Page 32 of Love Is…?

“I got her number first,” Jayde said, then winked at Tessa who had turned to make eye contact.

Oliver laughed. “Thank you, Jayde, love. That’s very thoughtful.” He turned his attention to Tessa. “You, too, hon, although I’m not sure I’ll be giving you a ring.”

“Exactly. Don’t get yourself into situations where I’ll be answering an Oliver Ferguson phone call.” Tessa frowned good-naturedly.

Oliver chuckled. “Right, you two go on your date.”

Jayde caught Tessa’s soft hum, and jumped in. “Dad, we’re not on a date together.”

“You’re not?”

“No. We’re meeting other people. We’re dating other people,” she corrected.

Her father flicked a look between Tessa, and Jayde. “Well, who’d have thought? Never mind, I suppose you know what you’re doing. But Jayde, love?” he whispered, loudly. “You and Tessa should date. You make each other smile.”

Chapter

Nine

“You’rewonderful and I can’t thank you enough for understanding my dad,” Jayde said, holding Tessa’s shoulders, as they stood at the car outside Jayde’s house. Tessa smiled, relishing the nearness of Jayde’s body.

“Of course. He’s fabulous and his joke book sounds awesome. I want a copy when it’s published.”

Jayde squeezed her shoulders, then released them. “You know it’s not going to be published,” she said, sighing into the air.

This time, Tessa reached up to place her hands on Jayde’s shoulders. “Yes, it is. I imagine you’ll type up all the jokes, and shove them into some formatting program, take the file toOfficeMax, and print a copy just for him. Boom! Published.” She grinned at Jayde’s gape. The silence was warm and delicious.

Then,then,Jayde slid her arms about Tessa’s torso and pulled her in for a hug.

“That’s exactly what I was going to do and you’re astonishing,” Jayde whispered, holding her a moment more, then pulling away, and Tessa’s tingles and goosebumps took a bit of time to settle themselves. She’d been right. She fittedbeautifully into Jayde’s shape, the top of her head bumping Jayde’s jawline.

“No, I’m not. I reckon I’ve worked you out, Jayde Ferguson. You’re all talk. That ‘I don’t do love’ business is garbage. Your love for your job, your dad, your city, your friends. The only thing missing is romantic love and I think it’s hiding.” She pointed to the ‘V’ in Jayde’s fabulous purple waistcoat, which had made her knees buckle when the front door had opened. “It’s hiding there.”

Jayde looked down, and smirked. “My love for love is in my shirt?”

Tessa growled, then shook her head, and flicked her finger at the car. “Come on. People to meet, dates to accelerate through like the orange light on Graham Street that turns red much too quickly.”

Having casta dubious look at the large room with its collection of small square tables, each married to a pair of mismatched chairs, and written her name in black marker on the stick-on label which she peeled off and stuck on her leather jacket above her breast, Tessa arranged herself on a stool at the bar. The stools were close together, so her knees brushed Jayde’s thigh every time she shifted.

Her bra pretty much covered the whole boob situation, but draping a sheer blouse over the top meant that her nipples had won gold in the ‘Hey there! I’m turned on’ Olympics. Why she’d chosen that particular outfit, she had no idea. She was positive that Jayde was being extra polite by not letting her gaze wander southwards, but the thought that she might made Tessa's nipples even more determined to exit through the frontof her bra. Tessa figured she could blame the non-existent air-conditioning. She couldn’t blame Jayde’s suspenders, or her black boots, or her beautiful hair, or the way she was leaning at the bar all relaxed and sexy. No, she couldn’t blame any of that at all. Utter rubbish.

She sipped at the last bit of her Coke, then turned towards the cause of her tingles.

“Jayde, I like people. I get along with so many versions of humans, but to hook up with someone in four minutes?—”

“Six.”

“Well, that makes it so much better.” Tessa huffed. “I don’t have any game whatsoever. I’m useless at this. I told Angel I need to meet a barista with a cactus fetish.”

Jayde blinked. “I don’t even want to know.” Then she grinned. “Come on. Practice.” She waved at the bartender.

“What? What? No!” Tessa gasped, then shoved a smile on her mouth that was all teeth and panic as the bartender, gorgeous in a sleeveless top, a choppy sort of haircut, and an eyebrow that suggested everything, leaned forward to hear the order.

“Um, right. So, I’ll have a Sex On The Beach mocktail, please.” Tessa exhaled slowly at the nod from the bartender, then, before they turned away, she boldly grasped at her minuscule amount of flirting expertise. “Gotta get into the spirit because who knows? I might get more than the drink.”

The eyebrow lift from the bartender was bemused, and laden with sympathy.

Kill me now.Tessa turned to stare at Jayde, her eyes wide.

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