Chapter Nine
“I don’t plan on staying out late,” Jessie told her sister for the second time that night.
Dressed in a pair of slacks and a sweater, Jessie was comfortable and casual but not too casual. Wearing small heels with the slacks dressed up the outfit. Besides, Jessie didn’t have the occasion to wear heels very often, so she jumped at the opportunity whenever she could. Something about wearing heels reminded her that she was a grown-up, desirable woman.
“Where are you two meeting?”
“He picked an Italian place by the mall. Antonio’s.”
“I’ve never heard of it.” Monica reached over and tucked a stray lock of Jessie’s hair back into place.
“We’ve passed it a few times. I’ve never eaten there,” Jessie said.
“Call me if things aren’t going the way you want them to and use me as an excuse to come home early if the date sucks.”
Jessie dropped her chin and smiled at her sister. “Thanks. I don’t think I’ll need to use an excuse, but it’s nice to know you’ve got my back.”
“Always.” Monica handed over the black purse Jessie had picked out for the night. “I still think it’s Jack you should be meeting for dinner and not this Brad guy.”
Throwing up her hand, Jessie said, “Enough. You’ve told me this a dozen times since yesterday. I know you don’t approve, but this is what I need to be doing.”
“Because Jack is a waiter and not a lawyer. You’re not that shallow, Jessie, and I know it. Jack likes you. A lot!”
“Did he tell you that?” Jessie had been trying to pry out of her sister the meat of her conversation with Jack for the last twenty-four hours. Monica wouldn’t give up one syllable of their discussion.
“I could see it in his eyes. The way he looks at you is magnetic. Even if you won’t admit it, you look at him the same way.”
Jessie did her best to ignore the energy between them. She could look past the man and not dwell on their one kiss, most of the time. She could wipe the images her mind dreamed up of the man, even the naked ones, most of the time. She could ignore how her heart sped up when she saw him walking into the diner, or her son’s school, or the park, most of the time.
OK, maybe not most of the time, but for a few hours at a time.
Or a few minutes.
She shook her head. You’re hopeless, Jessie.
“I need someone stable, someone who has a real job, a real future. Not some temporary employee of a local hotel who will probably be traveling back to Texas after the holiday season is over. Have you forgotten Rory, Danny’s father? Or Mathew?”
“Mathew? Oh, that guy you dated for, what, ten minutes?”
“It was two months, and he moved in with me, if you remember. His idea of helping out was to take my rent money and leave.” Mathew was an expensive mistake.
She swung her purse on her shoulder and walked out of her bedroom and into the living room, where Danny was talking with Monica’s friend Lynn.
“I’m leaving, Danny. Can I get a kiss?”
Danny pushed away from his Legos and Lynn before putting his arms around her.
“Will you be home before I go to bed?” he asked.
“I don’t think so.”
Danny’s normally happy smile slid into a tiny pout. “Can I go on your next date with you?”
Oh boy. “I’m not sure. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.” The guilt was coming back tenfold.
“I went on your date with Uncle Jack.”
Arguing with him about the dating status and Jack was pointless. He didn’t understand, and Jessie was going to be late if she tried to explain the point again. “I’ll think about it,” Jessie said instead.
Danny took his frowning face and plopped on the sofa.
Jessie waved to her sister. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Call if you need anything.”
“I will. Bye, Monica. Bye, Lynn.” Jessie turned to her son. “Bye, buddy.”
Danny gave her a quick wave but didn’t look at her.
Jessie walked out of the apartment, wondering if she was doing the wrong thing.
She found the restaurant easily enough. Parking was a little tight, but she managed to cram her car into the lot between a huge pickup truck and a Lexus. Glancing at her watch, Jessie realized she was five minutes early. She hoped Brad was already waiting for her inside so she wouldn’t have to wait in the lounge or reception area by herself.
Inside the small Italian restaurant, the heavy smell of garlic and tomato sauce tickled her nose and made her mouth water. The dim lighting shed a nice romantic glow over the dark red booths.
“Welcome to Antonio’s,” a leggy, tall blonde woman about Jessie’s age greeted her.
“I’m meeting someone here. His name is Brad.”
The hostess glanced at her reservation list and smiled. “Your party hasn’t arrived yet, but your table is ready if you’d like me to seat you.”
Jessie sighed in relief. “You can seat me.”
Several couples talked quietly in their intimate booths, drinking wine and eating breadsticks. At the table, Jessie removed her light jacket and placed it beside her.
