Page 18 of Jessica's Hero
I’m so focused on the sensations flooding through me, I don’t realize the change in Jess’s demeanor right away. Her smile disappears. Her jaw goes tight. And the second I pull my hand away from her neck, she grabs hold of her collar and yanks it up higher.
Worry worms into my stomach. “Jess. Did I do something wrong? I was just trying to help.”
“No.” She shoves her hands into her pockets. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was fine.” She stops. Swallows hard. “Are you ready to go?”
Rather than press her on it, I just nod. “Absolutely.” Letting my hand rest on her lower back—technically, she could still be in danger, so it’s only smart to keep her within arm’s reach—I guide her out the front door.
Once we’re in the car, Jess seems more at ease again. She tells me about work and her new promotion, which she’s clearly very excited about. “Partly it’s nice because I’m being recognized for my hard work,” she explains. “But also, it’s more money. Not a lot, but enough to put extra into savings. So that’s good.”
Then I tell Jess about my day at work, the highlight being yet another call from quirky Mrs. Plimpton, who managed to get stuck on her roof after she decided to try to rescue her runaway cat herself.
“But isn’t she in her seventies?” Jess asks, glancing over with her brows arched up in concern. “That can’t be safe. Was she okay?”
“She was. Fortunately, she’s a very active lady. So she was able to hang on until the fire truck got there. But no, it definitely wasn’t safe. We made her promise to call the departmentbeforedoing any more climbing in the future.”
After a brief pause, Jess looks back over at me with a mischievous smirk. “Maybe she did it on purpose. So she could get a bunch of young police officers and firemen over to her house.”
Hmm.
Mrs. Plimptondoesseem to get into a lot of trouble. I just chalked it up to bad luck and bad choices, but maybe…
As I signal to turn into the restaurant parking lot, I give Jess a quick glance and a grin. “Who knows. You might be right.”
Once I find a parking spot and shut off the car, I gesture at the glowing sign above the restaurant’s front door. “I hope The Horse and Ghost is okay. It’s a little quieter than Hop-less Horseman or Antonio’s, so I thought that would be good. And the food is great. But if you’d prefer someplace else, that’s okay, too.”
In hindsight, I probably should have asked Jess first.
“No, this is fine,” she replies. But a flicker of unease in her eyes makes me think differently.
“Are you sure?” I reach over to touch her hand. “I don’t mind going someplace else.”
She takes a deep breath and then turns to me with a bright smile. “This is perfect, Kane. I’ve never been here before, so it’ll be nice to see what everyone’s been talking about.”
As soon as I open the car door, Jess moves to get out,but I put my hand on her arm to stop her. “I’ll come around for you. Okay?”
I could say it’s just good manners, like my dad always taught me. Tried and true standbys like always opening the door for a woman and making sure to walk on the outside of the sidewalk so she’s more protected.
I could say it’s for safety, making sure I’m right beside Jess in case of an unexpected threat.
Both would be true.
But I also like taking her hand to help her out of the car.
I like the feel of my hand on her back again.
And I really like the way she leans into me as we walk towards the restaurant, her shoulder and hip brushing against mine.
Once we’re inside, the hostess greets us with an automatic smile that immediately fades when her eyes light on Jess. “Jessica,” the hostess—Samantha, according to her name tag—says. “What a surprise seeingyouhere.”
Jess flinches. Her body stiffens. “Hi, Sam,” she replies quietly. “How are you?”
“Oh,I’mfine.” Samantha narrows her eyes at Jess. “But then again,Idon’t have anything to feel guilty about.” Her gaze jumps to me and then back to my date. “Doesheknow? What you did?”
A quick glance at Jess shows her obvious discomfort. Her cheeks are bright red again, and her teeth are digging hard into her lower lip.
There’s a weird dynamic going on here; one I don’t understand. But I know I don’t like it.
Looping my arm around Jess, I tug her against my side. Then I pin Samantha with my bestI’m a police officerand don’t mess with meglare and say, “Ourtable, please?” Then in a slightly lower tone, I add, “And you might want to try being more polite to your customers. I’d hate to have to speak to the owner about one of his employees.”
