26. Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Six
J ess was right, and Kade loved the steak her friend prepared. It just melted in his mouth, and he worries all other steak has been ruined for him. Until he looked up the cost when Jess went to the bathroom before the food came out. One hundred and twenty dollars. Woof. There is no way he plans to let Jess pay for dinner. Not after the way she stuck it to Sam.
"Here's a lovely Cabernet sent by the chef to pair with the steak," the waiter says and sets the glass in front of Kade.
Jess tries to hold back her laughter, but she can't. The way she giggles makes him smile when, on all accounts, he should be in a depressed, miserable state. "I told you!"
"Fine, I'll try it," he says, giving in. At this point tonight, Jess could ask him for his left foot, and he'd cut it off for her.
For months, Jess has tried to get him to pair wine with his steak after going on a wine tasting. He rebelled, scoffing at how something could enhance the flavors of food, but tonight he decides to give it a shot.
Taking a sip, he hates the initial feeling in his mouth. The wine is dry. Very dry. But it's not bad tasting. Actually, it tastes pretty good.
"What the hell?"
"I told you," she says again and holds up her glass of white wine. "You just have to get past the dry feeling, but you get used to it."
Chuckling, he sets the glass down. "You did tell me."
"How's the caulini? I've seen it before, but I've never tried it. It looks amazing," she says and takes a bite of her swordfish.
"It's good. I don't know what it is, though."
"Cauliflower."
He lifts an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"
"Yes," she says with a laugh. "Like broccolini"
That makes sense. They're always coming up with new things to serve at fancy restaurants. "Can I try your swordfish?"
Her eyebrows raise. "You want to try fish ?"
"It looks more like a fish-steak. I'll give you a bite of this delicious red meat."
"Throw in a piece of that caulini, and you've got a deal."
"Anything for you," he says with a wink, and they swap forks.
Kade wasn't sure what to expect with swordfish, but it surprised him. He would have happily eaten it if he'd been served it, but the steak is amazing. And Jess knows what he likes. One more reason to add to the list of why he loves this woman.
"Oh my God, this is like heaven in my mouth," she says and closes her eyes. "Don't mind me. I think I might need a cigarette after how good that was."
I love you. He wants to shout it, but he knows now isn't the right time. No, he needs to find the right moment to make sure she knows he's serious. That he's never meant anything more.
"You're funny," he says. "I feel like I should be slightly offended by the fact you have never needed a cigarette after our time together."
Winking, she smirks. "Not that I've told you, anyway."
Oh, she's flirty. Very flirty. "That swordfish isn't bad. It's actually pretty good."
"Look at you growing up," Jess jokes. "I'm keeping your fork now."
"You can have whatever you want."
Her eyes glance up to his, and instead of distrust like he expects, he sees a sparkle in her eye. "I'm going to remember that."
Carrie walks out and pulls up a chair, sitting on it backwards and resting her arms on the table. "How is it?"
"I changed my mind. I want his steak," Jess says. "That's the food equivalent of an orgasm. But this champagne glaze on the fish... I can't decide. I want it all, actually."
"No one else understands when I say food can be just as pleasurable as sex," Carrie says with a laugh. "My girlfriend didn't until I gave her both at the same time."
Jess laughs, but Kade suddenly finds this woman even more fascinating than before. She doesn't look like someone Jess would normally befriend, but he's starting to realize more people see how amazing she is than he realized.
"Okay, so tell me. What was with the Rasmussen's? It looks like a super juicy story."
Kade lets out a sigh and waves a hand in the air for her to say whatever she wants. She gives him a serious look and asks, "Are you sure?"
"After how you both handled them, yes. Besides, it's been six years. It's been long enough."
Carrie shimmies in her seat. "Oh, this is gonna be good. I can tell."
Kade decides he likes the woman instead of just being fascinated by her. She has balls. Big balls.
"Well, the woman, her name is Sam. She and Kade dated in high school and all through college. Zach was Kade's best friend, and they were like the three musketeers or whatever. Then Kade and Sam got engaged two years after college, and they lived together. Had a long engagement to pay for a house and a wedding, and Kade was saving up money to surprise her with a house she fell in love with. Then he finds out she's been cheating."
Carrie's jaw drops and looks at him. "You're kidding."
