Page 44 of Love You Like This

Instead of dropping the hem like I was planning, I pull the whole shirt off. Maybe my abs will soften her up. Or maybe they won’t.

She sighs and drops back into the chair. “What do you need?”

“You.”

She sets her tablet back down and presses her hands to her eyes. “I need you to be so for real right now, Xander. What exactly do you need?”

“Come home with me tonight. I know you rode in with Hazel and Stone.”

She drops her hands and swivels in the chair to face me head on. “For what? I’m not fucking you.”

“I know that. Just have dinner with me. Let’s talk everything out and put it behind us.” At least I hope we can put it behind us. I drop down to my knees in front of her and cover her hands with my own. “Please.”

My face lights up the second I see the first crack in her resolve.

“Fine.” She pulls her hands from mine and turns to start gathering all her electronics. “But you better make me something really fucking good.”

The ride home was silent aside from the radio. I’m sure Hans and David, my driver, were relieved when they dropped us off at my house. I don’t blame them; Jade’s vibes could give a person frostbite.

I unlock the door and disarm the security alarm while Jade walks in behind me. She’s never been inside my beach house, so her eyes scan everything, taking it all in. I slip my fingers into the collar of her peacoat and pull it off her shoulders to hang it up. Her eyes are locked on the view out of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the back of my house, so she doesn’t put up a fight.

She sets her purse on the console table and walks into the living room. When she gets her fill of the view, she turns to look at the rest of the open space. I can’t tell what she thinks of what she’s seeing of my house because her expression hasn’t changed at all.

I hate the walls she’s erected around herself. At one point I could read every thought and emotion she had without ever exchanging words. Now I feel like I’m standing at the base of a fortress.

“Your home is beautiful,” she says stiffly.

One corner of my mouth tips up. “Thank you.”

She’d be pissed if she knew how cute I find her to be when she’s uncomfortable.

“You’re welcome.” She walks to the far side of the island and pulls out a stool.

I open the refrigerator to see what our options are. I read them all off for her, but she shakes her head to everything. “How about pancakes, then?”

Her eyes light up, just like I knew they would. She loves breakfast food, always has. In fact, she’d probably eat breakfast for every meal if she could. “Blueberries?”

“Of course. I even have blueberry syrup and bacon.”

“Turkey bacon?”

I press my lips together and tilt my head in response to that. She knows how I feel about turkey bacon. I don’t care if it’s healthier, it doesn’t taste the same.

She holds her hands up in surrender. “Of course not. I’m okay with real bacon. You can cover my hospital bills when I end up in an ICU for cardiac arrest.”

“Two pieces of bacon aren’t going to give you a heart attack.”

“Here’s hoping.”

Her high heels drop to the floor while she settles onto the stool to watch me work. I preheat the oven for the bacon and pull everything out for the pancake batter. “Should I add chocolate chips, too?”

“No, blueberries are fine. I’m not a teenager anymore.”

My lips quirk up again. I’ve seen her down chocolate chip pancakes on the road like a champ. But I keep my mouth closed because I know better than to poke the bear. I’m just lucky she actually came home with me.

“Do you mind if I take a quick shower while the oven heats up?”

“Please do. You reek.”