Chapter 1 #3
Chelsea tried to hide the sudden clench in her stomach from reaching her face. She nodded. “He and my brother were friends since they were your age. And his sister has been my best friend since I was little too. Maybe you and Matthew Sanders will be best friends that long.”
Kaden’s eyes widened and turned to Jagger. “Will we be here that long?”
“As long as you want, champ.”
The question reminded Chelsea that the last year had been a big change for both of them. “Do you like living down here?”
Kaden nodded. “Yes.” He drew out the word as if it was obvious he liked living in Charlotte Tavern. “I get to play more.”
“You didn’t get to play in New York?” Chelsea looked at Jagger for an explanation.
“Our lives were much more...dictated there. Here it’s more relaxed.”
“I can play in the woods.”
“You like the woods?” Chelsea turned her attention back to Kaden.
“I like to hunt bugs.”
“Bugs are fun.” She smiled at Kaden, remembering her childhood roaming the woods. “What about you?” She took a sip of the water the waitress had brought.
“I like bug hunting.” Jagger winked at Kaden.
“It must be a lot different here than in New York.”
Jagger’s smile faltered a little, replaced with a guarded, almost suspicious expression. “It is.”
She waited for him to say more, but he took a sip of his milk.
“My friend Lexie’s husband Drake is from New York. He says he likes Charlotte Tavern all right, but he misses New York pizza.”
“Well that goes without saying.” The tension in Jagger’s jaw lessened. “Since Luigi is from New York, his comes close, but it’s still not the same. What do you think, Kaden, Luigi’s or pizza in New York?”
“New York.” Kaden didn’t hesitate.
“But there’s other food here that’s good.” Jagger sat back as a small and a large pizza were set on the table. When the waitress left, he motioned for Chelsea to take a piece as he placed a slice on Kaden’s plate.
“Lexie took me to pizza once when I was visiting her in New York.” Chelsea pulled a large, floppy triangle onto her plate.
“And?”
“It was good.”
Jagger’s eyes widened. “Good? She must not have taken you to one of the better spots because New York pizza is spectacular.”
She laughed because he was right. “I bet we have better barbeque.”
“You’d be right.” Jagger handed Kaden a napkin. “That’s my new quest: To find the best barbeque in the area.”
“I can help with that.” The words were out of her mouth before she could think better of it. She glanced up, hoping he hadn’t thought she was being forward.
He cocked his head. “You know where to find good barbeque?”
She nodded. “I used to make it...or helped my grandfather make it.”
“You made it?” Jagger’s raised brows suggested he was dubious. Most people were. Barbeque was an art. There were cook-offs for barbeque like there were for chili, and with much of the same competitiveness.
“It’s an old family recipe.”
“I like barbeque. But Mrs. Stanton always makes me wear a bib. I’m not a baby.” Kaden pouted.
Chelsea laughed. “Barbeque sauce is messy.” So was pizza. She held her piece with both hands, trying to keep everything from sliding off.
Jagger frowned. “It’s easier if you fold it, like this.” He halved his pizza slice lengthwise, which gave it enough firmness to hold it in one hand.
Chelsea shrugged and folded hers.
They ate in silence for a few moments, but Chelsea’s curiosity started to get the best of her. “Now that you’ve been here a year, are you settled in? Does it feel like home?”
Jagger’s head see-sawed side-to-side. “More or less.”
“Do you miss New York?”
He set his pizza down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Sometimes.”
She frowned at his short, curt answers. Was she asking something she shouldn’t be?
He sat back and studied her as if he was trying to assess her purpose for being curious.
Then he leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table.
“Southerners are nice, with all that hospitality, but only to a point.” He paused and then sat back.
“But Kaden seems to have fit in, and that’s what matters most.”
Chelsea felt a pang of guilt. She understood completely.
In Charlotte Tavern, everyone showed good manners and was helpful, but outsiders were always outsiders.
Someone like Jagger would always be apart, even though his family had owned a summer home in the area for decades.
It was difficult to become a part of the community without someone on the inside bringing them in as Lexie had done for her husband, Drake, and Mitch had done for his wife, Sydney.
Still, with his money and looks, there had to be women in town who wouldn’t mind bringing Jagger into the community. “You haven’t made any...friends?”
His laugh seemed to suggest he knew she was referring to lady friends. After all, he had a reputation. “I probably could—”
“Of course you could. A single, rich man must be in want of a wife and all.”
