Page 8 of Fairy Tale Lies
“Who knows?” The weather. A nice, safe topic, though another part of her mind was dissecting the hungry way he’d eaten up the sight of her legs. “It’s been looming, so far nothing except wind and heavy clouds.”
He turned his attention from the sky. “Find anything interesting in your library?”
The sudden topic change threw her, but she rolled with it. “No. I skimmed throughGatsbyand reread my favorite scenes.”
Reading was stretching the truth. What she’d really been doing was staring without comprehension. Too busy straining to hear Jacob’s voice and footsteps, all the while trying to figure out why she cared.
“Great Gatsby. I love it, even if the ending’s depressing as hell.”
She cut a sideways glance. Was he serious?
He must’ve caught her skepticism because he chuckled. “I know, amazing. I can lift heavy stuffandread.”
“Not what I was thinking,” she lied, knowing the heat flooding her cheeks gave her away.
“Uh-huh, sure. Believe it or not, I can read books without pictures. Just last summer I graduated from Dr. Seuss levels. My family’s proud.”
“Ha, very funny.” Greta was horrified to hear herself giggle. She wasn’t a gigglier. “What do you like to read? And please, don’t give me the names of children’s authors…unless, of course, it’s the Grimm brothers.”
He groaned, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “God, no. I had enough of those when I was a kid. My mom was obsessed with those stories.”
“In what way?”
“Let’s see. She read all of their stuff, both in English and German. Married a man with the last name Grimm and named her boys Jacob and Wilhelm…”
“Oh my God. You’re a Grimm brother. I love it!”
“Glad you love it.” He gave a wry smile. “But if you ever happen to run into my brother, Will, whatever you do, don’t call him Wilhelm.”
With difficulty, she held in another atrocious giggle. She loved his dry humor. “Duly noted.”
They rounded the corner, and her favorite sandwich shop came into view. “There it is, Mattie’s Deli. Best lunches in Petite Bois.”
“Good thing.” He frowned at the darkening sky. “The storm might break open any second.”
“Maybe, still this is Michigan. You never know, it might pass us by.”
Facts and desires were churning within her violently as the clouds above; she couldn’t tell truth from fiction. Only knew she didn’t want to rush her time with him.
Jacob was a stranger she wouldn’t see after today. It didn’t matter; she wasn’t quite ready to give him up. She was too sensible to ever act on her attraction. However, it sure was fun standing close to the flame.
They crossed the street, and he held open the door to the deli. Stepping past, she brushed against him. The slight contact had her insides tightening in keen awareness, and she had to force herself to keep moving.
The heat might be fun, but a single flame could become an inferno and consume everything in its path.
He’d come in close behind her. All she had to do was lean back to press against his delectable chest.
Resisting the urge was difficult, making it nearly impossible to concentrate on the menu posted above the counter. She didn’t try, and ordered the first thing her eyes focused on: a turkey sandwich with homemade sauce.
Turning, she studied him while he read the menu. The impulse to run the pads of her fingers along his jaw was hard to resist. It made her heart beat a little faster.
“If I order the large fruit salad, will you have some?” he asked, seeming oblivious to her ogling.Thank God.
She nodded, and he added it to his order. The teen-aged boy behind the counter handed them a ticket, and they moved off to the side to wait.
Jacob leaned against the wall, crossing his feet at the ankles and shoving his hands into his front pockets. “Thanks for bringing me here. Left to my own devices, I’d probably have spent my lunchbreak wandering around trying to find food. Or worse…sharing lunch with Marty.”
She laughed at his dire tone. “I don’t mind. I needed to eat, and I like talking with you.”
