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She was relieved to see Trick come down the steps after him. She liked him.
“Do you have any flights on the schedule tomorrow?” Jacob asked him.
“No. We’re clear tomorrow. We’re taking the sales team to Seattle for the day on Thursday and then nothing until next week.”
Jacob nodded. “Okay. Thanks for this afternoon.”
Trick smiled at them. “My pleasure.”
Becca smiled back at him. “Thank you so much.”
Jacob took her little case from Jamie, who’d retrieved it from – she didn’t know where. As they walked away across the tarmac toward the Range Rover, which was parked on this side of the building, she looked back over her shoulder. Jamie was watching her again. She held tighter to Jacob’s hand, hoping that would be the last she saw of him.
Jacob put her case into the back of his car and then turned to her with a smile. “I know that I said I’d take you straight home, to your townhouse, and I will if you want to go. But … I wondered if you want to stick around for a while – have dinner with me? I didn’t think to tell Slade where to take your car. So, he’ll probably come straight back here.”
“Here? To the airport?”
He chuckled. “Here to the estate.”
She looked around. She knew that there was a private airport in Napa. There were no commercial flights, but … she stopped walking when she realized that Jacob’s plane was the only one here. This wasn’t the airport. “Oh!”
He laughed. “The runway is part of the estate.”
“Wow! I had no idea that was even a thing. I mean, I thought the private airport was fancy, but you’re even fancier than that.”
“I wouldn’t call it fancy. It’s just … convenient. My parents always traveled a lot. The company offices are right here on the estate. Having the plane here, being able to leave from here, it’s just more … convenient.” He smiled. “Perhaps efficient is a better word.”
She had to laugh. “Yeah. You strike me as being an efficient kind of guy.”
He gave her a puzzled look. “Is that a good thing?”
“I think so.”
“Okay. Well, back to the question. Would you like to stay for dinner? Say no if you don’t feel comfortable. I know I just sprang myself on you this afternoon. And you’ve been traveling all day. I can take you straight home if you’d rather do that.” He smiled. “As long as we’re still on for coffee tomorrow?”
He opened the passenger door for her, and she climbed in. “I’d love to have dinner with you, thank you.” She chuckled. “And it’s more efficient that way, too. When Slade gets back with Fred, I can just drive him home.”
“Great.” He closed the door and came around to the drivers’ side.
~ ~ ~
Jacob couldn’t help smiling as he led her through the house when they got there. She was looking around at everything, taking it all in with big eyes. She’d been here once before of course, but that night he’d brought her straight to the family room with everyone else.
Tonight, it was just the two of them. And for once, there was no one else here. It was the housekeeper’s day off, and he’d given the cook the evening off. He was trying not to second guess himself about that. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. He’d called her on his way out to the plane. Of course, he’d had no idea whether Becca would want to come back with him, but he’d hoped.
Now, Becca was here, and by the look of her, she wasn’t at all comfortable with it. He decided to keep things as casual as possible – which wasn’t all that casual in a home like his. But still. Instead of taking her to the family room, as he’d planned, he led her straight into the kitchen.
“I told you that I can’t cook, but I think I should be able to rustle something up for us.”
She laughed. “I can’t believe that you have an awesome kitchen like this, and you can’t cook. It seems like such a waste. If I had a kitchen like this, I think I’d live in it.” She spun around in a circle, taking it all in. “In fact, I really could live in it; this place is bigger than my whole townhouse.”
He shrugged and went to put his hand on her shoulder. Up until now, that had been his way of touching her without making it feel too … much. This time, he couldn’t help putting both hands on her shoulders. And when he looked down into her eyes, he hoped that it didn’t feel like too much for her. It didn’t feel like enough for him. He slid his hands up to cup the sides of her neck. He’d been about to say something about the size of their houses not making any difference, but he couldn’t remember what – or why.
As her green eyes shone up at him, he didn’t think she’d be too interested in hearing it, either.
“Sorry. I …” What was he going to say? That he wasn’t interested in talking about kitchens? That he was only …
“Please don’t say that you’re sorry.” She stepped closer and rested her hands at his waist as she tilted her head back. “Say that I get more than a peck this time.”
