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“Alissa,” Jackson said, “I’d like for you to meet David, my neighbor.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alissa.” David said shaking my hand. Lexy looked smug.
“You too.” I wanted to say something else, but I honestly couldn’t come up with anything so I shut my mouth and focused on crossing the room to the table.
Jackson pulled out my chair. “Can I get you a glass of wine?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said smiling. “It smells like Italian, so red if you have it?”
“Of course. Lexy?”
“Red for me too, please,” Lexy replied.
“I’ll give you a hand,” David said. The two men disappeared into the kitchen.
As soon as they were out of eyesight, I turned full force on Lexy. “What the hell?” I said quietly. “First, you pack me nothing but dress clothes, lingerie and high heels! And then you’re all gaga over Jackson’s neighbor. How do you even know him? And...”
“You look fabulous,” she interrupted my rant with a wave of her hand. “And, you will look amazing in everything that I packed for you. Believe me. I know these things. You will be very glad that you have all of that stuff.”
I tried to give her a disapproving look, but she held up one small manicured finger to stop me. “And I met Dave in the elevator on the way up here. Jackson was kind enough to invite him to join us for dinner.”
I gaped at her like a fish out of water, but didn’t have time to respond before Jackson and David returned carrying four glasses of wine and a breadbasket. Jackson set the wine down and returned to the kitchen, saying something about salad. Dave seated himself beside Lexy.
I sipped the wine. It was fabulous. I tried not to let myself wonder how much it had cost.
“So Alissa,” David said turning his attention to me, “how do you know Jackson?” I took a deep breath. “Well,” I said, “that’s a very long story.”
“But a very interesting one,” Jackson said, returning to the table with chilled salad plates and a large bowl of a mixed greens salad. His smile was devastating. I was a bit surprised that I continued to remain conscious in his presence.
He sat down beside me and handed the salad across the table to Lexy to have her start.
David was still waiting for an answer.
“Um, I own a restaurant,” I volunteered, “and I was having a bit of trouble with some live crabs, and well Jackson kind of went superhero on me and saved my lunch special.” Dave quirked an eyebrow at me, and Jackson burst out laughing. After that, the conversation flowed freely. Jackson and I shared the telling of the whole story of the last week, pausing only to serve an incredible dinner, and as we finished I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. It was freeing to have it all out in the open. We had given them the short version, including the basic outline, but editing it to a manageable length.
“Well,” said Lexy “that will be quite a story to tell the grandkids.” I shot her a dirty look. “Well what about you two?” I threw back at her. “That must have been some elevator ride.”
David looked mortified, but Jackson was almost in tears he was laughing so hard. When he managed to get his laughter under control, he changed the subject by asking if we were ready for dessert. After the incredible amount I had eaten, I just wasn’t sure it would fit. Jackson had gone all out ordering Lasagna, stuffed chicken breasts, wonderfully spiced green beans, salad, bread, and now dessert. Everything had been fabulous, and he had played the perfect host.
Someone had taught him very well.
“I thought maybe we would move into the living room,” Jackson suggested.
We all agreed, and I moved to the couch. Jackson brushed by me on his way back to the kitchen, and I didn’t think that it was an accident. I hoped that he wanted to be as close to me as I wanted to be to him. The wine and good company had warmed me, and I felt elated.
Jackson brought coffee in an elegant French press and served it with the dessert, a rich chocolate mousse cake. What a way to get to a woman’s heart. He settled beside me on the couch after a few minutes. Lexy and David were sitting no more than six inches apart on the loveseat across from us.
A brilliant streak of lightning flashed outside the picture window suddenly illuminating the city. It was followed moments later by a monstrous crash of thunder. I jumped, and Jackson slid his arm around my waist in a comforting gesture.
“David,” I said, “what do you do for a living?”
David set his coffee aside. “I’m an investment consultant,” he said. I gave him a look encouraging him to continue. “Essentially, I help wealthy people make wise strategic investments.”
“That sounds fascinating, Dave,” Lexy cooed. I wanted to hurl. Could she be any more obvious? Usually Lexy was on the standoffish side when it came to men. She was a big fan of playing hard to get. I had never seen this side of her, and it was kind of freaking me out.
“Who do you work with?” I asked.
“Well,” David smiled, “Jackson for one. That’s primarily how we know each other. I manage his personal portfolio. We became neighbors after we already knew each other. He told me about the remodeling project for this building, and I was very interested. I moved in shortly after.”
“How did you get into that line of work?” Lexy asked.
David turned his whole body to answer her. Honestly, if those two leaned any more into each other they were going to smack noses.
“I am originally from Texas,” he answered. “My family’s had oil investments going back several generations. One of my uncles kind of took me under his wing as I was growing up and got me interested in stocks. It just seemed like the right fit for me in college, and then I took over most of the family interests and added a few additional clients along the way.” Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of rain falling in heavy sheets on the balcony. “That’s quite a storm,” Jackson said. “Are you sure you want to drive home in this, Lexy? I would be happy to make up one of the guest rooms if you would prefer to stay the night.”
Lexy looked from Jackson to David. She didn’t speak for a moment, but I got the feeling that she was somehow communicating with David via ESP or something. Those two were really getting weird.
“No thank you, Jackson,” Lexy said, not taking her eyes off of David. “I’ll be fine for the night.”
Wait. She didn’t mean... she wasn’t going to go home with him? She just met him. I mean Lexy had her fair share of one night stands in college. So did I, for that matter, but I thought she had outgrown that phase.
“Actually, I should probably get on my way,” she continued. “I know Alissa needs to rest, and I have an early consultation tomorrow.” I opened my mouth to protest and then thought better of it. Lexy was a grown woman. She could make her own decisions. I was going to hear about it in the morning though. If she didn’t call me, I was going to break down her door.
“Thank you for all of your help, Lexy,” I said instead.
“Of course, ‘Lissa. Call me if you need anything. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“I’ll walk you out,” David said.
“It was nice to meet you, Dave.”
“You as well, Alissa. Night, Jackson.”
As Jackson showed them out, I made a halfhearted attempted at gathering up the dessert dishes and coffee cups. I didn’t want Jackson to think that I was unwilling to help, but the good food and wine had made me sluggish. He returned a few minutes later.
“Just leave it,” Jackson said. “I have a cleaning staff that comes in every day. They will take care of it tomorrow.”
“Oh,” I said dumbly. Of course, he has a cleaning crew. What doesn’t he have?
“Are you ready for bed?” he asked. It wasn’t really late. I knew that I needed to rest, but right now all I wanted to do was spend time with Jackson. It had been a lovely evening, and I wasn’t quite ready to let it end.
“I was hoping for another cup of coffee,” I said. “Would you like to watch the storm with me for a while?”
Jackson smiled and returned to the kitchen for the coffee. I made my way over to the wall of windows and looked out into the night. When Jackson came back, he moved the loveseat so that it was closer to the windows. He handed me my coffee and then turned out the remaining lights so that we could watch the lightning.
He sat down in the middle of the loveseat and then gently pulled me into his lap. I sighed contentedly and laid my head on his shoulder. My legs were draped over his, one arm was around my waist, the other resting on my knee. We sat like that quietly watching the storm and enjoying each other’s presence.
I kept waiting for the night to get awkward, for me to realize how different Jackson and I were, but it never came. Truthfully, I felt at home here as much as I did in my own place. I put aside my feelings of inadequacy and decided that right now, for this one moment, I had a right to savor this night and this amazing man. I didn’t understand it, but I was certainly enjoying it.
