Watching her devour her pasta was a pleasure, Jacob realized, sipping his wine. She was done before he was.
“Oh, my God. I must seem so greedy,” she murmured, glancing at his half-eaten plate and then her own. “Do you make this, at your restaurant, I mean?”
“Not yet. It’s a new dish I’m experimenting with.”
“No wonder I haven’t seen it on the menu.” Jane pressed her lips together as if she realized she’d revealed more than she should.
“You’ve eaten at Arianna’s?” He couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice.
“Twice. A client once took me there. Second time, I went alone.” Jane fiddled with the last bit of parsley on her plate. In a small voice, she said, “I really love the calzones there.”
They told each other about their professions before, but they didn’t include the details. Jane looked horrified, as though worried about how he might react.
“Are you mad?” she finally asked him.
Jacob felt the exact opposite. He had become completely obsessed with her to the point it was a little unhealthy, so this accidental revelation gave him a measure of relief. So she was curious about him, too.
“Not at all. Next time, tell me beforehand. I’ll make you something special. Something not on the menu.”
“You’re not … freaked out?” she asked.
“Not at all,” he said, smiling.
“Who is Arianna? It’s just, I’ve always wanted to ask.”
“My mother. She died when I was young but my earliest memories of her are in the kitchen. She loved to cook.”
“That’s wonderful,” she murmured. “Not about her being gone but naming your restaurant after her.”
Jane seemed awkward again. Jacob wanted to keep talking, to continue this conversation, the first real one they had about their lives and each other, but she spoke again.
“I should um, wash the dishes. You already did all the cooking.”
Another time then, he decided. He touched her arm. “Leave them. I’ll take care of them tomorrow. It’s late. Let’s head back to bed.”
She must be tired, he realized.
They returned to his bedroom. Jane slipped into his bed and looked tiny, lost in the dark-blue silk sheets.
“Just need to check some emails,” he said, seeing the lighted screen on his phone. He went to the opposite side of the bed and looked at his phone. Jacob couldn’t really focus on his email with Jane there. For the longest time, he’d slept alone. He didn’t realize how lonely it had been. He set down his phone. She lay on her side, facing him.
“Same time next week, Master?” she asked in a sleepy voice. Her eyelids drooped.
“Yes.” He gave her ass cheeks an affectionate pat. She lifted her lips to a smile.
Jacob’s answer sounded hollow, but she didn’t seem to have noticed. She had fallen asleep, judging by her closed eyes and the gentle rise and fall of her chest. Tomorrow morning, he had a feeling she’d be gone before he woke up. She always started her day early. He remembered her mentioning that once.
He would be left with his empty apartment, dirty dishes in the sink and toys in the playroom he needed to clean. He wasn’t complaining but already, he felt restless. Uneasy.
One entire week.
Jacob didn’t think he could wait that long.
Chapter Six
All week long, thoughts of Jacob and the night they had preoccupied Jane’s mind. A week? She checked the calendar on her phone this morning and saw it was only Wednesday. This week seemed to drag on forever. On Monday evening, Jacob mailed Jane her assignment. The same one. She began to dread receiving the same package every week. He knew she left his place every week, conveniently forgetting that tragic piece of cloth. His old baby blanket still graced her coffee table, untouched.
Jane should focus on the road, but she kept replaying the events of last Friday night in her head. Half of her hoped that one night was an irregularity, that things would go back to normal this coming Friday and yet the other half longed for change. To see where this was going.