will be crazy, crappy days where work sucks, but there’s got to be some good ones, too.”
“Exactly,” I said. Lately, I’d been enjoying being at the office less and less, but I still loved what I did. “And who couldn’t use a nice sanctuary to go home to at the end of the night? That’s where I come in.”
“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed with my place. It’s really boring and bare.”
I leaned in. “Who said anything about going to your place?”
“Well, that’s where dessert’s going to be.” A devilish grin spread across his face. “And trust me, you want dessert.”
…
Jake paused near the erotica shelves of the bookstore. “Isn’t this your favorite section?”
Heat spread through my cheeks. “I was trying to avoid you and just happened to hide there. I didn’t realize where I was until I looked at the book in my hands.” I glanced up at him. “And in case you didn’t notice, I’m into bondage, so I could tie you up and no one would ever find you. Don’t mess with me.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” He put his arm around me, hooking his hand on my hip. “Where to, then?”
“Mystery.”
We walked toward the back of the store. I browsed the titles, waiting for something to catch my interest.
Jake picked up one and studied the back. “What are you looking for?”
I slid out a book, then pushed it back in. “Something intense. The scarier the better.”
Jake ran his knuckle down my arm, my blood rushing to every place his skin had touched mine. “How scared do you have to be to call me up and tell me to come over?”
“And admit I need anyone but me, myself, and I?” I joked, shaking my head. “Never going to happen.”
He gave me a quick peck on the lips. “I’m going to go browse the history section.”
“How boring does your book have to be before you call me up and tell me to come over?”
“Not very. I don’t mind admitting I need someone else.” Jake tugged me closer and pressed his lips to mine again, lingering for long enough to make me lightheaded, then walked away.
Grinning like an idiot, I turned my attention back to the shelf. After a few minutes, I selected a Lehane novel and headed to the front to purchase it.
“Darby?”
I turned toward the voice. My heart dropped when I saw Allen. Of all the bookstores in all the world, he had to come walking into mine. He leaned in like he was going to hug me, and I stepped back.
Allen dropped his hands, hurt etched across his face. The lines in his forehead were more pronounced than they used to be, but he still looked handsome. For a no-good, cheating liar. “After all these years, you’re still mad?”
“Am I still mad?” Heat wound through my veins and my breaths came quicker and quicker. “You made me the other woman without my knowing it. So yeah, I’m still mad.”
“Alicia and I ended up getting divorced about a year after we had our daughter. We just couldn’t work it out.”
“Even if I could believe anything you’re saying, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care about you and your wife or ex-wife, or whatever your situation is.”
“Look, I’m trying to apologize here. I didn’t mean to involve you in my messy marriage. I really did care about you, and I’m sorry that you got hurt.” Allen took a step toward me. “I just wish that things had gone—”
“Don’t even start with your wishes,” I said, throwing up a hand. “You don’t get any more wishes.”
An arm wrapped around my waist. “Is everything okay here?” Jake asked.
“I’m ready to go.” Being here suddenly felt suffocating. I set my novel down on a random display and charged out of the store, into the cool night air.
A moment later, Jake stepped next to me. “What was that all about?”
“Nothing.”
He grabbed my hand. “For nothing, you sure seem upset.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I pulled on his hand and headed toward his car.
Seeing Allen had put a damper on the whole night. I’d managed to avoid him for eight years. Why did he have to pop up on the one night I was starting to rethink my stance on relationships? If I would’ve just let Jake take me to Boulder for dinner, I wouldn’t have run into Allen.
The irony wasn’t lost on me.
Jake drove the couple blocks to our building, the ride passing in silence. When we got into the elevator, I was half expecting him to push my floor and drop me off. Instead, he chose the button for the twentieth floor. With no others lit, we buzzed up fast enough that my stomach lurched when we stopped.
Jake led me past several doors to the end of the hall. As we stepped inside, he flipped on the lights. He wasn’t kidding about his lack of decorating. A black couch sat in the middle of the living room, and a giant flat- screen TV—on a tiny side table—was opposite it.
The far wall had floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.
“It’s kind of plain right now,” Jake said.
“Lack of decorating is better than bad decorating, in my opinion.”
He walked into the kitchen and took a couple bowls out of his cupboard. “I did a little homework, and according to the people I talked to, when you order dessert, you go for chocolate.” He grabbed a pan off the top of his oven. “So I made brownies.”
“You made them?”
“I’m a pretty good cook, actually. When you have a chef roommate, you pick up a few things.” Jake grabbed a carton of ice cream from the freezer and took some chocolate syrup out of the fridge.
I leaned against the cool granite countertop of his island, which was about twice the size of mine. “And what else did everyone at Blue say?”
“That you come in a lot—or used to before you met me, apparently. You have client meetings there, you’re always friendly, a good tipper, and that you would never go out with me. They said you’d stopped dating since your last boyfriend…” Jake stopped, looking like he wanted to take back the last sentence. He scooted one of the bowls toward me and handed me the syrup.
The staff at Blue could’ve only been talking about one guy. “That’s the problem with sticking to one place. People start to know too much about you.”
“Everyone likes you. They actually told me they’d be mad if you stopped coming in because of me—or Mindy did, anyway. She’s the only one bold enough to tell me something like that.”
We covered our ice cream in syrup, then headed over to the couch to eat dessert.
I knew Jake and I would have an awkward pause eventually. At least I had the brownie to keep me busy during it. Jake didn’t have a coffee table, so when I finished my dessert, I glanced around for a place to set my empty bowl.
“Here,” he said, taking it from me and sticking it in his. He headed to the kitchen, and I walked across the room to the giant windows. The moon peeked out between thin gray clouds. Down below, tiny headlights and taillights moved up and down the streets. I wondered where all those people were going, what their stories were.
Jake came up behind me and put his arms around me. He was warm and solid, and I was starting to like the way he always enveloped me in his arms. His breath stirred my hair. “So, what was up with that guy in the bookstore?”
I ran my fingers across Jake’s forearm, over the coarse hair and the raised veins on the back of his hand. “He’s a mistake from a long time ago. Also known as why I don’t date liars.”
Jake’s lips brushed my temple. “I remember you mentioning that. After you thought I might be one.”
“I’m still not sure you’re not a liar. The problem with liars is, you never really know they’re liars until you catch them.”
“What did he lie about? Something big, I’m guessing.”
“It was pretty big.” I sighed. “Allen was married while we were dating. I should’ve seen the signs. I just…
