Page 27 of Someone to Tempt
Jake heaves a beleaguered sigh. “Don’t believe a word.”
He shifts closer, and I scooch toward the end of the seat. “Do not sit down. You’re not invited.”
“What kind of books do you ladies read?” Jake asks as he folds his long frame into the booth next to me, ignoring my protest.
“All kinds. Anything from personal development to mystery to spicy romance,” Molly answers.
“Spicy romance.” Jake makes a satisfied sound low in his throat. “Is that where the pole dancing came from?”
“Taylor, our shy librarian, picked the spice,” Avah tells him. “Pole dancing is book-club adjacent and Iris’s idea. Which is weird, come to think of it. The last time she picked a book, we read a biography of John Adams. No one except her made it through it. It was boring as hell.”
“John Adams led a fascinating life,” I argue. “He was the first president to live in the White House.”
“And wrote thousands of love letters to his wife,” Jake adds.
I turn to gape at him. “How do you know that?”
“I was a history major.”
“Where did you go to college?” Molly asks.
“A couple of semesters at Yale,” he answers. “It wasn’t the right fit.”
That long ago summer, Jake talked about how his father had wanted him and his brother to go to Harvard. At the time, I laughed. Jake didn’t take anything seriously, other than drinking. I couldn’t imagine him getting into a school like Harvard or Yale. When you have the money and influence the Byrnes do, you can buy your way into an Ivy-league education, but still…
“Yale was a huge disappointment to my dad,” he says, as if it meant nothing to him.
“It’s an amazing school,” I answer automatically.
“It’s not Harvard,” he counters. Something in his gray-green gaze makes my breath catch in my throat. A vulnerability I don’t expect, and it rattles me.
After a few long moments, Avah clears her throat. “Can you sing, Jake?”
“Like a canary.” His gaze doesn’t leave mine.
“Then you and Iris can duet.”
“Hell, no.” I rotate my hand in a circle between Avah, Molly and me. “The three of us are together in this.”
“I’m not singing,” Avah reminds me.
“Me neither.” Molly makes a face. “People would run screaming.”
“No,” I repeat.
“It’s fine.” Jake gives an exaggerated sigh. “I think I understand the problem here, ladies.” He leans in like he’s sharing a secret, and even my curiosity is piqued. “Iris doesn’t think she can keep her hands off me…just like in dance class.”
Ugh. I smack his shoulder. “I’m not supposed to keep my hands off you, dummy. I’m supposed to put my hands on you. That’s the whole point of being partners.”
“We both know there were a few times your hands strayed a little lower than appropriate.”
“They did not.”
“Iris copped a feel?” Avah sounds delighted.
“I need to get a babysitter more often.” Molly is grinning wildly. “This is the most fun I’ve had in years. I mean, other than the fun I have with my kids. I really do love my kids.”
Jake nods, the picture of innocence. “I’m sure you’re a wonderful mother, and I’m having buckets of fun getting to know you ladies. Just like I plan to have fun singing karaoke. I’m trying to decide betweenRing of FireorMr. Brightside.”
