Page 85 of Unsealing Her Fate

It flew out before I could even process what my brain told my mouth to say. I immediately regret offering because I once again remember I can’t cook. What is it about this man that makes me continue to offer to do things that are clearly out of my wheelhouse?

Oh… right.You’re insanely attracted to him, that’s why!

Jack is a little taken aback by the offer but quickly recovers. “I’d enjoy that. I can cook some nights, too.”

I seriously need to stop talking to this man. My head knows I need to stay away, but apparently, my mouth hasn’t gotten the memo.

I want to know more about Jack, but I’m worried he may ask personal questions if I do. I can’t be truthful with my answers, and I don’t want to lie to him. I wonder if Irene is right. If he really would understand or even be willing to help me; he is a detective after all.

“You okay?” His voice interrupts my thoughts.

I do my best to blink them away, giving him a tight smile. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

I stand and work on clearing the table, and he quickly rises to help.

“You were a million miles away there for a minute,” he says with a smirk.

I smile and go about putting the leftovers away. “Happens sometimes,” is the only thing I can manage.

Giving me a nod, he then moves to the sink to wash the dishes. Once the leftover food is put away, I go to dry the dishes and put them away. This feels so natural, so genuine, so…right.

“There you go again,” he says, laughing this time.

I laugh, too. He’s right. My thoughts of him carry me away from the scariness I face every day. I want so badly to trust him, to trust him the way I do Irene.

With the last dish dried and put away, we turn to face each other. Electricity buzzes between us, and my breath catches. Ican’tbe the only one feeling this. He has to feel it, too.

“Thanks for dinner. Let’s do this again. I’ll cook one of my two specials for you,” he says with a genuine smile.

“You’re welcome. I really appreciate you letting me stay here. And dinner with you again sounds great!” That last part comes out a littletooenthusiastically for my liking, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

He gives me a bright smile before heading for the door. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” I say as he walks out the door. My voice came out so quietly I’m unsure if he heard me. The warmth in my body leaves with him, but the smile on my face stays.

After taking another look around the kitchen to make sure all is in order, I head to the bathroom, turn the shower on as hot as I can stand it, slip out of my clothes, and hop in.

Water washes over me, cleansing away the day and relaxing my muscles as I think about our dinner and what a goof I am. I spent the entire dinner across from that gorgeous manwith flour on my shirt. Realizing it was a facepalm moment if there ever was one.

Still… He called me beautiful. My cheeks heat again at that thought.

Once finished, I dry off quickly, already missing the feeling of the hot water. I head to my closet and grab my warmest pajamas before throwing them on. When I peek out the front window, I notice Jack’s lights are still on. I wonder what he’s doing over there.

I sigh. I need to do a better job of dismissing the constant stream of thoughts I have of him. I’ve noticed it’s been worse lately, but I don’t want to stop. I like the way I feel with him. I feel safe, and the attraction between us does things to my body I’ve never felt before. Just thinking about it makes me press my thighs together.

Biting my lip, I consider sending him my new number. Part of me thinks it’s weird to do right now, but I decide to anyway. I open my flip phone and take the time to set it up and add the time card. As promised, the directions were fairly easy to follow, and it only takes a few minutes.

After finding Jack’s business card, I quickly put his number in and save it under‘Detective Jack Lawson.’I forgot how hard it is to text on a flip phone, which makes me laugh as I fumble through composing a text. It takes what feels like an eternity, but I finally press send.

“Hey, Jack. It’s Andi. I got a phone today and want you to have my number.”

A moment later, the flip phone dings, and I look to see I have a message from Jack!

“Saved,” is his only response.

I don’t know why everything he says or does makes me blush, but here I am again. Blushing. Hell, I think he could read me the back of a cereal box, and I would be excited to listen. My eyes roll at that ridiculous thought.

Geez, Andrea. Get it together!

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