“Are they getting ready to close?” I whispered.
Jared chuckled. “No…I arranged for us to have the place to ourselves.”
“Oh,” I said, watching the woman bring our water and menus.
Jared uttered something in Japanese to the woman and she nodded, leaving us alone.
“Have I told you how exceptionally beautiful you look tonight?” Jared asked.
“Only four or five times,” I smiled. “Thank you.”
The woman returned, chattering something I didn’t understand. Jared looked to me and then back at her. “No, I think we’ll need a few more minutes.”
“Are we meeting your mother here or something?” I asked.
“No. Why?”
“I was just wondering…why all the effort? The tie, the flowers, the empty restaurant…the secrecy.”
Jared raised an eyebrow. “What secrecy?”
“You were sneaking around the loft earlier. I may be human, but I’m not blind.”
Jared’s laughter filled the room. “I can sneak past trained assassins, but I can’t get anything by you.”
“That’s because they’re not around you every second of the day,” I qualified.
Jared smiled, pressing his lips together. “We’re celebrating.”
“A month of cohabitation. You mentioned that.”
“Exactly,” he smiled, an edge of nervousness to his voice.
I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips at his evasive answer, but I let it go. He was obviously having fun keeping it from me.
I chose a dish from the menu that seemed close to my usual. When the waitress returned, Jared ordered in perfect Japanese.
I tapped my finger on the table.
Jared watched me fidget with an amused expression. “Do you have somewhere to be?”
“No, I’m just waiting for the explanation.”
He leaned forward. “You’re very impatient this evening.”
I sighed and leaned back against my chair. “I’m sorry. I just feel a surprise coming on.”
“Do you, now?” he teased. “And why is that?”
“C’mon, Jared. I know something’s up.”
He smiled at the waitress as she brought our plates of food, and I sighed.
Jared led us into conversation about other things as we ate. He had made plans for us to have dinner at Lillian’s that weekend. Ryan had returned to spend a few days with Josh, so Claire was in town. I discussed my fall schedule, and we talked about the changes living off-campus would pose. We also decided to call Beth and Chad and invite them to our place for dinner as soon as possible.
“I’ve always liked Beth,” Jared mused.
“Me, too!” I teased, feigning surprise.
“She’s always been a good friend to you, but I particularly appreciate the talks she gave you in my favor. She’s a smart girl, that Beth,” he said, nodding with a smug smile.
I spun the noodles around my fork as I spoke. “There were moments I thought you had her on the payroll. She was very persistent.”
“That’s why I like her,” he smiled. “She knows what’s good for you.”
“She knew better than I did that we would end up together.”
“You didn’t think we’d end up together?” Jared asked, looking a bit surprised.
“Well…I wanted to. But at the time I didn’t think we should,” I explained, stabbing my fork into some type of meat.
“I’m glad you got over that,” he said, deep in thought. “I don’t know what I’d do if…,” he looked at me with deep affection. “You make me so happy, Nina.”
“You make me happy, honey,” I cooed.
Jared raised his brow at my uncharacteristic use of an endearing term and smiled, but his expression changed as his thoughts did. “I know things have happened pretty fast between us,” he grimaced. “Most people would say too fast, but we’re not most people.”
“Definitely not,” I said. I rolled the broccoli to one side of my plate and noticed Jared’s expression twisting to chagrin.
“I should have ordered that without broccoli, I’m sorry.”
I giggled. “It’s fine, Jared. I can separate the broccoli from my food.”
“I just want tonight to be perfect…I’m forgetting things,” he said, glowering at the broccoli on the rim of my plate as if it had insulted him.
That one phrase caught my attention. “Why does it have to be perfect?”
Jared shifted uncomfortably in his chair and sighed with relief when the waitress came to refill our water glasses.
“Where was I?” he asked after the waitress left.
I blotted my lips with a napkin. “We’re moving too fast?”
“No…I mean yes, that’s where I was at, but no, I don’t think we’re moving too fast,” he paused for a moment and then looked warily at me. “You don’t think we are, do you?”
I giggled and shook my head. “No.” My eyebrows moved in as I watched him get increasingly nervous. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good. I’m perfect. You okay?”
“Yeah…you’re kinda freaking me out, though,” I turned my head to the side slightly as I eyed him with suspicion.
Jared closed his eyes and then took a deep, relaxing breath. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little keyed up.”
“Relax. It’s just dinner,” I said, reaching across the table to his hand.
“Huh…yeah,” Jared said, laughing once at my suggestion, and then looking down at his plate.
“I was thinking St. Lucia for our vacation. They have air conditioners, there,” I smiled.
“I’ll make the calls tomorrow,” he said, distracted.
I pondered that for a moment and then narrowed my eyes. “My mother must pay you well.”
“Very well,” he nodded.
I rolled another piece of broccoli to the side of my plate. “Well, technically, I pay you well.”
“What?” Jared said, freezing in the middle of a bite.
I shrugged. “Well, when Jack died — his estate, his assets, everything…it’s mine.”
“What? I thought your mother….” Jared shook his head, taken off-guard.
“Oh, she can live there, she can deal with the bills and the taxes and the rest of it until I graduate. I can’t deal with it all right now.”
“So…you pay me?” Jared asked, grimacing. He didn’t seem happy at the idea.
“Why? Do you want a raise?” I smiled.
Jared laughed. “As much as I love my job, maybe I should be paying you.” I smiled at his words, and he worked to relax his expression. “So, it’s been a month since you moved in. Are you comfortable? Does it feel like home, yet?”
I sighed, looking into his breathtaking blue-grey eyes. “It felt like home before I moved in. You’re my home, Jared.”
He beamed at my words and reached down into the inside pocket of his jacket. “Nina, there’s something I….”
The waitress approached the table and Jared slumped against his chair, looking slightly disappointed. She took our plates and left us alone with the dessert menu.
“Angel Food cake is on the menu,” he smiled.
“I’m definitely going to have a slice of that.”
I watched Jared scroll over the list of pies, cakes and ice cream. While he searched, I noticed a small, glowing red dot appear over his shoulder and then slowly make its way across the table. I lowered my menu as I watched it hit the edge of the table, and then travel up the bodice of my dress, settling over my heart.
“Huh,” I said in a higher, bewildered pitch.