“Would you like something from the bar while you wait?”
“Water for now.”
The blonde left and Jessie went ahead and opened her menu to glance at the selections.
A busboy brought water and a basketful of breadsticks and then left her alone to watch the time pass.
Every minute that ticked by while Jessie waited felt like an hour.
Ten minutes past seven, Brad walked up to the table.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he said as he undid a button on his jacket and slid into the booth beside her. “I had a heck of a time getting through traffic, and the parking out there is a mess.”
Jessie smiled and waved away Brad’s concerns. “I’m glad you made it.” And she was, she realized, despite her reservations about the date. Brad wore a well-pressed suit, his jaw was clean shaven, and he even smelled good. More because of the froufrou cologne he wore than his natural scent.
Jack always carried a little spice and pine wherever he went. More masculine.
“I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
Fifteen minutes, thirty seconds. But who is counting? “I was only ahead of you by a few minutes,” she lied, hoping she didn’t appear too anxious.
Brad signaled the waiter as he walked by and ordered a bottle of wine and two glasses.
Strike two, Jessie found herself thinking. First, he was late for the date, and although traffic was a factor, she had still managed to get there on time, and it wasn’t exactly rush hour out there. Second, Brad didn’t even ask her if she drank wine. Then again, maybe that’s what people with money did to impress their dates.
“The food here is excellent,” Brad said as he pushed his menu aside. “You said you’ve never eaten here before, isn’t that right?”
“I’ve passed here many times but never stopped.” Jessie went ahead and reopened her menu and then pretended to look over what the restaurant offered.
“I can select the perfect dish for you, if you like.”
“Ah…” She wasn’t sure what to say.
Brad gently removed the menu from her fingers and folded it on top of his. “You have to have the lasagna. I don’t think I’ve tasted better outside of New York.”
“Ah, OK.” Looks like it was lasagna, whether she wanted it or not. What was wrong with her? Brad was trying to be thoughtful, and here she was taking offense at nearly everything he was saying or doing.
The wine arrived and saved her the trouble of coming up with small talk. Jessie watched Brad’s profile while he went through the process of tasting the wine and approving it. His features were just as she remembered: nice but not overly strong. His face was a little narrower than she remembered. There were no dimples when he smiled, and the smile did seem to lack something.
Jessie sipped her wine and watched him over the rim of the glass. The wine tickled the back of her throat, then slid down easily.
“What do you do at the hotel?” Brad asked.
“I’m sorry?” She didn’t understand his question.
“You do work at the hotel, don’t you? I thought for sure you were a waitress there.” He cocked his head to the side when he spoke.
“No, I don’t work at the hotel, but I do wait tables.” She couldn’t for the life of her figure out how he knew what she did for a living.
“You must know someone at the hotel who managed to get you a ticket to the party, then.”
Jessie couldn’t help but feel as if she were under interrogation. She thought of Jack and the risks he’d taken to get her in the door.
“Is being an investigator part of a lawyer’s job?” she asked with a little laugh.
Brad let a sly smile pass his lips before he abruptly steered his words in a different direction. “You seemed a bit lost that night.”
“A friend of mine forfeited his ticket for me,” she explained.
Brad tipped his glass back again. “A friend who is a man?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think I can call any woman in my life a friend. An ex–romantic engagement, a sister, a family member, a colleague, maybe, but never simply a friend.”
“What about the wives or girlfriends of your male friends?”
“I don’t consider them personal friends, more like how you just explained them…the wife of a friend of mine. Is this friend of yours married?”
Strange how this date had a third person at the table the entire time. Jack may not have been there in person, but he certainly was in spirit. “No.”
The waiter arrived, and Jessie wanted to kiss him for his timing.
“Have you decided?” Their waiter was a man around forty-five, maybe older. His waistline looked as if he enjoyed the food at Antonio’s, and his Italian accent kept her guessing if he was any relation to Antonio himself.
“I think so,” Jessie said.
He smiled at her and poised his pen over his order slip.
“The lady would like the lasagna,” Brad said before Jessie could open her mouth. “With the antipasto salad, and I’ll have the same.”
Jessie had the strong urge to glance at her watch, but squelched it.