He shakes his head, and he's surprised at how little the conversation bothers him. He expected the steak knife to spontaneously lift itself from the table and stab him in the chest. Instead, it stays sitting right there on his plate, and he feels only a slight twinge of regret knowing how he'd been played.
"He found out because Zach, her now-husband, texted her where to meet for a frisky night out and to wear underwear he'd bought her. She left her phone at the apartment, and Kade found a drawer full of things this guy bought Kade’s soon-to-be wife. His fiancée was screwing around with his best friend. For years. This was all found out five months before the wedding."
"No shit?"
"No shit," he says, chuckling at the amazement in her eyes.
Jess clenches her fist. "Kade worked with Zach to get Sam a position at the company, and the messing around started back in college."
"Tell me the bitch cried when you confronted her," Carrie says. "Please tell me she cried and begged on her hands and knees."
"Oh, I think she'd been on her knees enough," Jess says and takes a sip of her wine.
Both Carrie and Kade look at her in surprise. "Wow, I did not think you had that in you," Carrie says.
"What?" she asks innocently.
"Being catty."
Kade smiles. "She gets protective of people she cares about. But to answer your question, no, she didn't. She never shed a tear, and she didn't care. I'm pretty sure she wanted to get caught."
"Cold-hearted bitch."
"It gets better," Jess says, and Carrie turns with rapt attention. "She had no intention of calling off the wedding. She was still going to marry Kade while carrying on a full relationship with his best friend. And the man was going to be his best man!"
Thank God she didn't talk about my parents. He can handle this, but his dead mother and killer father might be a bit too much for someone he just met.
"Then Kade goes and beats the shit out of Zach. Got himself arrested, but the charges were dropped to save face for Zach’s father's company."
"You are my favorite people today," Carrie says. "That had to feel good."
Holding out his hand, he shows them a scar on his middle knuckle. "Still have a reminder of that night."
"Wow!"
"You should have heard Jess before you walked up, though. I've never seen this side of her before, either, and it was hot."
Carrie bounces in her seat. "What'd you say?"
"It wasn't that bad," Jess says and laughs. "Sam just said how they should be able to move past everything because they were such good friends all that time ago or whatever. Like time magically fixed everything. Then I called her out by saying she and Zach were much better friends than anyone expected. Which, in my defense, is the God's honest truth. And I threw in a comment about how I’m not as good of a friend as they are, or something."
"Sweet little Jess, just blowing my mind tonight," Carrie says with a wink. "Hope she blows yours, too, if you know what I mean."
Kade looks to Jess, who just laughs and takes another sip of her wine. The look she gives him makes him weak, and he worries he won't have the self-control to stop her from what it looks like she wants to do to him tonight.
"I'm sorry, Kade. That really sucks for you. But I think it worked out in the end. Trust me, divorces are messy and usually cost more money than the bastard had to begin with."
"Carrie's not bitter about her divorce at all," Jess jokes.
"Absolutely not. But that's what I get for marrying a man instead of a woman," she says and stands. "I'm glad you enjoyed your dinner. Dessert will be out soon. Enjoy the rest of your night."
"Is it possible to get dessert to go?" she asks, looking at her watch. "I have an eight o'clock meeting tomorrow."
Carrie nods her head. "Of course."
Kade watches her walk into the kitchen, but he looks to Jess when she takes his hand. "Did I share too much?"
The concern on her face makes him want to kiss her right here in the crowded room. "No, baby, you didn't."
"Did it bother you?"
"Surprisingly, no. I'm glad you left the situation with my parents out, though."
She smiles at him. "That's no one's business. It also has next to no relevance to this situation."
The server walks out with a bag and the bill. Jess grabs it before he can say anything, and she laughs. He watches her take out a fifty-dollar bill and set it in the book.
"There's no way this cost fifty dollars," Kade says when they stand.
"Not even close, but Carrie covered it for us. Said the story and show was payment enough. She's a good person. A little brazen at times, but I loved working with her. She's someone I can talk about cooking with who doesn't think I'm crazy or old-fashioned."
Taking her hand, he walks her out to the pickup and holds the door open for her. He then climbs in, pulls out of the parking lot, and takes her hand in his again. It feels like a sin not to touch her, and everything about tonight feels surprisingly normal yet exciting at the same time. Familiar but new. And he doesn't mind the silence on the ride home.