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“I knew I saw little Jay-Jay around here somewhere.”
And a collective, “Hey, Jake,” has my eyes darting around the room to make sure we didn’t enter a parallel universe.
Standing still, my jaw goes slack, arms falling to my side while my brain tries to process, but there are so many thoughts I can’t catch up.
A smiling Mia rushes to his side. Blinking, I follow the motion of her hands as she takes the boxes from him. “What did you bring for us this week?”
It’s fucking dessert.
I swear hearts are flashing in her eyes.
“This isn’t your first time here?” It’s half a question, half a gob-smacked statement.
There’s a chuckle from numerous women. Amelia takes garlic bread from the oven before popping a hand on her hip. “I’ve been here from the start, and Jake comes for dinner at least twice a month. Sorry, we should have told you he was coming,” she informs me, like I’m not being swallowed whole by embarrassment.
They should have told me?
Instinctively, my fingers knot around the ends of my hair.
Hell is about to freeze over.
I was so wrong.
Checking my mouth is closed, I turn to look up at him.
My voice is a bare whisper because I’m too shocked to produce sounds. “You allowed me to believe—”
I suck in a breath as he leans closer, swallowing the rest of my sentence. I don’t remember what I wanted to say. The smell of his cologne is dizzying, and his touch is warm as he tilts my chin back with a finger, snapping my mouth shut.
“Assumptions, Claire.” The use of my name from his lips makes me gulp. “I warned you about them.”
In the same breath, he turns on his heels. The smile on his face hits me right in the chest, the warmth in his eyes reminding me of the first day I met him.
“It smells delicious, ladies. What are we having?”
Someone points at a chair for him to sit. A little girl crawls onto his lap like it’s the most natural thing in the world. She presses her palm flat against his cheek, and when he holds her hand and tickles her palm with his stubble, she giggles and squirms in his arms.
He pokes her nose.
I liquify.
Suddenly, this man is more of a mystery than he was two minutes ago.
I thought I had him figured out. I’ve met his type before—men who spend their life looking down at the world, smug and infuriating.
Oh, Claire, you don’t know a damn thing.
Chapter Eleven
“You know you don’t have to see them off every morning?” Amelia stands by my side at the front door as I wave at the kids on the school bus. She hands me a steaming cup of coffee.
“Thank you.” I give one final salute as the bus pulls away. “It’s a habit. I did it at the children’s home.”
When the bus disappears beyond the gate and out of sight, we retreat inside the house. Taking a deep breath, I drink in the lobby, searching for a sound.
There’s none.
“It’s quiet here during the day.”
