Page 4 of Breaking the Rules of Love

His question catches me so off guard that I almost wonder if I didn’t imagine it.

“I—excuse me?”

“Did you make it?” He smiles as he opens the box.

“Oh!” I burst out laughing. “I thought you meant—never mind. Yes, yes I did! I am a bit of a baker, although lemon tarts aren’t that hard to make.”

His eyes narrow as he smiles at me, and goosebumps break out across my arms. I cross them and sort of sway from side to side, hoping he won’t notice.

“It’s the thought that counts,” he replies. “Not how hard it is, right?”

Is he setting me up right now?I wonder. But before I can second-guess myself, I’m already cracking a joke.

“Well, at least when it comes to baking,” I snort.

Jake doesn’t laugh, and I instantly regret it. He just stares back at me and then slowly asks, “Was that supposed to be an erectile dysfunction joke?”

My stomach drops into my feet. A sweat instantly breaks out on my forehead. The goosebumps that were just starting to go away come back with a vengeance.

Why would you be so stupid, Sadie? You just met this man!

“Umm…I—”

Jake laughs and pats me on the shoulder. “I’m just fucking with ya. You wanna come inside and break in the house?”

“Break in…?” I whisper.

“Yeah. Have a piece of this lemon tart with me,” he replies. “You and I will be the first ones to eat at my new table in my new house. What do you say?”

I think if I try to eat right now, I might actually throw up from how anxious I am after what just happened, but there’s no way I’m going to turn down Jake’s invitation either. And maybe by the time we’re seated, I’ll be able to muscle down some tart without tossing it back up.

“Sure.” I smile. “Let’s do it!”

3

Sadie

The insideof Jake’s house is sparse, to say the least, but I don’t hold that against him considering he’s not even fully moved in yet. What he does have is a kitchen table and four chairs, two of which are clear to sit on. But instead of sitting across from each other, Jake pulls his chair up beside mine, which immediately has me feeling even more off-balance.

“Do you have plates?” My voice is quivering so I do a fake cough into my shoulder to pretend like I had something in my throat.

“I do, but they’re still in boxes.” He smiles. “I do have forks, though, so we won’t have to eat with our hands like cavemen.”

He gets up and goes to a box on the counter, and I hear the sounds of silverware as he rummages through it. I join him at the sink and take them from him before he can start to wash them. A pleased look comes over his face.

“Your hands are rough,” I say. “But my guess is you don’t work landscaping.”

“Your guess would be right.” He smiles. “Ex-military.”

Well, that explains the attire. I dry the two forks, and we go back to the table and sit down.

“Navy Seal?” I ask.

Jake chuckles. “Why is it whenever a guy says he was in the military, everybody always asks if he was a Seal?”

Again, my stomach drops. “Maybe because most people don’t know anything about the military.”

But before I can feel liketoobig of an idiot, Jake forks a piece of my tart and tastes it. His eyes light up, and he grins.

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