Page 8 of Capitally Engaged

“Ah, you have found the line of honesty the evening doesn’t extend past,” Jax answered, picking up her glass and swallowing the last swig of her wine. Her eyes clouded. It seemed this woman could see through most of my secrets and pick out needs I couldn’t voice out loud, but was determined to hold some things close to the chest. My mind flickered back to my last relationship. Maybe there were some areas where I should do the same.

Before I could push any further about Jax’s writing aspirations, our waiter returned with two glasses of port and a single plate. The dish held a delicious mountain of chocolate confection and two forks.

“How precious, jelly bean,” Jax teased. “Should I feed you from my fork, or do you want to feed me first?”

“How about we just keep to our own forks,” I said, my face heating for the umpteenth time this evening.

Jax shrugged, speared the pastry with her fork, and brought a dessert the restaurant could rename “death by chocolate” to her lips. As the bite settled on her tongue, her eyes closed and she let out a moan entirely indecent for the public setting we were in. I found myself shocked to wonder how I could get her to make that noise again. It hadn’t escaped my notice that Jax was gorgeous, with her fringe bangs dusting her eyebrows and her blue eyes piercing me with each question she asked or point she made. Danger lay in finding your potential fake fiancée attractive.

“Shall we toast?” Jax asked, lifting her glass, effectively breaking me out of my reverie.

I lifted mine in answer, not for the first time that evening admiring how her eyes sparkled in the candlelight. We madea far-fetched and ridiculous pair, but I couldn’t deny Jax represented a solution to my work problems. Something in me felt called to her. My brothers always teased me for collecting strays growing up, delivering them to the no-kill shelter in our town or nursing baby birds back to health that had fallen from their nests. Jax stroked those same instincts.

“To our happily ever after?” I offered, trying to get into the spirit of our sham betrothal, bringing my glass to meet hers.

A look of sorrow and shame crossed Jax’s face for an instant, mirroring misgivings I tried to bury deep inside myself. In the next moment, she smiled at me and brought her glass to her lips. She finished the toast. “Certainly to our happily for now.”

The delivery of the check brought a slight squabble over who would pay the bill. Jax won handily. “You agreed to marry me tonight. The least I can do is buy you dinner.”

Now we were standing outside waiting on the curb for our respective rides.

“So, I’ll bring my stuff to your place tomorrow, early afternoon, so we can arrive at the fundraiser together?” Jax’s eyes were on her phone, presumably tracking the location of her ride share, showing no sign of the bombshell she just dropped on me.

“To-tomorrow? I mean, I’m not sure?—”

“I had a male roommate in grad school. Nothing about the state of your place can faze me.”

“Oh, it’s not that. I’m actually very clean and neat...”

Jax dragged her eyes slowly up and down my frame, her gaze like a tangible weight. Like she could see directly through the wool peacoat I donned against the chill.

“I can see that,” she responded when she had finished her perusal. What didthatmean?

“If you’re done,” I huffed. “It’s just that I don’t know if I can meet you tomorrow. The senator and I have to go over his speech and then I should work on the press and comms stuff.”

Jax shook her head. “I’m going to help you with that, remember? We can spend time on it Saturday, pro bono really, since I won’t even be on the payroll yet. You can’t tell me you’re not the type to work on weekends. And if I move in tomorrow, then we won’t even have to leave the house to work.”

As I thought this over, Jax plucked my phone out of my hand. She held it up to my face to unlock it and then opened up a text message thread. After hitting send, her phone vibrated in her other hand, ensuring I had my new fiancée’s phone number.

“Here’s your car.” Jax nodded toward the car pulling to the curb, handing my phone back. “Text me your address. I’ll plan to be there around two. I don’t have much stuff. We can get it unloaded in your guest room and have plenty of time to get ready before dinner.”

“Guest room? Oh, I don’t have a?—”

The car honked its horn, cutting me off.

“Your car is going to leave if you don’t get in.”

“Is your ride almost here? I can tell him to wait.”

Jax waved me off. “He’ll be here in a minute. He’s just turning the corner.”

We were on a well-lit street, and I needed to get home so I could make sure my apartment was in shape to receive another person’s belongings in less than eighteen hours.

“Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” I stood there awkwardly, not sure how to say goodbye to the woman planning to move in with me.

My driver honked again, breaking up the awkward moment.

Jax laughed. “Go. We’ll work on physical touch tomorrow.”

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