Mission accomplished.
He ate the final bite from his plate, then set his fork down and leaned back in his chair like his hunger had been thoroughly sated.
“There’s plenty more if you’re still hungry,” she offered, although she doubted he had any room left.
He shook his head, confirming her assumption. Then he leaned forward, his eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed at her. “I do have a question for you though.”
Her heart lurched slightly at his tone, like he hadn’t been fooled one bit. “Okay.”
Tilting his head, he asked, “Why did you invite me to eat with you? Really?”
Well, shoot. He hadn’t been distracted at all.
Resting her hands in her lap, Chloe pushed a smile onto her lips. “Can’t a girl thank her protector when he comes through for her?”
Jake stared at her like he was taking the measure of her, then he sat back and intertwined his fingers before resting them against his rock-hard abs.
Now, why did she have to think of his stomach that way? Besides, there might be some flab there that she just couldn’t see. Okay, probably not. All right. Enough with thinking about his stomach. Unless it had to do with him needing more food. Which reminded her… “I hope you have room for dessert.” She made a move to stand, but he lifted one of his hands and held it up in a gesture to stop her.
“Hang on.”
Resigned to not being able to distract him, she settled back in her chair. “What’s wrong?”
He stared at her like he was waiting for her to go on, like he didn’t buy her explanation.
Shoulders sagging in resignation, Chloe sighed, then stared straight into his eyes. “I know you don’t like me.”
His eyebrows shot up, but he didn’t dispute her claim.
That had to mean she was right. Great.
Chapter Eleven
Had Jake’s disdain for the pop princess been so obvious? Worried now that she would fire him or complain to Tyler, he wanted to deny her statement, but he’d never been good at lying. That had been the reason he’d left the military. He had disagreed with his superior officers one time too many, had gotten fed up with the way they were doing things and had known it was time to move on.
Now though, he needed this job, so even though she was right, he didn’t have to admit it to her. Besides, the fact that she was being honest now put a point in her favor. “What makes you say that?” he hedged.
She stared at him like she knew he was trying to dodge her declaration. “Just a feeling, I guess.” She bit her lip, then asked, “Am I wrong?”
He smiled. “Let’s just say, to be determined.”
Unsatisfied with his answer, Chloe looked down as she straightened the napkin on her lap. She hated that he’d basically confirmed her suspicion. No doubt he was simply trying to cover his rear end by not admitting it out loud for fear of being fired. As if she had the power to do that. But he didn’t have to know that.
She met his gaze, pausing a moment before nodding. “I guess that’s fair.” Then she lifted her chin a fraction of an inch. “For the record, I haven’t decided if I like you either.” That wasn’t true at all, but two could play this game.
His lips slowly curved upward, like he couldn’t care less what she thought about him.
Fine. Then she wouldn’t care what he thought about her either. But she did. More and more with every interaction. Why, though? Because she always wanted to be liked, or because he so obviously didn’t care, which made her want to win him over all the more?
Frustrated with herself, she pressed her lips together to stop herself from saying something she would later regret.
Jake’s eyebrows rose. “I’d love some of that dessert.”
Tempted to tell him she was revoking the offer, instead, she pasted on her best hostess smile before standing. “Great. I’ll be back in a minute.” Her voice was bright, but inside she was conflicted. On the one hand, she was tempted to walk out of the kitchen and back to her music room and leave Jake all by himself, wondering where she’d gone. But on the other, it went against her instincts, against her need to please.
Maybe that was the answer. Maybe she should do the opposite of what she would normally do. Shake things up a bit.
How well did that go for you yesterday?
Ignoring her inner voice, she felt a wide smile lift the corners of her lips as she walked into the kitchen and past the huge island and right out the door—not the door that led to the dining room, but the one that led away from Jake and toward her music room. Once inside her sanctuary, she closed the door and settled into her favorite spot—the middle of the couch. She kicked off her shoes and picked up her guitar before she began strumming, her mind easing as she let the music flow through her.
What was taking the pop princess so long? Had she tripped in those ridiculously high heels and hit her head? Was she right now lying unconscious on the polished wood floor in the kitchen?
Shaking his head at the absurdity of his question, after just a moment Jake sat up straighter. What if something had happened to her? What if she actually was hurt? Or what if an intruder had broken in and the pop princess had been attacked? All while he was waiting for her to bring him dessert. Not only would he feel awful for his failure, but he would most certainly be fired.
Worried now, he pushed back from the table and briskly strode toward the kitchen. “Ms. Ross?” he called out. No answer, and when he reached the kitchen, he found it empty and the strawberry cheesecake untouched.
Maybe she’d gone to the restroom. Maybe his comment had hurt her feelings more than she’d let on. Feeling like a jerk, he moved silently toward the nearest bathroom, but the door was open and the room was dark and empty. Well, there were several other bathrooms in the place. She could be in any one of them.
Then he heard a sound. Cocking his head, his listened intently. There it was again. He moved toward it, and when he realized it was the sound of her guitar and she was in her music room, instead of being annoyed that she’d basically abandoned him at the dinner table, he laughed at her audacity.
What should he do now? Ignore her actions and pretend like they’d never happened? Or confront her?
Pursing his lips, Jake stood just outside the closed door.
“Everything okay?” Beth asked.
Startled by her sudden appearance, Jake turned to her. “Yeah.” Did the pop princess share everything with her assistant? Did Beth know that the purpose of the dinner had been to win him over? Probably. Which was why he wouldn’t let on that anything had gone wrong.
“How was dinner?” Beth asked.
Slowly nodding, Jake smiled. “Good.”
Beth stared at him, like she was waiting for more information, but he didn’t give her the satisfaction of an answer. “Well,” she finally said, “I’m done for the day. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night.”
He waited until he heard the front door open and close, and then with a smirk, he went to the kitchen.
Chapter Twelve
Chloe was deep into the flow, the melody coming freely. Closing her eyes as she strummed her guitar, she gently swayed to the music. Yes, this was it. This was exactly how it should sound.