Page 8 of Cognac & Cornflowers

It turned from cool to hot when his arm brushed the side of her breast – but she needed to get a grip. That was just her being hypersensitive. She hadn’t been this close to a man since Aiden had left. And Jacob was much more of a man than Aiden had been. Aiden seemed like a boy by comparison.

“I’m parked over there,” Jacob said.

She did her best not to react when she saw a great big Range Rover sitting in the reserved spaces. She’d have to ask him to drop her off at the main doors when he brought her back. She could claim she had to go to her classroom for something she’d forgotten. She’d rather he left before she went to the teachers’ lot out back. Her trusty Ford Focus, affectionately known as Fred, had served her well for years. He had gotten her here to Napa from Kansas, but he wasn’t pretty, and she knew he didn’t have many more miles left to give her.

Jacob opened the passenger door for her when they reached the Range Rover.

“Thank you.” She spoke without meeting his gaze and started to get in, but his hand on her shoulder stopped her.

When she looked up at him, her heart started to race again. Damn, he was a good-looking guy. And those eyes of his could hypnotize her into doing whatever he wanted. She bit back a smile at the thought of hypnotizinghiminto doing whatevershewanted – that might take all night.

Apparently, she didn’t hide her smile too well. He smiled back at her. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

He sounded like a friend again. Not liketheJacob Jacobs, not like some unknown businessman or local dignitary. It occurred to her to wonder how many people saw him as anything other than a businessman or a dignitary. Probably not most folks. She decided in that moment that she was going to risk treating him as the friend that he sounded like – maybe he didn’t have a lot of those. She sure as hell didn’t.

She laughed, “Honestly? I don’t know, but I’m risking it anyway.”

His expression softened and he squeezed her shoulder. “There’s no risk involved, Becca. I promise you that. I want to get to know you better, so I invited you to come back with us all. If it feels like a risk, feel free to go home instead. But if you do, will you at least agree to meet me for coffee or something? Some place you’re comfortable – and sometime soon?” he added with a smile.

Wow! So, he was … he did want to get to know her? Holy crap! She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “It’s a risk I’m prepared to take.”

“Good.” He smiled back at her. “And do I still get that coffee date, too?”

She nodded. Why the heck not? It was an invitation, and she wasn’t supposed to say no to those.

~ ~ ~

Jacob wanted to be grateful to Hannah that she’d managed to get so many of her friends here on such short notice. He couldn’t complain that Ava had been excited to come up to the house for hot chocolate and cookies. He was thrilled that his brother, Xander, had made it home on leave for the holidays. They were all good things. But all he wanted was to have Becca to himself for what was left of the evening.

He looked down at Ava with a smile. What we want and what we get aren’t always the same thing. He had to make the most of what was, and what was right now was Ava sitting on his lap, telling him a story about what Madison had told Jenna on the playground at school yesterday. He did his best to stay focused. He already knew from their previous chats that Madison was a mean girl, and that Jenna wasn’t much better. He only shot the occasional glance at Becca. Hannah was taking good care of her, but he didn’t like that she was introducing her to Xander. He loved his younger brother dearly, but women usually loved him, too.

He was relieved when Grady showed up and Xander left the room with him. The next time he checked, Hannah had left too, but Becca seemed to be fine talking to Mary Ellen. Gatherings like this tended to be like a game of musical chairs. Everyone was catching up with each other. He knew that his turn with Becca would come – he’d make damned sure it did. But he’d rather not play the game at all. If it were anyone else but Ava demanding his attention, he wouldn’t have managed to stay focused for so long.

When Grady and Xander came back with Scooter, Ava climbed down from his knee and went running to greet the puppy, and Jacob made his escape. He nodded at Antonio, who’d joined his wife, Mary Ellen, while she and Becca chatted. Antonio understood what was going on, and he guided Mary Ellen away the second Jacob closed his hand around Becca’s elbow.

He felt a rush of warmth in his chest when she turned and smiled at him. She couldn’t have known that it was him, but it felt like she had. She looked pleased to see him. He was hoping that he wasn’t making plain how pleased he was to see her. The pants of his suit fit a little tighter when she smiled at him.

He smiled back. “I’m sorry. I asked you here so that I could spend more of the evening with you after the concert. Yet, since we arrived, I feel like I’ve abandoned you.”

She shook her head happily. “Not at all. It’s nice to get to know people. And,” she dropped her gaze and then met his again, “I can’t exactly complain since the girl you have spent most of the evening with is one of my favorite people, too.”

He caught hold of her hand before he even stopped to think what he was doing. He led her back to the space on the sofa that he and Ava had just vacated. “I’m sorry. I intended to sit here, talking with you when we arrived – not to sit here listening to tales about Madison and Jenna.”

She burst out laughing, and he loved the way it sounded. It was real. It wasn’t an affected giggle. It made him laugh with her.

“What?” he asked when they stopped.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t imagine you having to listen to all the tales about everything those two get up to. It drivesmenuts and I’m used to kids.”

“Well, I can’t claim to be used to them, but I’m learning in a hurry for Ava.”

“So I hear. According to her, you’re one of the best uncles in the world.”

Jacob felt a rush of warmth in his chest, and it had nothing to do with impressing Becca. He wanted to be a good uncle to Ava. He wanted to help make her life happier.

“Aww.”

He looked back at Becca to find her watching him with a big smile on her face.

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