Jack looked at his watch for the third time in fifteen minutes. Jessie was out with that lawyer. Brad Leland, to be exact. Jack had checked out the guest list of the benefit party and found only one Brad in the invites. A quick online search resulted in a name, the name of his practice, and a few hits on cases he’d tried recently. Jack had hoped to find a little dirt on the guy, but he didn’t see any. Not married, his romantic entanglements were private at the current time. Jack did find an old girlfriend, one whom Brad had been engaged to. There was a write-up in an archived paper about the engagement, but it had been nearly two years ago. All the current information on Brad pointed toward a single status. As a corporate lawyer, Brad had a full plate of clients, and from the look of the pictures of his office, he wasn’t hurting for cash.
There was even a picture of the guy on the website for the law firm he worked with.
Dull and boring. Jack couldn’t imagine Jessie finding him remotely attractive.
Still, Brad the Boring was out on a date with Jessie, and Jack was in the penthouse, stewing. He would have to wait until Tuesday, the next time Jessie worked, to find out how the date went. Unless Jack wanted to come off as a jealous, jilted lover.
No matter how many sexy dreams Jack had experienced since meeting Jessie, he couldn’t call himself her lover.
Not yet anyway.
Jack had turned toward the bar in the suite, intending to pour himself something big and strong, when his cell phone rang. His phone sat in the pocket of the suit hanging on the back of a chair.
Jessie’s home phone number popped up on his caller ID. Maybe she had skipped out on the date after all. His lips slid into a grin.
“Hello?” he answered, trying to sound bored.
“Jack? Is this you?”
Not Jessie.
“This is. Who’s this?”
“It’s Monica, Jessie’s sister.” The alarm in her voice made Jack drop his bored demeanor. “I hope it’s OK I called you.”
“Is Jessie OK? Danny?”
“They’re fine. Sorry to worry you. Jessie is out with that guy, the one from the party.”
As if Jack needed to be reminded.
“And Danny is right here. It’s…ahh…Danny suggested I call you.” Monica was bothered about something.
“What’s going on, Monica?”
“I’m at the apartment, with a friend, studying. Anyway, Lynn got a call a few minutes ago…her mom was in a car accident. Lynn’s shook up, shouldn’t be driving. I need to get her to Pomona Valley, but I’m babysitting Danny. I’d take him with me, but the emergency room is full of all kinds of people, illness.”
“Did you call Jessie, tell her to come home?”
“She accidentally left her phone in her other purse. I called it and it rang in her bedroom.”
Jack walked into his bedroom and pulled a suit jacket off a hanger. “You want me to come over, stay with Danny so you can drive your friend?”
“God, would you, Jack? I know it’s sudden, but Jessie doesn’t use many sitters. Only Mrs. Hoyt, but she’s visiting her family. I didn’t know who else to call. I know she trusts you, Danny knows you.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Jack hung up his phone and shoved into his jacket as he walked out the door.
The ride to Jessie’s apartment was short, and Jack didn’t take it slow.
Monica met him at the door. “Danny goes to bed at nine, falls asleep on the couch most nights before then.”
Danny jumped up from the couch, ran over to Jack, and pulled him into a fierce hug. “I knew you’d come. I told Auntie Monica to call you.”
“You can always call me, Danny.” Jack ruffled Danny’s hair and glanced at Monica’s friend whom he’d never seen before. “I hope your mom’s OK.”
The girl held back tears. “Thanks.”
“Thanks again, Jack. I owe you.” Then they were gone.
“Monica’s friend was really sad. They said her mom was hurt in a car crash.”
Jack walked with Danny over to the couch, where they both sat. The television was on and a cartoon played on the screen. “She’s probably just fine, partner. Nothing for you to worry about.”
“My mom drove our car tonight,” Danny offered, catching Jack off guard.
Good, he thought. She met her date instead of giving him her address.
Danny’s eyes narrowed. Jack realized that Danny’s concern for his mother’s well-being prompted the comment. “I’m sure your mom is a safe driver,” Jack said, trying to assure the boy.
“Our car is always breaking something.”
Yeah, Jack knew that already. The thought of Jessie out there without her cell phone bugged the crap out of him, too. What if she broke down on one of the back roads? After ten, Ontario had plenty of stretched-out, deserted, dark roads. It was only eight fifteen.
“What time did your mom leave tonight?”
“An hour ago. I think.”
Great, Jack had to depend on Danny’s memory. Still, odds were Jessie was eating dinner.
With him. Brad! Probably short for Bradley. What a wussy name that was.
“What are we watching here?”
“SpongeBob. He’s funny. That’s Patrick and Sandy…” Danny pointed out the key characters and Jack listened. He’d heard of the show, but couldn’t say he’d ever sat and watched an episode. He found himself laughing at the jokes and some of the adult humor laced into the cartoon.
