Page 19 of Never Finished

I hovered near the table until I was sure Andrew was out of sight, then escaped into the bar, relief pouring over me being back in Jaime’s presence.

I headed straight towards Jaime, who was grinning at me.

“What happened to your fancy business dinner?” he asked as I slipped my butt onto a stool.

I shrugged. “It was a bust, which is why I could use a Gin Fizz right about now.”

“Coming up,” he replied as he grabbed a shaker. “I would feel bad that your dinner didn’t go well, but selfishly, I’m glad because you’re here earlier than I expected.”

I felt myself blush. “Well, those dinners are boring and I would rather spend my time talking to someone interesting.”

His eyebrows shot up. “And you think I’m interesting?”

I huffed out a laugh. “So modest… you know you’re usually the most interesting man in the room.”

He barked a laugh. “Isn’t that the guy in the Dos Equis commercial?”

“I’m just saying you could give him a run for his money.”

Jaime leaned closer—close enough that I could smell his cologne. He smelled like cedar with a hint of bergamot, and something uniquely Jaime.

That’s when my stomach growled. Loud. I felt my face color with embarrassment.

“Was that…” he started.

I nodded. “Yes… and that was totally embarrassing,” I lamented.

“Did you not eat at that fancy dinner tonight?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

I shook my head. “Kind of lost my appetite having to deal with that blowhard…” I began before stopping myself as Jaime listened with amusement. “I mean having to deal with that promising investor,” I amended, slapping an exaggerated smile on my face.

He chuckled. “Well, I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you work on getting a little less gin and a little more water into your system and I’ll go make you something to eat.”

I shook my head. “Oh no, Jaime, I couldn't ask you to do that…”

“You didn’t, I’m offering,” he said with a grin, before something caught his eye over my shoulder. I turned to find Caroline with a feline smile on her lips as she glanced between the two of us.

“Well hello there,” she practically sang as she slipped onto the stool beside me, reaching her hand out to Jaime. “I’m Caroline, Emma’s best friend. You must be Jaime,” she asserted.

Jaime shook her hand, his grin widening. “Hello Caroline, it’s nice to meet you. I was just going to rustle up something to eat for my starving soldier here. You wouldn’t happen to be hungry, would you?”

Caroline’s eyes lit with amusement as she rested her chin on a fist. “Oh Jaime, that’s my eternal state of being.”

Jaime laughed, and the rich sound sent shivers down my spine. “Okay—two Jaime specials coming up,” he said, throwing a towel over his shoulder. “You two sit tight and I’ll be back before you know it.”

As soon as he was out of sight, Caroline looked at me in wonder. “Oh. My. God,” she marveled, “he’s cooking for you already. I see why you’ve been pining after him for so long.”

“Caroline,” I hissed, “keep your voice down. You have the subtly of a freight train.”

She made a face. “Uh, I hate to break it to you, Emma, but there’s nothing subtle about this whole situation. I mean, when I walked in here, that man looked like he was two seconds away from swallowing you whole.”

A happy warmth spread through me at her observation, but I didn’t say anything.

“Besides, you had to know I was going to come check on you after that SOS call. I’m assuming your associate had to have been behaving like a total creep to make you call me.”

I sighed. “Well, maybe not a total creep, but he was fast approaching,” I paused, turning to face Caroline. “It’s weird, before I would have breezed through that dinner no matter how uncomfortable I was, in order to get the deal done. But there’s something about being here… I don’t know, I just didn’t have it in me to put up with it tonight.”

Caroline nodded sympathetically. “Maybe Mama Carter’s spirit is reminding you it’s not your job to take everybody’s shit.”

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