Page 53 of Cinderella Screwed Me Over
“Just keep me company.” Within a few minutes, the lemony scent of the grilling chicken filled the air, making my mouth water. Jake washed his hands then turned to me. “So, about the guy in the elevator the other night…?”
“I practically forgot about that.” I wondered how Karl’s eye was shaping up. Probably more yellow than purple. “It seems like ages ago.”
“I was worried that’s why you were avoiding me.”
“I wasn’t avoiding you, I swear. Everything’s been crazy lately.” I put more of my weight on the counter and crossed my ankles. I told him about ending up in the wrong bar, and as I gave the recap of the pool game gone wrong, the muscles along Jake’s jaw tensed.
“What happened to the other guy?” he asked. “At least tell me they threw him out.”
“I think they were regulars, because the bouncer picked them over us.”
Jake shook his head. “I would’ve taken his head off for something like that.” The protective way he said it made my heart skip a couple of beats.
“Believe me, I wanted to. Anyway, Karl’s eye was swelling pretty badly, and since he lives in north Boulder, I had him come up to ice his eye. The guy can actually be pretty funny when he wants to be.”
Jake braced his hands on the island on either side of me. “Sounds like I have some competition. I better step up my game.”
I placed my hand on his bicep and brushed my thumb across the curve of it. “I’m your only competition.”
He cocked his head, confusion creasing his features. “You’re my competition to win you over?”
“Yep. Me and all my issues. And the exes who gave me issues. Oh, and Ms. Barbara Covington.”
Jake’s eyebrows shot up. “This is getting more interesting by the second.”
“She’s my new client—the one I was with at Blue on Monday. She’s had four husbands and all she talks about is how horrible the marriages were.”
“So let me guess, she’s telling you that you should never get married.”
“Actually, she told me I should find a wealthy man and marry him so that when it ends, I can console myself with the finer things in life. I told her that in my experience, men like that are either workaholics who ignore you or rich, lazy pricks.” I ran my hand up his arm and placed it on the side of his neck. “She suggested I go for the workaholic so I can take a lover.”
“Nice,” he said, and I could feel his deep voice vibrate through my palm.
“She also has this strange philosophy about how a woman should reel in a man.” I shook my head. “I don’t really want to get into it, because just thinking about it makes me angry.” I looked into his blue eyes—they were pale tonight, no hint of the green I saw the other day.
Then it hit me. Maybe Barbara was right. “Do you think I’m some damsel in distress who needs a big strong man to save me? Is that the appeal of this…?” I motioned between us.
Jake laughed. “Are you serious?”
“Every time I’m around you, I’m a complete mess. It’s the only explanation for why you keep asking me out. You think I need rescuing.”
Jake closed the gap between us, pinning me against the counter. His eyes locked onto mine. “I like you, Darby.That’swhy I keep asking you out. You act tough—and I’m not saying you’re not—but you’ve also got a kind heart. You’re funny. And instead of playing games, you tell me what you’re thinking.”
He leaned down and lightly pressed his lips against mine. “And you’re really sexy.” He ran his tongue along my bottom lip, his weight holding me in place. My knees went weak and a whole lot of fire, fire, fire wound through every inch of my body.
“I like you, too,” I said, my voice coming out breathy. “But I always choose the wrong guys.Always. Trust me, I’ve studied all my relationships in and out, and no matter how much I learn, I still choose wrong.”
Jake put his hand on my hip, like he had done so many times before, and slid his thumb between my shirt and pants, brushing the skin underneath. “I guess it’s a good thing I chose you, then.”
The way he was looking at me made it hard to breathe. Thinking clearly wasn’t really possible with his lips so close to mine either. So instead of trying to come up with something to say, I closed the gap and kissed him. I didn’t hold back, putting all the overwhelming emotions swirling through me into the kiss.
He made a low sound in the back of his throat, and it seemed to take him great effort to pull away. He exhaled, then turned to the stove and flipped the chicken.
I walked up behind him, put my arms around him, and leaned my head on his strong back. “Sweet talkanda guy who knows how to cook? A girl could get used to this.”
Chapter Seventeen
Stephanie had shown up at my office on Friday and announced we were going to Blue for our weekly wedding planning session so she could meet “this Jake guy.” When I couldn’t talk her out of it, I’d reminded her that he and I were keeping things light, no matter what she thought of him. The fact that she’d rolled her eyes and said,Yeah, I’ve heard the speech. Numerous times, didn’t give me a whole lot of confidence in how this lunch was about to go down.
