them as well.
Despite growing up in Wintervale, Mia had never gone to Antonio’s. She rarely went to the neighboring towns for food since Miles was such an amazing chef. She never saw a reason to try other places. But she was excited to try this one with Jeff.
The pasta they had was amazing, just as Miles has said. When it came time for dessert, Jeff had ordered the chocolate cake with ice cream for them to share.
“A little birdie told me it was your favorite,” he said.
Mia smiled. “It is. Although I’m not sure anything can compare to Miles’s cake.”
Jeff leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I agree, but I figured it would be fun to try.”
The cake set down in front of them looked delicious. Mia picked up her spoon and Jeff did the same. They each took a scoop of cake and ice cream and tried it at the same time. They stared at each other as they chewed. Jeff swallowed and took a drink of water.
“Verdict?”
Mia shrugged. “It’s okay.”
“I feel the same. I think Miles will be happy about that.”
She laughed and scooped another bite. “I think you’re right.”
She watched as Jeff scooped up another bite as well with his spoon.
“Do you always use a spoon when you eat cake and ice cream together?”
He nodded. “I used to do a fork, but spoons are easier with the ice cream portion. How about you?”
“Same.” Her mind immediately went to Jackson and their debates over forks and spoons each time they ate cake and ice cream together. While she knew spoons were superior, she missed the banter with Jackson. This was their thing, and she was missing it.
Mia gave Jeff a small smile as they ate the rest of their dessert in comfortable silence.