Page 10 of Fairy Tale Lies
He exuded pure carnal desire, and it didn’t help one bit with her restraint. She was starting to suspect they’d need a whole continent between them to remove the rising sexual tension.
She stepped farther away, her body screaming in protest, and tried for nonchalance. “I’m starving. Ready to eat?”
“Yes.” He kept his volatile gaze on her, and she had the distinct impression he wasn’t talking about food.
Yet, he didn’t bring her back into his arms.
Like she wanted.
Grabbing their lunches, she headed to the kitchen. Seconds later, heavy footsteps followed her.
The open floor plan had the granite countertops and barstools separating the living room from the kitchen. Greta pulled out a stool and sat. Jacob took the seat next to her, and she handed him his lunch.
He unwrapped his sandwich, gazing around the room. “Is that a Selmershiem dumbwaiter?”
Following his gaze to the corner of the kitchen, she spotted a small intricate table. She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“How could you not know?” He scowled, his gaze jumping between her and the table thing.
“For starters, I don’townany of it.” She couldn’t be bothered to keep track of the odds and ends her mother and stepfather bought? They loved their swank and antiques, but she couldn’t care less.
“What do you mean you don’t own it?” His expression swung from outrage to confusion. If his tone wasn’t edged with hostility, she’d have found it funny.
“This is my parents’ house.” For diplomacy’s sake, she’d long since referred to her mother’s husband as a parent, even though Greta had never cared much for Nigel. She preferred her father’s unpretentious ways.
“Oh, I didn’t realize…”
Pretending not to be defensive, Greta folded back the paper wrapping around her sandwich. “Do I look old enough to have amassed enough money to afford this house, let alone the main house and the surrounding property?” She arched an eyebrow. “Please be gentle with your answer.”
“No. Sorry. Of course you don’t look old.” His grin was disarming, making the rest of his sentence hurt more. “I figured you to be around my age. I assumed you either married rich or bought it with trust fund money. People around here are guaranteed this stuff right outta the womb. Homes, money, trust funds… stuff like that.”
People around here?
What a jerk.
She set her sandwich on its butcher paper and scowled at him. “People like me? Did you hear the part about being gentle?”
His forehead creased, and he must’ve replayed his words in his head because his expression turned to one of chagrin. “Sorry. It was a shitty thing to say.”
“Yup. Even worse than insinuating I appear old…”
He leaned back and groaned, running a hand over his face. He dropped it and met her frown head-on. “Shit. I apologize. My only excuse is I’ve spent too much time working for the uber wealthy. Opulence and privilege made many of them arrogant and insufferable. I was dead wrong to lump you in a category because of your address. I’m sorry.”
His apology sounded sincere. Still, his comments had stung. His original assumption of her and her hometown was irritating.
What did it matter? They’d have lunch and go their separate ways.
“Apology accepted.” Greta gave a tight smile. “Come on. Let’s eat.”
Jacob cleared his throat and reached for his sandwich. After a few minutes of awkward silence, they began to talk of innocuous things, and soon their small dispute was forgotten.
He asked about the house and the antiques he’d spotted, surprising her with how much he knew. When she wasn’t much help, he switched, asking if she liked living in Petite Bois. After telling him, she was only visiting, and her place was in Lansing, they switched to talk of the state’s capital. Greta found talking with Jacob was as enjoyable as ogling at him.
His skewed sense of humor and candid way of speaking was both refreshing and fun. She glanced at her sandwich and was surprised to find most of it gone, along with a majority of the fruit salad they’d been sharing.
“You want the last strawberry?” Without thinking, she popped it whole into her mouth.
She froze before biting down, realizing her faux pas.
