Chapter 24
JACK
I kept trying to catch her eye, to express how sorry I was at the direction the evening had taken, but she barely looked at me. Instead she focused most of her attention on Dion. How could she not, when he seemed determined to monopolize her. I couldn’t blame him. Hannah’s meal sat untouched.
‘Dessert?’ he asked, as Fiona cleared the empty dinner plates from the table. ‘I’m not sure about you guys, but I always feel like a meal isn’t complete without a little sweet to finish it off.’
‘Actually, you know what,’ Taylor replied, ‘I think I’m just going to call it a night.’
‘OK. Let me just sort out the bill and I’ll run you home,’ I told her, pushing my chair away from the table.
‘No need,’ she replied. ‘I already paid for my meal when I was at the bar, and Dion has offered to take me.’
I frowned. ‘He has?’
‘I have,’ Dion confirmed, answering for her. ‘I’ll be heading out that way anyway. Better check in on Kate and the kids, make sure they haven’t driven her completely around the bend.’
I ignored him and stared at her, confused. ‘I don’t understand.’
She shrugged. ‘You should probably check on Hannah. Take her meal up to her.’
I stared at Dion. ‘Would you mind if I had a quick word with Taylor? A private one?’
‘Sure.’ He wiped his mouth on his napkin and stood up, smiling down at her. ‘I’ll wait for you over by the bar. No rush.’
‘Thanks.’ She smiled at him.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said softly, when he was out of earshot. ‘I really am. I had no idea she would be here.’
‘She lives here, Jack. The odds were pretty high.’
‘You’re right.’ I rubbed my free hand through my hair, feeling sheepish. ‘I should have taken you somewhere else. I guess I just wanted to show this place off to you.’
She smiled. ‘I can understand why. The food is great, your staff are friendly and welcoming, and there’s an amazing vibe, seriously.’ She looked around the room. Every table was full, every seat at the bar taken. ‘The place is packed out, so you’re obviously doing something right.’
I felt my chest swell with pride at her praise. ‘Can I take you home, please? I brought you here, I’d like to see the evening through. It’s important to me.’
She lifted her chin, her eyes vulnerable. ‘Jack, I like you, I do, but I’m not interested in complications.’
‘What complications?’
She gave me a look. ‘I think you know.’
‘If you’re referring to Hannah, there’s nothing going on there.’
‘It’s none of my business if there is.’
‘But there’s not.’
‘Jack, you don’t owe me an explanation. Whatever is or isn’t going on, it’s clearly complicated, and I’ve just come out of something complicated. I’m not looking to jump right back in.’
‘I don’t understand where all this is coming from.’
She stared up at me, exasperated. ‘I have eyes, Jack.’
‘I know you do. Very pretty eyes.’
‘You might think there’s nothing going on,’ she told me. ‘But Hannah clearly wants more. Trust me, a woman knows these things.’
It was my turn to sound exasperated. ‘Don’t I get a say?’
‘Of course. But that’s for you guys to work out. I like you, but I’m only here for another couple of weeks anyway. We should quit while we’re ahead.’
I stared down at her, disheartened at the turn the evening had taken. I hadn’t picked her up earlier that evening with any expectations, but still, subconsciously I’d expected more than this.
‘I like you too,’ I told her. ‘More than I should, for someone I really haven’t known all that long.
I can’t say I understand it, but I don’t have any reason to question it either.
I’m a big believer in trusting my gut, and my gut is telling me you’re someone special.
I can’t seem to stop thinking about you. ’
She was torn. I could see it on her face, in the way her eyes flickered with uncertainty, and her lips trembled, almost imperceptible unless you were watching her as intently as I was.
‘Jack?’ Fiona interrupted. ‘Sorry to interrupt, but what do you want me to do with Hannah’s meal?’
‘You should take it up to her,’ Taylor encouraged. ‘Check in on your friend.’ She put a hand on my chest before withdrawing it quickly, as if it had been burned. ‘It’s fine, honestly.’
Then she turned and walked away from me.
I watched her weave her way through the crowd to where Dion was waiting for her.
He grinned as she approached, looking like a man whose Christmases had all come at once, and pushed off the bar, holding his arm out for her to crook her hand through.
She did, and I felt jealousy swell in my stomach.