Page 60 of Drive
Steam rose from each carton, and Rainey actually licked her lips, her nerves, it seemed, forgotten for a moment. Jacques kept his mouth tamped down, but the sight pleasedhim.
“All of it,” Rainey admitted with a shrug. Jacques allowed himself a smile as he heaped her plate with a generous portion ofeach.
“It’s good to see you,” he confessed, setting the dish in front of her and handing her a pair of chopsticks. What he wanted to tell her was that seeing her brought relief. Relief of the longing that he couldn’t seem to shake for three weeks. But he knew he’d sound mad if he told herthat.
She met his eyes. “It’s good to see you, too.” The softness in her voice made him wonder if she found that hard to admit, but she looked down before he could seek the answer in her face. “Thank you for this. Given everything that’s happened tonight, I don’t know what we would haved—”
“It’s my pleasure,” he cut in, serving himself. With a full plate, he moved around the counter and took the stool on her right. Rainey gave him another nervous little glance, and Jacques knew he would need to drive the conversation tonight until he could remind her how good they weretogether.
Reminding her would be easiest with a kiss, but they were a long way from thatnow.
But sitting beside her, smelling the sweetness of her skin, the memory of their courtyard kisses rose in him like the tide, drowning everythingelse.
“Mmm…” Rainey’s sigh of appreciation pulled him from his fugue of longing. “The shrimp isamazing.”
“Yeah, Magic Wok’s the best.” He took a bite of shrimp with peanuts and chili pepper sauce. “Burns so good,” he muttered, making herlaugh.
“You’re right about that.” She reached for her wine glass and took a sip. “So, you must really love Asianfood.”
Jacques nodded, helping himself to another mouthful. “Nothing better,” he muttered. “You? What’s yourfavorite?”
A bashful smile claimed her raspberry lips, and Rainey shook her head. “You’lllaugh.”
Jacques almost choked on a piece of sesame chicken. “I’ll laugh? At your favoritefood?”
“Yep.”
He fought his grin. “C’mon. Tellme.”
Rainey stalled with a bite of broccoli but rolled her eyes playfully. He set down his chopsticks and folded his arms on the counter, giving her a look of enduringpatience.
She giggled and gave in. “Breakfast.”
Teasing her was too much fun. “So, your favorite restaurant is IHOP,” hedeadpanned.
Surprise lit her eyes, and she dissolved in laughter, tilting her chin back and leaning into him like she couldn’t help it. She righted herself at once, still laughing, and Jacques immediately regretted not snaking an arm around her to keep herthere.
“No,” she insisted, wiping her eyes and catching her breath. “IHOP is only for road trips. Breakfastdesperation.”
“Okay,” he said, enjoying the sight of her more than he should. “Where is breakfastheaven?”
With the tips of her chopsticks, she counted off her fingers. “The French Press, Dwyers, and Hub City Diner.” She wrinkled her nose in contemplation. “I’ll take Another Broken Egg, too, even though it’s a chain — but only onweekdays.”
“Why just onweekdays?”
She looked at him like he was daft. “Because on weekends it’s like a forty-five-minute wait! I mean, we’re talking breakfast here. That means afastis waiting to be broken. That needs to happen in ahurry.”
Lit with mock outrage, Rainey’s eyes snapped as she spoke, making him chuckle. The urge to reach for her was overwhelming. Jacques cleared his throat and forced himself to concentrate, although all he wanted to do now was scoop her off the barstool, carry her over to the couch, and pull her on top ofhim.
“So you go to those places often? French Press, Dwyer’s, and Hub City?” He took a bite of fried rice and waited for heranswer.
He got a shrug. “Not really. I don’t go anywhere often, remember?” she said, half-chiding him and half… something else. As if she used the chiding as a mask, a defense. He wondered what ithid.
Jacques knew that the depth and timbre of his voice could sometimes sound like a command, so he purposefully gentled it before he spoke. “If you like those places, you should go moreoften.”
Rainey’s lashes lowered, and he knew at once that this was a different mask. She poked at her fried rice with thechopsticks.
“If I go out to eat, it’s usually with Holi and Ash, and Holi thinks restaurant breakfast isoverpriced.”
