*Jethro moved around the kitchen, making a pot of coffee. Sadie could’ve offered to help, but she was so out of her element in this obviously male-dominated room and he seemed happy doing it by himself. Besides, this way she could watch and observe the man himself. Once she had a cup of coffee in front of her, she said, “I didn’t thank you for looking after me this morning.”
“So that’s why you came out here, then?” He slid a piece of cake onto a delicate plate edged with blue bonnets and pushed it toward her. It was so unlike anything she would have expected to find in a bachelor house that she had to smile.
“Yes. I didn’t perform to the best of my ability this morning, and I’d like to apologize for being the one who failed in her duty.”
He handed her a fork and then dropped down into the chair opposite her. Jethro linked his fingers together under his chin, elbows on the table, and stared at her. “Duty? What the heck are you talking about?”
“Layla. I’m her assistant. She has expectations of me, and I let her down.” She picked at a curl of chocolate decorating the frosting, put it in her mouth, letting it melt on her tongue as she tried her best not to look at him and see the disbelief in his eyes.
“You really are hard on yourself, aren’t you?”
She thought about it for a second. There was no way she’d be able to tell him about the pressure she put on herself. Better to let everyone think it was her way of doing things than air her issues in public. “I don’t think so. It’s always been that way. My parents taught me to make the most of what talents I have, and I try my best to live up to that. My father’s a politician, and he’s drummed into me the responsibility of position, of doing everything properly or not at all. Being there for her was something I could’ve done better, and in my mind, I failed.” She cut a piece of the cake with her fork and popped it into her mouth. The cake was dense like a mud cake, and the frosting had a light, fluffy texture she wasn’t expecting that made her moan in pleasure.
“Sounds like it tastes pretty good.”
Sadie looked at the scar under his right eye she hadn’t noticed before, the way the skin around it wasn’t as tanned as the rest of his face. His eyes were flecked with specks of gold that made the dark brown seem more hazel. The dimple that sent a nervous flutter to her stomach again. “Chocolate is my weakness. At least the only one I’m happy to admit to.”
“Fair call. Anyway, back to your expectations. I doubt Layla will care. She was too busy to even notice what you were doing. If you don’t remind her, she’ll never know. And I ain’t saying a word.” He crossed his heart in silent promise.
So cute and unassuming. “I’m not dishonest. I can’t bear the thought of lying to my boss. She’s been good to me. Took me under her wing when I joined the firm years ago as an intern, taught me so much about litigation and family law. When I called to see how she was doing a few months ago, it seemed perfect timing that she needed me.”
“Perfect timing?” He slurped his coffee.
“Yes.” How much did she want to share with Jethro?
This was becoming easier than she thought it would be. He was the first person apart from Layla and Emily who’d taken the time to talk to her like a friend since she arrived. Certainly the first person to offer her coffee and cake outside of the office. That had to amount to something. After what they’d gone through together, she felt easy in his company and that was a plus. “I was in need of breathing space, shall we say. I was getting a little hedged in and wanted a change before I made certain decisions about my future. Decisions I wouldn’t be able to change once they were in place.”
“I guess you got it then.” He cut himself a slice of cake and started to work his way through it. Sadie watched, fascinated, as he methodically chewed bite after bite until there was nothing left but a crumb on his bottom lip. She was unable to look away. The movement of his lips, the animation in his eyes as he savored the cake, the deepening of the dimple as Jethro gave himself over to the pure pleasure of eating.
He looked up. “What’s wrong? I got some on my chin?”
Sadie’s cheeks burned, and she busied herself with the remains of her own cake. “No, no. It’s nothing.”
One eyebrow lifted slightly, and the gold lights in his eyes twinkled. “Thought you said you were honest.” He licked his lips and the crumb disappeared, but she found it hard to look away from his mouth.
“Oh, um.” Sadie blinked as heat built up low in her belly. She’d like nothing more than to be the one feeding him the cake, kissing the crumbs off his lips, and touching her fingertips to his dimple. Exploring every curve of his face. “It’s just not like me to be sitting in an almost stranger’s kitchen eating cake and drinking coffee. A bit out of my comfort zone.” At least that was her excuse. “I don’t usually spend my working hours with clients in this way.”
He laughed. “After what we shared this morning, strangers is the last thing I’d be calling us.”
“Please don’t remind me what happened. I’m still so embarrassed.” A smile hovered over her lips, and she couldn’t resist glancing at him again. His stare made her stomach flip. Like he’d suddenly realized she was more than his temporary lawyer. That she was a woman.
*
Sadie was nothing like anyone he’d ever met before. She was pretty, smart, and the ultimate professional. At least she was until this morning when things had gone crazily wrong and she’d gone to pieces.
When they’d first crossed paths a couple of weeks ago, he never thought for a minute that she’d be sitting in his kitchen eating cake. She looked like the type who wouldn’t mix business with pleasure. He swallowed a flash of disappointment at knowing he’d never get to spend any time with someone like her outside of a professional capacity. Someone who didn’t know him growing up and the trouble he’d gotten into.
He’d gone into the office to drop off a budget Layla had asked him to prepare for the upcoming months.
Emily had taken it from him. “She’s busy with a client right now, Jethro, but leave it with me. I’ll pass it on.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Much appreciated.”
The front door opened and a slim, petite woman wearing a navy blue skirt and jacket walked in. Her hair sat snug on the back of her head in a fancy roll, not a strand out of place. Jethro’s gaze followed every step as she made her way to where he stood.
“I’m here to see Layla Cox. My name is Sadie St. Martin.” She’d cast her cool blue gaze over Jethro, right down to his dusty boots and back up again. Before she turned away, he’d noticed her widening pupils, and a flicker of interest sparked a smile out of him.
“I’ll pass it on, Jethro. Be seeing you.” Before he knew it, he was outside, wondering who this gorgeous stranger was and what connection she had to Layla.
He hadn’t seen her again until today. And now that he had the lovely Ms. St. Martin in his kitchen, he didn’t want her to leave. He wanted the chance to get to know her under normal circumstances, where they might get the chance to connect over normal things. To discover more about each other. She might be out of his league, but that didn’t stop a man from trying when the chemistry was right.
Jethro wasn’t a player like his brother, Nate, but still, he’d had a few casual flings. Things were different with Sadie, and it wasn’t just the fact their lives were worlds apart. He wanted—no, needed—to dig into what made her tick, made her so appealing to him when she was champagne to his beer, high heels to his muddy boots.
Just how to go about it was the thing that had him stumped. He had no money, no prospect of having any to spare in the immediate future. He’d have to get creative.