Page 79 of Hard to Get

Can I take you for lunch, pretty lady?

Stella

I don’t usually take a lunch break.

Jayden

You have to eat.

Stella

I can eat a salad at my desk.

There’s a pause before his next text arrives.

Jayden

You’re the boss, though. You can take a lunch break.

He’s right. And I don’t have a meeting until three, so I could go out…

Stella

Okay. I’m in.

We meet at Butlers, a couple of blocks from my office, on Howe Street. I step into the restaurant and collapse my umbrella. It’s pouring rain and I’m chilled to my bones.

Someone takes my umbrella from my hand. It’s Jayden.

He smiles and drops it into an umbrella stand. “Hi.”

“Hi.” I’m a little breathless from my rush through the rain. We smile at each other.

“Can I help you?” the hostess asks. “Lunch for two?”

Jayden turns. “Yes.”

We’re led through the dark bar to the brighter dining room, although on a grey day like this, it’s not all that bright. Still nice, though. We’re seated in a booth and I hang my damp coat on a nearby coatrack.

I gaze at Jayden across the table. Raindrops glisten in his brown hair. He’s wearing a dark-grey sweater with a funnel neck that makes him look so handsome. “Nice sweater.”

“Thanks.”

“Jack and Sky?”

He grins. “Yeah. I bought it that day we ran into each other there.”

We both ask for just water to drink and look at the menu.

“Are you glad to be home?” I ask.

“Yeah.” He exhales a long breath.

“It wasn’t a bad road trip. Two wins out of three.”

“Yeah. And I got a goal.”

“I saw that.” I look up and smile at him.