Page 79 of Cognac & Cornflowers

“Okay, see you tomorrow.”

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Jacob stretched when he got out of the Corvette. He was going to have to do something about getting Becca a car of her own soon. He’d suggested it a couple of times already, but she insisted that she was happy driving Grover. He didn’t doubt that she was, but he was getting tired of driving the ‘Vette. It was fine for the quick trip across the estate from the house to the offices, but he’d had to drive down to Palo Alto today, and after spending close to five hours on the road, he was sorely missing his Range Rover.

He couldn’t help laughing to himself as he ran up the back steps to the kitchen door. When he thought about it as being his vehicle, it was still the Range Rover, but when it came to Becca, he could only think about it as Grover. Maybe he should give it to her since she was so attached to it. He could have a new one delivered for himself by the time they got back from Kansas.

He smiled as he entered the kitchen. Something smelled great, something almost always did. He knew how lucky he was to have Elena. But more and more often recently, he came home to the smell of baked goods mingling with the smell of whatever Elena had made.

Becca loved to cook. She didn’t like to interfere with Elena’s work, but the two women seemed to love working alongside each other in the kitchen, and Jacob found himself to be the happy recipient of their efforts. He’d have to watch himself, though. If he carried on eating all the goodies that Becca enjoyed baking, he’d have to start spending more time in the gym. Recently, he’d been spending less and less time in there – preferring to spend his time with Becca instead.

She greeted him with a kiss, and Elena came and pecked his cheek as she shrugged into her coat.

“I’m out of here. You guys enjoy your evening. I’ll see you in the morning, and don’t forget, Becca, you have to save me some of that cake.”

Becca laughed. “I won’t forget.”

Once Elena had gone, Jacob went to Becca and wrapped his arms around her. “Hey.”

“Hi.” She rolled up on her tiptoes and kissed him. “How was your day?”

“It was good. A lot of driving, but it was a good meeting.”

“I wondered after you left – why didn’t you take the plane?”

“It’s up in Seattle. The sales team is up there. I sometimes use a charter, but this meeting was close enough to drive to and I thought I’d enjoy some time on the open road.”

“Your face says that you thought you would – but you didn’t?”

He gave her a rueful smile. “I remembered why I only usually use the Corvette for short drives in the summer.”

“Oh, no! I’m sorry. You should have taken Grover. I shouldn’t be hogging him. You should have him back. I can get something to replace Fred and …”

He laughed and put his finger over her lips. “No.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Bossy!”

“Yeah. I’m afraid so. When it comes to some things – things like making sure that you’re taken care of – I am.”

“But it’s not fair to you. Grover’s yours and …”

“I was thinking about that, it feels like he’s more yours than mine. To me, he was just the Range Rover. To you …” He chuckled. “He’s a friend.”

“He is. But he can still be my friend when you’re driving him again.”

“Can I get you a new one?”

“What? No! I can get myself something from one of the dealerships. We can go and look and …”

“Becca.” He had to laugh when his stern tone stopped her short.

She laughed with him. “It’s not fair the way you can do that.”

He shrugged. “I don’t want you to buy some little … Fred replacement.” He winked. “No offense to Fred, but I don’t think that’s the right look for the future Mrs. Jacobs. I want you to have a Range Rover. As far as I’m concerned, the only question is which one you should have. I’d like to buy you one …” He held his hand up when she started to protest. “You’re going to end up with your own Range Rover at the end of this conversation. The only question is whether you’d rather keep Grover, since he’s become such a good friend, or have a new one.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Perhaps a girl one?”

She laughed and pushed at his arm.

“Tell me honestly, please? I want to do what will make you happiest. In my mind, getting you a brand-new vehicle of your own would be the way to go. But I know that we don’t see these things the same way. I don’t want you to feel like I’m taking your friend away if I take Grover back.”

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