Page 41 of Always Been You

The corners of his mouth twitched. "Do you have to know everything?"

"Yes."

He sighed. "Carter's aunt and uncle own it."

Jess had met Ethan's partner, Carter, a few times. He was funny and laid back, the exact opposite of Ethan.

"Seriously? You think you can get us in?"

"I don't think it'll be a problem."

Jess hesitated and had no idea why she did. She was starving. It would get them out of the room. It was one the most popular steakhouses in the city. These were all positive things.

Then, like a lightning bolt of sanity, it hit her.

Going to Winston's, with Ethan, without an audience would feel like a real date, not a fake one. Would her brain be able to differentiate between the two? Her hormones and emotions certainly had not been up to the task so far. They were in full teenage-crush mode. They were listening to love songs on repeat and writing his name on notebooks and circling it with hearts.

But what was the alternative? Stay alone in the hotel room with Ethan and order room service?

"Give me twenty minutes."

Ethan remained quiet as Jess threw open her suitcase and grabbed some clothes and a toiletry bag before heading into the shower.

He hadn't been sure what her reaction to finding him in her hotel room was going to be. On the drive over he'd known that whatever her eyes said in the split second she saw him would determine whether or not he'd be staying.

In his years in law enforcement, he'd learned that people had a tremendous capacity to lie, even to themselves. Once their critical thinking kicked in, they could fabricate stories so convincing that they themselves believed them. But there was a brief moment, a one or two second window, when a person was faced with an unexpected situation and the windows of their soul didn't have the shades drawn. In that short, fleeting moment, no one can hide what they really feel.

That's what he’d been looking for. If Jess had looked irritated or upset, even worse utterly indifferent to his showing up, he would’ve let her know what was going on with Ali and been on his way back to Whisper Lake with the promise of picking her up on Sunday. But, thank god, that hadn't been the case.

When she'd seen him, her eyes widened, her breath hitched, and her lips had parted and curled up in a half moon. She'd been happy to see him. Surprised, but happy.

As expected, she'd immediately pulled the shades and gone on the defensive. But just like he knew that the moment they'd shared during their kiss had been real, and the moment they'd shared when Miss Penelope had asked them to connect had been real, he knew that the moment she'd seen him had been real.

The swooshing sound of water rushing in the shower filled the empty hotel room and Ethan did his best not to think about the fact that Jess was naked, water streaming down her body, less than ten feet away from him. He stared at the door and wished that he had x-ray vision.

Needing a distraction, he grabbed the remote and turned the television on. He stood in front of the flat screen and flipped through the Pay-Per-View movies before turning on ESPN. When he saw that the Cubs were playing the Cardinals he couldn't believe the game had slipped his mind.

He had planned to shoot hoops with Kade and then head to Lanterns to watch it, but once the opportunity to see Jess had presented itself, Ethan's vision switched to tunnel and he forgot about the game.

Jess had that effect on him. Whenever she was in the picture, that was all he saw. Nothing else existed. Just her.

He wondered if they did get together, for real, if that would ever change.

Anticipation filled him for the future and the possibilities it held, starting with tonight. Jess had agreed to go out with him, and it wasn't because of their arrangement. Of course, it was possible that she'd only said yes because she was so obviously hungry.

Speaking of, he figured he better call ahead and see if he could come through on his promise of Winston's. Carter's aunt and uncle had been making him promise to stop by the restaurant when he was in town for the past five years that they'd owned it and he hoped they’d been serious.

He pulled out his phone and saw that he'd missed a call from his grandma. Since she had an aversion to leaving voice messages, he had no idea what it was about.

After a quick call to the restaurant, he was assured by a very excited Aunt Reba that they would "take care of him," he called his grandma back.

It didn't even ring before it was answered. Skipping any formal greeting, she said, "I was going to ask you to take me to dinner, but I heard that you skipped town."

It still amazed him sometimes just how fast news traveled in Whisper Lake. "Where did you hear that?"

"Don't worry about where I heard it." Nana never liked to reveal her sources.

If he had to bet he'd say that it was Mrs. Weathersby. She'd been in the parking lot when he and Kade left and had asked them where they were going in such a hurry.

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