Page 55 of The Last Autograph

He nodded. “Do you have time for a drink? I could do with a break after the morning I’ve had.”

“Umm… okay.” She swallowed hard, her physical reaction to him surprising in its intensity. “Peppermint tea, thanks.”

“Anything to eat?”

“No, I’m good.” In truth, Molly had never been able to eat in front of people when nervous, and for some reason, the sight of Jake and Alexia together unsettled her.

Just beware.

He canted his head toward the courtyard. “Grab a table, and I’ll be right back.”

Apart from a group of women drinking coffees in their activewear, the courtyard was empty. Not long after Molly had taken a seat, Jake appeared, carrying a tray set with cups, saucers, and a teapot, which he placed in the center of the table.

She watched as he poured the tea, but neither spoke until they’d both taken a sip.

“So, your day’s not going so well?” she asked, breaking the ice.

He rubbed the back of his neck and released a sigh. “Let’s just say the last thing I needed was a visit from Alexia this morning. I thought she might have had a change of heart about Jesse’s will, but she didn’t even mention it.Now she wants me to be her plus-one at some launch that’s coming up.”

Molly suppressed a pang of jealousy. Whether or not he’d accepted Alexia’s invitation, she couldn’t tell. “Sounds like fun.”

Jake huffed. “Doesn’t it just?”

“You guys dated once, didn’t you?”

He snapped to attention. “Who told you that?”

“She did.”

“Well, I guess you could call it dating. We met in high school. I fell hard, Lex played harder, and then, after confessing her love for me on my birthday, she broke my heart by dumping me for some guy I went to preschool with.” He sipped his tea. “It was traumatic.”

She relaxed. “Aww. My heart bleeds for you.”

“Is that right? Tell me the words ‘lucky escape’ aren’t on the tip of your tongue right now.”

“Not at all. I like Alexia. She’s fun.” As Molly topped up her tea from the pot, she was certain she heard him snort under his breath. “Was that how your mother and her dad met? Through the two of you?”

“Kind of. Our parents have known each other socially for years.After my parents’ divorce, an also newly single Robert made a move on Mum. They dated on and off for a while, but I don’t think she’s seen much of him lately.

“He asked her to marry him once—wanted her to become the next Mrs. Robert Cunningham—but Mum said no. She’d spent almost thirty years pandering to my father and had no desire to repeat the process, or change her name.”

“Marriage—it’s not for thefainthearted, that’s for sure.”

“Oh, I don’t know. It has its advantages, especially for men.” Jake set his cup on the saucer. “I’d like to try it someday.”

Molly stared at him in disbelief. She’d never met a guy who’d confess to wanting marriage, and while, statistically, she knew the institution could be more beneficial to the male half of the species, most men were reluctant to admit the fact. “But you and Alexia are close?”

He shrugged. “Nope. And Jesse had no time for her either. He always was a better judge of character than me.”

“So why would she contest his will if she has no legal relationship to him?”

“Who knows? Jealousy perhaps. I stopped trying to figure her out a long time ago.” Jake checked his watch, then drained his cup. “And on that note, I should get back to work.”

“Of course.” She stood. “Thanks for the tea.”

“My pleasure.”

They walked through the main doors and out to her Vitara at the curb. He turned to face her, the sound of the breakers a soothing accompaniment to the noise in her head. “And don’t worry about Mum. She’ll calm down after a while.”

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