He didn’t say anything for a long moment. I shifted my weight on my leg.
Then, “I’ll make it up to you.”
“How?” I asked warily.
“What are you doing this Saturday?”
I shook my head, already seeing where he was going with this. “Nope. I’m busy.”
“Too busy for a simple dinner?”
“Somehow, I doubt it would be simple.”
The heat in his gaze made me blush.
“I guess you’ll have to find out.”
“I don’t want to find out,” I answered, brushing my long hair back over my shoulder in a careless gesture. He eyed the movement. He looked like he was having fun with this.
“Not even as friends?”
I knew I guessed right when he said this. He had heard what Elodie said to me. “We’re not friends.”
“Ouch, baby. You sure know where to hit to make it hurt.”
“Be serious, Jensen.”
That wiped the playful look off his face. He straightened with Elodie in his arms. The little girl didn’t seem to be paying us any attention. She was having a time of it tugging on Jensen’s red tie.
He gently tugged her hands away when she pulled a little too roughly, though he kept his eyes on me.
Then he said in a serious tone, “Have dinner with me this Saturday, Emilia.”
I took a deep breath. I shouldn’t still be affected by him after all this time. He shouldn’t have such a powerful hold on me. “No,” I answered.
“Can I ask why?”
I didn’t say anything for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts and emotions. I always felt too much around him. I could never decide if it was a good thing or not, but now I knew.
He wasn’t good for me.
“Because you left,” I told him bluntly.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Then he closed it and a frown took over his expression. Before he could say any more, my phone rang, piercing the tense silence between us.
I turned away from him, breaking the spell, and looked down. It was a spam caller. I received these phone calls occasionally, but I never picked up. I rejected the call but held the phone up to my ear, pretending I was talking to a friend.
“Hello… Yes, hey, how are you… No, I’m good, I’m not doing anything now… Yeah, I’ll see you soon.”
I shoved the phone back in my pocket and turned back to Jensen, bracing myself. He was looking at me curiously.
“I’m sorry. I have to go.”
I grabbed my purse from behind the counter and gestured with my hand for him to start walking out the door, only letting out a sigh of relief when he turned from me without protest, Elodie in his arms.
He must have helped her put on her jacket when my back was turned, because she was all bundled up and was resting her head on his shoulder as they walked out.
I locked up behind me, and when I turned around, Jensen was there, still looking at me with that undecipherable look in his eyes. After a while, he smiled at me, a devilish smile that threw me off.