Page 29 of Our Sadie

But if I’d anticipated any drop-off in behavior from Dom, I needn’t have worried. As soon as I sat, he stood and strolled to the kitchen. With that same minuscule cockeyed grin floating over his features, he brought me orange juice, waffles, and a side bowl of orange slices.

The fruit even appeared to be freshly cut, though whether he’d done it or had asked Max I’d have to unearth later.

“Thank you.”

“You’re bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning,” Zach says. Not a taunt or any sort of mockery, I realize. A genuine reflection as he munches on some oranges himself.

I glance around at these men, men I’ve painstakingly vetted and researched, men I’ve spent time with in what might be a questionable endeavor. But my date with Dom has filled me with hope.

He and I communicated well despite some early bumps in the road, and as long as we can keep that going, I think there’s a chance that he might wind up being the most viable solution for me.

I should’ve given him the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe I should give them all the benefit of the doubt.

I twist toward the man I’ve assigned the rest of my day to. “Have any plans you care to divulge, Jerome?”

“Nope.” There’s humor in his voice, even if he’s not actually smiling.

“Should I be concerned about that?”

“Oh, no. I just like for events to unfold without being announced sometimes. Lends it an air of mystery.”

“Mystery? Is that code for flying by the seat of your pants?” Zach coughs after this and the, “Oops, unprepared,” within it is easy to identify.

“It’s called providing a lady with a bit of intrigue to go with her evening,” Jerome corrects him, but there’s no reproach in his tone. He cuts into a waffle with his fork and dips it into his maple syrup without so much as batting an eye at Zach or anyone else. Nothing seems to ruffle Jerome’s feathers.

I like that about him. But I am curious about whatever he’s concealing. It’s not like there’s that many options that I won’t be familiar with inside these four walls. Although if Dom can think outside the box, I suppose there’s no reason Jerome can’t do the same.

“Thought I’d collect you around noon,” Jerome requests. “Unless that’s too early?”

“It’s not.”

The man is true to his word and knocks on the door to my suite with a preciseness I could set a watch by.

“Come in.”

He breezes in not like someone who owns the place, but like a man who’s so comfortable in his own skin that he can make himself at home anywhere.

“Did you choose how this room would be decorated?” he asks me.

“I did.” I actually redecorated my suite right before heading off to Harvard. The original version had been too immature and little-girly, I’d expressed to my parents. Mom had already been updating the aesthetic and had been all too eager to include my personal bedroom in the details.

I’m weightless for split seconds that feel like much longer as we descend toward the Earth at breakneck speed... Smoke fills the cabin with its acrid odor while flames lick at the fuselage like some evil monster intent on consuming us...

I jolt, halting the memory in its tracks. The last thing I need to think about right now is the worst day of my existence. Luckily, Jerome has wandered past where I’m standing to scan the contents of my living quarters.

“So, this is you. An aspect of Sadie Vincent I’m guessing few ever witness.”

Since I hear him as though through a long tunnel, it takes time for his words to register. When they make their impacts, I’m puzzled.

What does he mean by that? Is he insinuating that I don’t see much action? If so, I’m not sure how to feel about such presumptuousness. It doesn’t matter that he’s correct either, that prior to him meandering through that door, Dom has been the only other unrelated person of the male persuasion to enter.

“Are we staying here, then? Is that your stupendous gesture meant to inspire me with awe?”

My tone is dripping with venom, I admit it.

Yet what spreads across Jerome’s face is the slash of his bright white smile, one that accentuates those prominent cheekbones of his. Two diamonds gleam from each of his earlobes, and while I’m not typically into guys with piercings of any kind, they suit him. I was right before. Nothing phases him.

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