“Sports. I was going to mention being a huge fan of a fictitious sports team to see whether you’d fake interest, or if you’d ’fess up and say that you’d never heard of such a team.”
“Kind of a risky plan, don’t you think?” She lowered her voice to a mock whisper. “What if one of them had found out you don’t like the Yankees?”
“You wouldn’t have told them,” he said confidently.
“I might have.”
“Nope.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How do you figure?”
“Because that little bit of information is something I told only you. And you want to keep it that way.”
Grace opened her mouth to dispute him. She couldn’t. “You know, I don’t know who planted the seed in your head that this whole cocky routine was charming, but they did you a disservice.”
“I planted that seed in my own head. But confess now, Gracie. If the boys had come to you with a fake sports team, would you have admitted you had no idea who they were? Or pretended you were a fellow fan?”
Grace pursed her lips as they made it to the second floor. “Probably confessed because I wouldn’t want to get caught in the lie later. But I don’t know. Maybe I would have faked that I knew what you were talking about. I hate feeling dumb, especially around you.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I used to think I was pretty comfortable with myself, but this whole thing has made me second-guess every action when I’m with you.”
“Even now?” she asked as they made it to the lobby floor and stopped.
“No.” His eyes searched hers. “Not now. This deeply romantic slow trot down the smelly office stairwell has been one of the best moments I’ve had in weeks.”
She scanned his face. He wasn’t lying. She was pretty sure of it.
“Me too,” she said quietly, reaching for the door handle so she wouldn’t have to look at him. She was too afraid about what might be written on her face.
His fingers gently touched the back of her hand and they both froze. She forced herself to meet his eyes, and she saw the same wretched torture on his face that had caused so many sleepless nights for her.
They were so in over their heads.
Unlike their previous two kisses, Jake moved slowly, one hand moving gently to her hip as the other slid behind her neck, tilting her face up to his. The kiss was sweet and teasing, the type of perfect kiss where the other person’s mouth feels meant for yo
urs, their taste the best thing you can imagine.
Grace let her arms wind around his neck as she tilted her head and took the kiss deeper. Jake groaned and walked her back a step until she was pinned between him and the wall. She didn’t know how the kiss went from painfully sweet to painfully hot, but before she knew what had happened, her hands were pinned above her head, their lips and tongues fighting for dominance in a battle far more private—and far more vital—than the one they waged for the rest of the world to see.
When Jake finally lifted his head, he looked every bit as bewildered as she felt.
Just what the hell was going on here?
But exactly as it had before, the mask fell back into place, disguising any vulnerabilities, and Grace pushed aside the ridiculous urge to beg him to take a chance on her. On them.
Jake grinned then, looking very much like the confident, carefree guy she remembered from that fateful first cab ride. “So … where are we going to lunch?”
Chapter Fifteen
“You know, I get that we’re trying to escape prying eyes, but fleeing Manhattan might have been a wee bit excessive,” Grace said.
“Probably. But you said you were hungry, and Brooklyn has some of the best food in the city.”
“No argument there,” Grace said as she took another bite of her steak salad. “How’d you find this place?”
“Dated a girl a few years ago who lived around the corner. She got kind of crazy, but the food stayed good.”
“Exactly how many girlfriends have you had? Or do I want to know?”