My coat was all buttoned up and I had my hands in my pockets, so the only thing he could see was a few inches of the hem of my embellished skirt. He made no comments as he joined me. Trying to avoid his gaze, I walked ahead of him, and we took the elevator down.
“Good evening, Steve,” I said as we passed the doorman and my now friend.
He winked at me and, as nervous as I was, I couldn’t hold back my smile. “Have a fun night out, Mrs. Hawthorne.” He always called me Mrs. Hawthorne whenever Jack was around, but in the mornings when it was just me and him chatting for a minute or two as I waited for Ray to pull up, I was always Rose. Jack’s hand found my back and I straightened.
“Have a good night, Steve,” Jack added, and my surprised gaze flew up to him. Since when had he started talking to Steve? Evidently it was a fairly new thing because for a moment there, Steve didn’t know what to say.
“Ah…you too, sir.”
Then we were out in the cold evening air, the rain now only a drizzle. I was very conscious of Jack’s hand on my back up until I got in the car and scooted all the way to the other end. Nothing changed once he got in after me. I was still very aware of his presence, his scent, his eyes whether he was touching me or not.
“Hello again, Raymond.”
He looked over his shoulder to offer me a smile. “You look beautiful, Mrs. Hawthorne.”
I blushed and, out of the corner of my eye, noticed Jack tense.
“We’re already late as it is. Let’s go,” he ordered in a harsh tone, cutting me off before I could respond to Raymond.
I would’ve apologized again for making us late, but he was being a jerk to Raymond so I chose not to say anything during the entire car ride to where the event was being held downtown. It took us an hour to get there, and being quiet in a car for an entire hour required some serious patience on my part.
Exiting the car, we stood side by side at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the brightly lit building.
“Why do you sound weird?” Jack asked into the silence.
“You and your compliments. Always sweeping me off my feet.” I said, distracted, my eyes still on the building.
“I’m being serious, Rose.”
Surprised at the tight tone of his voice, I peered up at him. “What?”
“Your voice sounds different. Is the cold getting worse?”
“Oh.” I touched the side of my nose and looked forward again, a little embarrassed that he’d noticed. “The cold, yes. It’s not that much worse, actually, but I do have a small cotton ball in my nose. I thought it would be a better idea than sniffling the entire time.”
“You need to see a doctor.”
“I will.”
“Ready?” Jack asked, holding his hand out in between us.
I stared at it for a few seconds and then, left with no other choice, had to put my hand in his very big one. I took a deep breath and took a step forward only to be tugged back gently. When he shifted our hands and linked our fingers together, causing my wedding ring to shift slightly, I had to close my eyes for a second and ignore the heavy thump in my chest. Every single time he touched my wedding ring, my heart did a happy little jump.
We were ready to go, but neither of us was taking the first step. Our hands gripping each other, we stood motionless.
“What is it, Rose?” he asked softly, and I closed my eyes tighter this time. He was standing too close, smelling too good, and being nice again.
I couldn’t think of a legitimate lie, so instead of just straight-up admitting that simply his presence was affecting me, I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. At least I was telling the truth.
“I don’t like it when you act like a jerk.”
When I said the words out loud, I wasn’t looking at him. As a couple passed us, climbing the stairs and, from the looks of it, arguing with each other, I had to wait for Jack’s answer since I had no intentions of meeting his gaze to see what he was thinking.
He only spoke up when the couple’s voices had trailed off and we couldn’t be heard either.
“When was I being a jerk?”
That had me looking back at him. “You can’t be that unaware of it. You were a complete jerk to Raymond, Jack.”
“Is that why you didn’t say a single word to me during the ride?”
Perplexed, I just peered at him. “You snapped at him for no reason.”
“He complimented my wife,” he argued. “We didn’t have time to sit around and chitchat for an hour.”
“Your fake wife, and he knows that.”
Fascinated, I stared as the muscle started ticking in his jaw.
“Is that supposed to help your case? I do—”
“He just said one sentence as he was starting the car.” I lifted one finger up to make my point. “He was being nice, and he is my friend. You’re the one who acted like a jerk. I think it’s expected that I wouldn’t want to talk to you.”
“Great,” he bit out.
“Great,” I shot back, terser.
He stared down into my eyes and I stared right back, not backing down. I must’ve imagined the lip twitch, because a second later he barked out another order for us to head inside and we were trotting up the stairs.
Still hand in hand.
It was a big problem that I didn’t mind holding his hand.
The second we stepped through the doors, the soft classical music hit my ears, replacing all the horns and sirens.
Here we go.
We stopped in front of the coat check as the couple who had just passed us was still lingering in the corner, arguing in hushed tones.
“I’m sorry,” Jack grumbled, stopping right next to me, eyes focused on the couple. “It wasn’t my intention to be a jerk. Forgive me?”
Shocked at his words and the softness I heard in his voice, my head snapped to him and I took in his profile. God, he was so good looking. I really had no chance, not from the very first day.
“That’s okay,” I mumbled back still a little surprised at what I felt when I looked at him, and his hand gave mine a quick squeeze. Just when I was pretty sure it was going to be easier not to like him, he did something like that and left me at a loss for words.
“You don’t have a purse?” he asked, leaning into my ear. I had to lean away just a little so I wouldn’t burrow myself against his chest. For that little piece of idiocy, I blamed his breath, which I’d felt on my neck, causing a shiver to move up my spine.
He let go of my hand and stood at my back, ready to help me take off my coat. “I don’t have anything that matches,” I answered softly, angling my head to the left so he could hear me as I slowly started to unbutton my coat with cold fingers and then gently shrugged it off.
“Why didn’t you buy something?”
“You said to get a dress, and I don’t need a purse. Don’t worry, the dress alone cost a fortune already.”
He handed off my coat to the girl and when he forgot to say thank you, I spoke for both of us and offered a small smile. A second later I heard Jack grumble a thank you too as he was taking off his own coat.
It made me smile and I walked ahead.
Thankfully, inside the ballroom where the event was being held, it was much warmer, so I didn’t think I’d have much problem with freezing in my dress. Discreetly, I touched my nose to make sure the little cotton ball I’d pushed in back at the apartment was still there. How fun was it that my runny nose had decided to stick around? Tugging the bell sleeves of my dress and trying to make them look good, I stood still and waited for Jack to stand next to me again.