Page 8 of Hyde and Seek

Shh, quiet, girly bits!

“What?” I asked.

“You eat?”

“What?”

Where’s my brain? I know what eating means. Why am I such a dingus?

“You know, food. Not sugar in cake form. Have you had lunch?”

“No, I was just planning on walking somewhere.”

Jake turned to Kase. “I’m takin’ Piper to grab a bite. Do your shit, we’ll be back.” It wasn’t an invitation.

Even if it was, I doubt I’d have said no.

I turned to the rest of the guys and waved as Jake grabbed my other hand. “Uh, I’m glad you all like the dessert,” I said over my shoulder as he pulled me out the door. It took me a second to wrap my brain around the fact that Jake was still holding my hand as we stepped outside the shop.

My hand? His hand?

Yum.

I looked up at Jake as we walked. “You don’t have to do this. I’m sure you’re busy.”

Shh. Don’t ruin it. Lunch. Hand holding! Shut up!

“I’m not letting you sit in there all afternoon.”

“Seriously, it’s cool. Z warned me it’d be a while. I came prepared.”

“No, you didn’t.”

Uhh, what?

Which, lack of filter meant I said, “Uhh, what?”

My question went unanswered. Though Jake stayed silent, he did it still holding my hand. It was strangely hot. His hand was much larger than mine. I normally hated my petite size, but suddenly I was seeing some major benefits.

We came to a stop in front of a small deli. “You like sandwiches?”

I raised my brows up at him. “Who doesn’t like sandwiches?”

“Fair enough.”

Jake opened the door and the scent of fresh baked bread hit me.

“I love that smell.”

“What one?”

I grinned up at him. “Fresh bread. Regular bread smells good. But the warm, carby smell offreshbread? Unbeatable. Did you know they sell bread scented candles? It isn’t like the real thing, of course.”

Jake chuckled. “Of course. Figure out what you want, babe.”

When we ordered at the counter, Jake paid and I tried to protest. He gave me a look and I stopped protesting. When it was ready, he grabbed our order and guided us to a table tucked in a corner.

As we got settled I asked again, “Why couldn’t I sit in the waiting room?”

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