“That dress looks great on you, by the way,” he commented. “I seem to recall when I picked it out thinking it was the perfect color for you. I was right.”
Her cheeks flushed becomingly at his compliment as she fingered the blue batik cotton fabric. “Thanks. I like this dress, too. Probably my favorite of all the stuff you bought me. I wore it a few times when I was at the resort. And since the weather has actually been warm these past couple of weeks I’ve been wearing some of the other stuff, too.”
He grinned at her mischievously, already anticipating her heated reaction to what he was going to say next. “That’ll be fine for the summer. But when fall rolls around, you’ll need warmer stuff. This time I’ll take you with me so you can pick out what you want.”
Predictably her blue eyes darkened ominously as she scowled at him. “The hell you will. Except for paying for dinner tonight - since you offered - you’re not buying me one more thing, Jackson Gilmore. And I still haven’t agreed to keep the laptop and phone, you know.”
“You deserve to have those things, Scarlett,” he assured her calmly. “I’m not sure which of those two things you need more - the phone that looks like it’s at least ten years old, or the laptop that’s being held together with duct tape. I can’t even imagine how inadequate the graphics and memory are on that ancient old thing. You’re going to need something top notch when you start working on your senior thesis.”
Scarlett sighed in resignation. “Yeah, I’m aware. Guess I figured I’d just use the computers on campus. Or dip into my savings and spring for one.”
Jackson scoffed. “As tight fisted as you are, I’m going to bet you won’t touch a penny of that money from your father. You’ll still work those three jobs, refuse to buy yourself new clothes, and only buy generic brands of groceries.”
She shrugged. “Hey, old habits are hard to break. But you’re wrong about most of that. I’m definitely quitting the Ikea job in a few weeks, before the fall semester starts. And while I might have agreed to help out with some catering jobs every so often, I already warned the owner that it won’t be more than once or twice a month. And I agreed to help her out not so much for the extra money but because she’s been good to me these past few years and it’s not always easy for her to find reliable help. As for the clothes - you’re mostly right about that. I’m certainly not going to go out and buy myself a whole new winter wardrobe, but I’ll make sure I get a decent coat and some boots and a few other things. I mean, it’s a waste to spend a lot of money given that I have no idea where I’ll be living this time next year. I could wind up getting an internship in Florida or Hawaii where I wouldn’t need any winter stuff. The groceries - yeah, I’ll still be on the hunt for a bargain but I’m sticking firm to my goal to eat healthier and continue putting on some more weight. I never intentionally starved myself, Jackson. You already know the reasons why I was so skinny.”
“I do.” He suppressed a shudder to think of her going hungry these past few years because she was too broke to afford groceries. “Here. Eat up.”
Scarlett laughed as he shoved the basket of tortilla chips and the twin bowls of guacamole and salsa in her direction. “I have been, in case you haven’t noticed. Besides, I’m saving room for the main course since someone insisted I ordered the three-item combo. I’m physically incapable of putting on five pounds in one sitting, by the way.”
Jackson chuckled, his good humor restored. “I guess that’s true. Especially since I’m taking you to brunch tomorrow morning before I leave for the airport. I’ve read several reviews of the place, and the menu is to die for - cinnamon roll pancakes, nutella crepes, crab cake eggs Benedict.”
She groaned, pushing the basket of chips back to his side of the table. “Stop it! We haven’t even eaten our dinner yet and here you are tempting me with brunch. What time is your flight, by the way?”
“Two-thirty. Which unfortunately will get me home in time to attend our usual Sunday family dinner at my parents house. They were put on hold for a couple of months while Hannah was really bad, but now that she’s improving my mother has insisted on bringing back the tradition. And since I already had to keep this trip up here under the radar, I’d better not miss dinner and have my parents start poking around in my business.”
“Hmm.” Scarlett took a sip of her margarita before dunking another chip into the bowl of salsa. “There are some advantages, apparently, of not having any family. Meaning I can do whatever the hell I want without having to worry about one of them butting into my life and trying to tell me what to do.”
The arrival of their dinners interrupted what he was going to say next, and for the next few minutes they dug into their food hungrily. They had spent the better part of the afternoon in her bed - and shower - cuddling, teasing, laughing, and having more explosive sex. Jackson hadn’t known what to expect from Scarlett that first time, even though he had already guessed she would be both passionate, uninhibited, and a wild woman. What he hadn’t expected, however, was how tender she could also be, and how being with her had touched something deep within him that he hadn’t felt with any of his other lovers. What they had shared had gone way beyond just physical pleasure, had nearly brought tears to his eyes at the wonder of it all. He’d sensed that Scarlett, too, had been taken aback at the depth of emotion she’d felt, and that it was something she had never experienced before.
“I get that you’re comfortable being alone,” he commented in between bites of the oversized burrito he’d ordered. “You’re probably the most self sufficient, independent person I’ve ever met. But I hope you don’t intend to live the rest of your life that way. Don’t you want a family of your own someday - a husband, kids, in-laws?”
She grimaced. “Not really. If I ever consider getting married one day, the guy would have to be willing to put up with all my crap, not boss me around or expect that I’m going to wait on him hand and foot or something. Believe it or not,” she added with a grin, “I’m not the easiest sort to live with. It would take a pretty easygoing person to handle being around me on a permanent basis.”
“Difficult to live with? You?” asked Jackson mockingly. “Gee, I never would have guessed. But I have a feeling you’re exaggerating about some of that, Scarlett. Or maybe you’ve just never experienced living with someone who wasn’t a foster parent or loser roommates.”
“Have you lived with someone before? I mean, like a girlfriend.”
“Back in college for about a year,” he replied casually. “It ended when she decided to take a job in Dubai for two years, the money was just too good for her to pass up. And, frankly, our relationship just wasn’t strong enough for me to even consider following her to the Middle East. That would have really freaked my parents out. But since then I haven’t lived with anyone, no.”
“I’m guessing Devon wouldn’t have turned you down if you had asked,” teased Scarlett.
Jackson nodded. “She would have jumped at the chance, would have headed straight home to pack her bags. Though of course that would have been just the prelude for her. She wanted a ring on her finger, a wedding date set on the calendar, and wasn’t being the least bit shy in making that known. And while I admire a modern woman who isn’t afraid to take the initiative, we actually have to want the same things from a relationship. In Devon’s case, it was all one-sided.”