Page 21 of Meet You Half Way
CHAPTER 9
mateo
Istepped into Cat’s Cradle at seven minutes past ten. I didn’t want to look too eager and I also wanted to make sure I didn’t know anyone before I went inside. To where Jamie was waiting for me. Jamie, who had texted me last night right when I’d been in the middle of one of my downward spirals over Nick.
Might have explained why I’d been so quick to agree to meet up with him today. Though the saints only knew why.
But there he was, squeezed into a private booth instead of one of the tables in the middle of the cafe and I sighed in relief at that. Jamie looked good, his brown hair swept to the side in that casually effortless way he seemed to always manage, that square cut jaw and that bloody adorable dimple catching my eye. His blue eyes sparkled when they looked up and saw me approaching.
“Mateo,” he greeted with a warm smile. I could see the indecision in his eyes as he half stood as though he was going to kiss me or something but seemed to think better of it and sat down again. I squashed the momentary panic and sank into the cosy booth across from him. I was facing the back wall, awayfrom the street, and I wasn’t sure if that was a better position to be in or not.
“I wasn’t sure of your coffee preference so I haven’t ordered yet,” Jamie continued. My eyes skimmed across the light grey polo top he was wearing, the kind that hugged his pecs and highlighted his broad shoulders and biceps in a way that made my mouth dry out a little. The man sure had a great body.
“Just a short black, thanks,” I replied. He’d invited me out for this coffee so I had no issues with him paying this time.
“Glad you’re not feeling tooobtusethis morning,” he grinned before he rose to his feet and went to the counter to order. And damn, he was wearing light blue jeans and they were as snug as his t-shirt, highlighting the contours of his powerful glutes. Why had I agreed to come out again? Oh, that’s right. Because my life sucked.
Jamie returned to the booth, his smile fading as he looked at me, like, really looked at me.
“What?” I asked, squirming in my seat.
He shook his head, smiling to himself as he said, “Nothing. I just always seem to forget how perfect you are. Like my brain always finds ways to diminish you in between visits.”
“Nobody’s perfect,” I returned. “Least of all me.”
“I know, Mateo,” he replied. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know,” I sighed before I faltered. “Just … don’t make the mistake of thinking the outward appearance is a reflection of how I am on the inside.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it,” he reiterated, expression serious for the moment. “I just like looking at you.”
“And I assure you I like being looked at,” I returned. I held his eye for the moment, waiting until his lips tilted up into a half grin before I looked away. “Why did you text me last night?”
Jamie sighed, leaning back against the booth and spreading his arm across the back. The movement drew my attention tohis strong arms and I cursed under my breath as I looked away again.
“I don’t even know,” he admitted. “I’d just had a really shit day and you were who I thought of.”
“Really?” I asked, weirdly pleased by that thought. “Why was it a shit day?”
“Ah, just ambo stuff,” he said dismissively. I levelled him alookbefore he sighed and continued. “We lost a patient in the back of the ambulance yesterday. I was the attending paramedic. We did everything we could but we couldn’t save the guy. His wife was in the back of the ambulance with us and, well, it was not a fun day.”
“Geez, Jamie. That’s rough.”
“Yeah.”
The mood lowered and I wasn’t quite sure what to say. I hadn’t expected Jamie to tell me about his day. And definitely not with that harsh dose of reality thrown in. I’d only really viewed his job through the lens of the heroic saviour but of course real life never guaranteed a happy ending. People died and Jamie was on the frontlines of that. He was literally dealing in life or death, not just missed council deadlines or mistakes in blueprints. I knew Aunt Giulia thought Jamie was a hero but would she have still thought that if Dante hadn’t made it?
“So, you thought a hookup would be the answer to a bad day?” I teased, opting for humour. It worked. Jamie smiled and the whole mood shifted, his face lifting and brightening the room.
“Well, not just any old hookup,” he smirked. “A hookup withyou.”
“Mmm, yes, I can see why you thought that would be a good idea,” I grinned. Was I actually playing along with this? I hardly ever bothered flirting back unless it was the prelude to a hookup but we’d already done that. Twice. So what was this?
“Anyway, enough about me. Tell me how your day was?”
“Myday?” I mulled. Not sure anyone had ever asked me that before. “It was okay, I guess. I mean, it’s been tough without Dante at the office. And I did mess up a client’s plans and had to resubmit them to council which will delay their build by a couple of weeks and they weren’t too happy about that. Truth is, I don’t really know what I’m doing without Dante.”
“It sounds like you’re doing an amazing job keeping the firm afloat until Dante is back on his feet,” he said. I paused, not sure why his words of encouragement meant so much to me right then.