His brows pulled together. “What?”
She smiled and waved her hand. “It’s from Pride and Prejudice. Rich single men are usually popular in small towns in which mothers want to marry off their daughters.”
“I don’t want that.” He picked up his slice and ate, but she noted the annoyance in his tone.
“You don’t want to get married?”
He waited until he swallowed his pizza to answer. “Maybe. Someday. But I’d like a woman to love me, not my money.”
She couldn’t blame him for that. She’d begun to see there were aspects of being filthy rich that weren’t great. Not that she’d rather stay on the cusp of losing everything, as she was now, but she supposed every situation had its pros and cons.
“How about you?” He followed his question with a gulp of milk.
“I have the opposite problem. I have no time and no money.” She reached for a piece of pizza at the same time as Jagger.
Their knuckles bumped and she was hit with a zap of awareness.
And then she realized she was reaching for a third slice.
It had been so long since she’d been out with a man, she’d forgotten to curb her appetite.
Men didn’t think gluttons were attractive.
Not that this was a date, but still. She pulled her hand back.
“No, please.” Jagger turned the tray so the slice was closer to her then grabbed another piece.
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Jagger rolled his eyes. “If you’re hungry, eat it. For once, I’ll come close to feeling like I got my money’s worth when feeding a woman.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Heat rose in her cheeks.
“It means that for some reason, women won’t eat in front of men. I should just buy them a carrot to save me the cost of dinner. If you’re hungry, eat.”
“Well then, I better have two,” Chelsea said, feeling surly.
Jagger flashed a grinned. “Absolutely.”
She studied him for a moment, or maybe she was just mesmerized again by his amused crystalline eyes and devilish smile. What she didn’t see in his handsome face was judgment about how much she ate or for snapping at him.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Kaden’s inquisitive blue eyes gazed at her.
She was hungry. And this wasn’t a date. She wasn’t trying to impress Jagger. With a shrug, she took the pizza.
“I eat a lot because I’m growing.” Kaden set a piece of crust next to the remains of the last slice he ate.
“You are growing. I think you may have grown since we’ve been here.” Chelsea smiled at him.
“Really?” His eyes rounded to saucers and then he gave her a toothless grin. “Pretty soon I’ll be as big as you.”
“Pretty soon.”
“I’m not sure you realize it, but that was a marriage proposal.” Jagger laughed.
It wasn’t unusual for her students to have crushes on her or call her mom. Chelsea thought it was sweet.
“By the way, I know where all his food is going. Where do you put it?” His brows pulled together quizzically as he nodded toward her.
Chelsea wasn’t sure if he was teasing, but she decided to take the question at face value. “I burn it. I chase after five-year-olds all day, and many nights I work at the Dixie Diner. When I can, I like to play sports.”
Jagger grinned. “What kind of sports?”
There was a subtle, but visible twinkle in his eyes that made her think he had a different idea for potential sports activities.
Even as her mind called him a pervert, her hormones sent a little thrilling chill through her body.
“I used to play a lot of rec sports like soccer. When I can, I like to play tennis.”
“That’s right. You went to college on a soccer scholarship.”
She jerked back, surprised he’d known. While she’d been able to pay for college, graduate school was another matter. Those loan payments were a month behind.
“Brian was proud of you for that.”
“He told you?” She knew Jagger and Brian hung out when Jagger was in the area, but she didn’t think they were the type of friends that stayed in touch when they were apart or shared personal details of their lives.
Jagger nodded. “The last time I saw him, he was in New York. Mitch was there too. I took them out for a night on the town.”
For some strange reason, Chelsea was glad to hear her brother had a night of clubbing and possibly debauchery before heading to the Middle East.
“We have a tennis court.”
Chelsea tore her gaze from Jagger to Kaden. “Do you play?”
“Nah. I ride my bike or scooter on it. Do you ride bikes?”
“I used to. I don’t have one anymore.” It was one of many things she’d sold to help cover her bills and living expenses.
Kaden’s eyes widened in horror. “You should get one. They’re fun.”
The waitress arrived at the table. “Can I get you anything else?”
Jagger looked to Chelsea and Kaden. “Dessert?”
“Yeah!” Kaden clapped his hands together. “I want a sundae.” Turning to Chelsea he said, “We never get dessert.”
Chelsea turned her suspicious gaze on Jagger. Was he trying to get her to eat more? Feeling surly, she decided to poke back. “I’ll have the double chocolate brownie sundae.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s what I want too. Can I?”
