“Sweet isn’t how it was described to me.” She laughed between bites of the apple pie.
“How was it described to you?”
She shrugged. “Jade teases me a lot about it, but I thought if I had your favorite flavor in the parlor, you would keep on coming.”
“Well, you know, I wasn’t just going into the store to get the best ice cream flavor in the world. I was going to see if I could get you to say more than a handful of words to me.”
“Shut up, that’s so not true.” She giggled.
“Okay, no. I did go because of the mango tornado, but now when I visit, there will be something sweeter I’m after.”
“What would that be?” she asked, breathless, even though she had a good idea as to what he would answer.
“A kiss from you.” To demonstrate his point, he leaned over the table and kissed her softly. “Mmm. Much better than any dessert in the world.”
Nora waited for her face to heat with a flush, but it never came. She was slowly getting more used to Jack’s presence. Not that he was no longer intoxicating, but her brain was developing a tolerance to him, giving her more mental capacity to engage with him.
“I’ll say,” she shot back, surprising even herself.
“Want to read the rest of the book in the living room?”
She nodded. “Do you think we can make a fire even if it’s summer?”
He chuckled. “You’ve got a vision in your head, huh? Us reading by the fireplace?”
“Am I that obvious?”
“Nope. It’s that good of an idea.”
“If you say so.” She chuckled.
Jack got up and pulled her to her feet before guiding them to the living room. While she settled on the couch, Jack busied himself with the fire, building a small flame. It wasn’t a very big fire, but it cast a nice glow in the cabin and warmed her toes.
She patted the seat beside her, and Jack joined her with the book in hand. “Is this the day you tell me how you know RJ Phillips?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Before I tell you that, we are going to finish reading this book.”
“Why? Because you’re secretly the author, and you want to protect your secret?” Nora threw her head back with an exuberant laugh that surprised both her and Jack. The idea of him writing a book wasn’t insane, but that he would be keeping it secret from her would be.
After all, he knew she was a genuine fan of the genre and the author.
By the looks of it, Jack loved murder mysteries just as much as she did. It wasn’t a lie he said to seduce her, judging by all the filled shelves recessed into the wall framing the fireplace. There weren’t that many bookshelves, but the ones that were there overflowed with books.
Nora longed to see what else was in the library space, but all those thoughts vanished from her mind when Jack’s hand landed on her thigh as he read the novel. When he looked into her eyes at the chapter break, she realized he had read a very intense scene that revealed a big plot point, but she was too busy basking in the awesomeness of their date to pay attention.
“I’m sorry, Jack, I’m into it, I am. I just happen to be into you a little more.”
“I like it when you talk like that. When you get all assertive and tell me you’re into me.”
“Well, it’s very difficult to do, so don’t get too used to it.”
Jack laughed. “I’m sure I can think of a few things I can do to make sure you keep on telling me just what you like.”
“Oh?” the question huffed out of her with desire. It was a sexual promise he was making, the untouched parts of her knew, and they couldn’t wait to discover passion with Jack.
TEN
NORA