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“I see.”
“Didn’t you say you were stopping by the office this afternoon?”
“Yes,” I said, taking a bit of the pasta. It was as good as the chicken. This guy could actually cook.
“So you could have asked Dave who was also working this weekend?” Jaxon’s smile told me he knew the question had been an excuse to contact him.
“I texted you before I went in.”
“Mmhmm.”
Looking intently into the glass of wine before I took a sip, I hoped Jaxon might just drop it. But of course, this was Jaxon, so fat chance of that. When I looked back up, he was smiling at me.
“Admit you like me, Natalie.”
“Never.”
God, I loved his laugh so much.
“Alright, we can pretend if you want.”
“Pretend what?” I asked, knowing I was stepping in it by continuing this topic of conversation.
“Pretend that land shouldn’t have been sold years ago. Pretend there’s not an intense attraction between us. Take your pick.”
He was right. On both counts. Going through the paperwork made it clear that the inlet could certainly be developed while preserving the surrounding environment. But that wasn’t the point.
“I’ll concede,” I said, “that maybe, maybe, there’s a tiny thing between us.”
“Maybe?”
“Maybe.”
“Fuck that,” he said, taking a big bite of chicken.
I nearly choked on mine. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, sunshine,” he said when he’d finished chewing. “I reject your ‘maybe’ and offer our kiss as evidence.”
Our kiss. He made it sound so intimate.
“So you asked me here tonight so I’d, what? Act on it? And lose the bet?”
Calling him out wasn’t really in my nature, but I was manifesting my best Charlee imitation. That’s exactly what she would have said.
“I asked you here because I missed you today.”
I opened my mouth to offer back a sarcastic retort until Jaxon’s words actually sank in. “Excuse me?”
He shrugged. “I guess I got used to your sassy mouth this week.”
Playing it off as no big deal, Jaxon went back to his dinner. But he didn’t fool me for a second. His voice had actually softened ever so slightly. As if...
As if he were being serious.
Which was ironic, because I missed him too. Knowing I had fieldwork today, my first thought when I woke up was that I wouldn’t get to see him. Which was ridiculous because the man drove me crazy.
“You’re not kidding?”
