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“Well, he’s either blind or stupid. Which is it? Maybe both?”
She laughed. “Thanks. I know I shouldn’t really care what he thinks.”
“You shouldn’t.”
They gazed into each other’s eyes. Astrid felt intimidated by how handsome he was. He was like a superhuman – like Adam and Dylan in a weird way. She was just a small-town girl, feeling lost in the big city. The only thing a man like this could realistically give her was heartache and pain. He had left last night – probably in disgust at her drunken clingy behavior. Oh god, and she’d broken down into tears just before she’d passed out, hadn’t she? Her skin tried to crawl inside her bones with embarrassment as the memories slunk up and taunted her.
She severed eye contact in the reflection and turned away. “Nice to see you anyway, Jake… bye.”
“Wait, Astrid…”
She froze at his command. Don’t turn around… just keep walking.
He stepped over to join her. “Er, I was just wondering…”
“Yes?”
“If you… feel okay after last night?”
“Oh. Yes, I feel okay.”
“Just craving fat and sugar, huh?” He smirked. “I’m sure one little muffin won’t hurt – go on, treat yourself.”
She chuckled. “If you’re so worried, why don’t you join me for a coffee?” She bit her lip as her blush swept fiercely over her body like an inferno.
Jake winced apologetically and opened his mouth, probably to make his excuses.
“I’m sorry.” She turned and hurried awa
y – pushing through the crowd of swarming suited people, not waiting to hear his rejection. He caught up with her and gently grasped her arm in his strong grip. “Astrid, it’s okay. It’s not that I don’t want to – I just don’t know if I should.”
She studied his gorgeous face. “You don’t have to explain… I understand.”
He caressed her cheek, taking her breath away. “There’s nothing to explain. I want to have coffee with you – it would be a pleasure.”
“I should go home – I’ve got work to do.”
“I know your work’s important, but we all need to take time to smell the flowers sometimes, right? To drink the coffee – don’t you agree?”
She nodded shyly, unable to look away from his gorgeous eyes. “That’s true.”
“Come on, let’s go in.”
“Okay, thanks.” She started to walk with him, but then she frowned and halted. “Hey, did you have a meeting here or something?”
His face flashed with concern, but he shook it away. “Nothing that can’t wait. Come on, I’ll buy you that muffin.”
Chapter Five
The coffee shop was clean and corporate with wooden tables, chrome fixtures, and smart uniformed staff. It was manically busy inside and noisy because of the sounds of the coffee grinder, milk steamer, and general chatter – competing with the tinny tune on the radio. Jake told Astrid to grab the last free table, then he stood at the glass counter and ordered two coffees – and a chocolate muffin for her. He felt terrible, and he knew a paltry cake couldn’t make up for the terrible things he’d done by spying on her. He didn’t usually care – and he was annoyed for actually giving a shit. It was stupid to get close to a target like this – to let her get under his skin. What the hell was wrong with him? He was always in control of his emotions. It was always mind over heart with Jake. But there was something engrossing about her.
He should’ve said no last night when she’d invited him for this coffee. Hell, he never should’ve even intervened when Graves had been hassling her. But she was captivating, and he was intrigued by her. She pretended to be so hard and professional superficially, but that vulnerable woman who’d cried in his arms last night could easily wrap him around her little finger with those big blue eyes…
He shook himself out of it and paid for the coffee, wishing his conscience would go fuck itself. He needed to pull himself together and stop being so goddamn emotional. It was that stupid family reunion that had done this to him. He’d never cared about anyone before, but now suddenly he had people who were showering him with love. And he adored his twin sister Clara and his little brother Joseph more than anything on this planet. More than himself – which was unheard of.
Family just made you feel… guilty. Because that was another thing – he ought to be upstairs with his brothers right now. That’s why he’d actually come here – to tell Dylan and Adam about the email to Astrid he’d intercepted after he’d gotten home last night. Apparently some insurance broker had informed her that an employee of Graves’ had possibly been injured – then bribed into silence. Jake could tell this whole scheme was shady, but it wasn’t his job to give his brothers business advice. He was just here to report the facts. If they decided to go ahead and invest in the project after he’d given them his info – most of which had come from eavesdropping on Astrid’s emails and calls – then that was their choice.
He grabbed the coffees and took them over to Astrid, who was typing on her phone.