“Two brownie sundaes and a coffee.” He nodded questioningly to Chelsea. She nodded back.
“Two coffees.”
The waitress left and Jagger returned his gaze to her.
“I wouldn’t want you to not get your money’s worth.” She hoped she succeeded in exuding a bravado she didn’t quite feel.
He grinned that devilish smile, completing it with a wink.
Again, her hormones and brain warred. He was flirting, but she fought to think it meant he was attracted to her.
Flirting was how men like Jagger related to women, wasn’t it?
Of course, knowing that his flirtations meant nothing didn’t stop her heart rate from speeding up.
Breaking away from his bewitching smile, she turned her attention to Kaden.
All she had to do was get through dessert and then go home.
“Kaden, you said you didn’t like to read, but I know some books you might like.”
“Really?”
She nodded and reached into her purse for a pen and paper. “I’m going to write them down so you can look for them at the library. One is about a little boy who’s a pirate.”
“I like pirates.”
“And one is about a boy detective.”
“What’s a detective?”
“He’s a policeman that solves mysteries.”
She slid the paper to Kaden. He looked at it and then handed it to Jagger. “Can we get these?”
“This weekend, Big K.”
Chelsea chanced a glance at Jagger. He was studying her, as if he wasn’t sure what to make of her. It was better than the devilish look he’d given her earlier and yet, it was still unnerving.
Chelsea was filled with relief and disappointment as the evening came to an end and Jagger and Kaden walked her to her car.
“Thank you for the pizza.”
Jagger smiled and like always, it drew her in. Good golly, he was handsome.
“Are we still having a party tomorrow?” Kaden’s voice broke through the hypnotic state Jagger had her in. With effort, she turned her attention to Kaden.
“Of course. It’s the last day of school. That’s always a party.” She opened her car door, reminding herself she needed to stop at the store for groceries and baking goods.
Jagger held her door open, resting his arm on the top, while the other hand held Kaden’s.
Stepping between the door and her car brought her in close proximity to Jagger and to the zap that always surged through her body.
Jagger’s devilish grin suggested he knew his effect on her.
Well, of course, he would. He had that effect on the entire female gender.
“Missy is making cupcakes.”
“Missy?”
“Miss Z. Her name is Mrs. Zmijewski, but I can hardly say it, so it’s no wonder Kaden can’t. We’ve both given up and call her Miss Z.”
“I see.”
His blue eyes...sapphire?...drew her in. She was certain if he asked her to sell her soul, she’d do it.
Stupid hormones.
“She makes really good cookies but tomorrow she’s making cupcakes.”
With effort, and relief, Chelsea tore her gaze from Jagger’s hypnotic eyes and looked at Kaden. With a smile, she bent down to him.
“I’m bringing my special brownies.”
“I love brownies.” Kaden grinned and Chelsea felt a little pang of sadness that tomorrow was the last day she’d be his teacher.
Kaden was a great kid and Chelsea knew some of the credit had to go to Jagger.
It made him even more attractive. Thank goodness, school was out and the odds of seeing Jagger up close and personal again were low.
She wasn’t sure how much more titillation her hormones could stand.
Taking a deep breath, she steeled her nerves and looked at Jagger. “I’m sorry for earlier...for questioning your parenting skills.”
“You’re forgiven.” His words were soft, drifting around her. It gave her a chill. She stood, mesmerized again by his eyes...cobalt?...before finally getting in her car.
“Bye, Miss Beemer.” Kaden waved.
“See you tomorrow.” She winked at Kaden and nodded toward Jagger, who shut her door.
She started the car and pulled away, quickly glancing in the rearview mirror as she drove.
Jagger and Kaden stood, Kaden waving furiously and Jagger simply watching.
Those irrational hormones tugged on her heartstrings.
They were an unconventional family, but they were a unit.
It would be nice to be part of something like that.
She turned her attention to merging into traffic, which effectively pushed away the image of family.
As much as she wanted one, it wasn’t in the cards for her.
Even if she had the time to date between two jobs, unless she won the lottery, no one would want to take on her financial burden.
So she drove toward the grocery store, determined to be content in the life she had.
And if she sometimes fantasized about those wonderful blue eyes.
..azure?...who could blame her? She wasn’t the first woman to lust after Jagger Talbot and wouldn’t be the last.