At eight thirty, Jack suggested Danny jump into his PJs and brush his teeth so he wouldn’t forget before going to bed.
Danny bounced off the sofa and to his room.
Jack went into the kitchen and noticed Monica and her friend’s books spread out all over the kitchen table. Among them were plates filled with half-eaten pizza and snacks. Jack rolled up his sleeves and realized he was wearing a suit, minus his tie. Maybe Monica would return before Jessie. Or Jessie would be so frazzled to see him there she wouldn’t notice his clothes. Can’t change now.
Jack straightened up some of the clutter and rinsed off the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher.
Danny bounced into the room, all smiles and giggles. “All done.”
“OK, sport, now what do you want to do?”
“Do you play cards?” he asked.
“I know a few games.” But Jack doubted they were the ones Danny knew.
“Cool,” he said as he flew down the hall again and returned in seconds with a deck in his hand. “We can play Go Fish or War. Do you know how to play War?”
Not a clue.
“I’ll bet you can teach me.”
Back in the living room, Danny sat on his knees on the floor and dealt out the cards. He explained the rules, which Jack seemed to remember vaguely, and the two of them proceeded to play.
It was five past nine when Jack realized the time. “Dude, it’s past your bedtime,” Jack said.
Danny pushed his lower lip out. “But I usually fall asleep on the couch.”
Right, Monica said that. Jack guessed it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he let the kid stay up a little later than he normally did.
“OK, but we need to put the cards away and settle down.”
Danny tossed the cards on the coffee table and curled back on the couch next to Jack.
“I like having you babysit,” Danny informed him. “Maybe you can come over again.”
The insides of Jack’s chest swelled with warmth. “I like you too, partner.”
Jack didn’t even flinch when Danny leaned his head against his shoulder. Twenty minutes into another crazy animated show, Danny was snoring little logs and practically lying in Jack’s lap. Jack smiled to himself and stroked the back of Danny’s head.
With the remote, Jack switched on the evening news and set the volume to low.
To the side of the TV was the Mann Christmas tree. A few more gifts were scattered under it. Two Jack easily realized were from Danny to his mom and his aunt. The homemade wrapping paper, which was really a paper bag painted green and red, adorned gifts proudly piled in front. Danny’s stocking was tacked to a wall.
The tree in his childhood home had been set up and taken down by his father’s staff. The gifts wrapped by the department stores before they even made it home. When he stopped and thought about it, Jack wondered if his father had ever gone out and shopped for him and Katie, or had he sent his secretary to do the job? Probably the latter. Yet that had changed in the last few years, which was a good thing. Gaylord had never been cruel, just clueless about his children.
Jessica had created a home and holiday with love. The apartment might be small, but it screamed Christmas and family. Sitting on the worn sofa felt as comfortable as any leather variety he’d ever had the pleasure of planting his butt on.
The news announced the time as ten o’clock and Jack couldn’t help but shift his thoughts to where Jessie was and what she was doing. A cloud of worry stretched over his earlier happy thoughts. She might not be out with Braaad if Jack had revealed certain truths about himself.
Part of him wanted to tell her the truth, and the other part reminded him that if she suddenly decided he was worthy enough to date, spend time with, make love to, that he’d never truly know if it was his money or him she wanted.
The guilt in her eyes when she’d said she was going on a date with that loser had said so much. Jessie worried about what Jack thought. He smiled at the thought. Without a doubt, there was heat in Jessie’s gaze when she looked at him. He felt it every damn time he was around her. Someone upstairs really should offer him sainthood or some such thing for the restraints he’d placed on himself where Jessie was concerned.
Danny sighed in his sleep; a little drool fell from the boy’s mouth and onto Jack’s pants.
Jack was about to pick the boy up and put him to bed when he heard a key turning in the lock of the door.
Jessie walked in with her eyes to the floor. She held her shoes in one hand and the keys and her purse in the other. She turned toward the door and secured the dead bolt and the chain lock without even realizing Jack was there.
She rested her head against the door and dropped her shoes to the floor. “God, Monica, you won’t believe this date.”
Jack was proud to say that Jessie’s tone didn’t sound happy or dreamy.
Slowly Jessie turned around and lifted her gaze. She let out a quick squeal and stifled it before it became a full-on scream. Her hand flew to her mouth, her eyes to her son who lay in Jack’s lap.
Lifting a finger to his lips, Jack said, “Shh, Danny’s worn out.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked in a curt, hushed tone.