Page 12 of An Unexpected Turn
Or Jake. Not that I ever really expected anything to happen between us, even if I had replayed him calling me beautiful a hundred times in my head.
When I peered down at the end of the table, I caught Jake’s gaze. His mouth flattened into a hard line as his eyes held mine. So much for ignoring him tonight.
Was it just my residual crush, or was something really brewing between us?
But in the end, what did it matter? Nothing could happen, and my uncle had given us an unintentional reminder of why.
I managed to get through dinner, not saying much, but Jake and Uncle Keith were too deep in conversation to notice. The twins ran upstairs after they devoured three slices each, leaving Mike at the table in between his father and my uncle. I held in a laugh at how Mike seemed to be hanging on Uncle Keith’s every word, and I headed to the kitchen to clean up.
“Could I help you?”
I almost dropped the dish I was holding when Jake startled me in the kitchen.
“No, thank you, I’m just rinsing and loading.” I held up the plate in my hand. “I’m glad you guys came. Mike seems a lot more at ease.”
“He is, thank God.” Jake shifted closer, picking up a couple of dishes from the pile and handing them to me. “That’s thanks to you.”
“Me? I’ve only seen him once so far.” I took the dishes from his hands, ignoring the jolt from where our fingertips brushed.
“You pointed him in the right direction of the robotics group, and he’s already got all those kids in a daily group chat. He grumbles like a normal teenager, but he’s not so miserable anymore.”
I shook my head. “He would have found out about it anyway, but I’m glad he’s making friends.” I shut the dishwasher door, not looking back at Jake, but the hairs on the back of my neck let me know he was still behind me. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. He’s going to be fine.”
“Well,” he started, cocking his head from side to side, “I think I’ll always worry. At least for a while.”
“Understandable.” I fell back against the edge of the counter. “But no reason to worry right now.”
“We’ll see.” His lips curled. “So I guess you’re not allowed at the police station again.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Let’s hope I’m never in trouble and Uncle Keith isn’t around. They’re all probably afraid to come near me.”
He barked out a laugh. That smile, that twinkle in his blue eyes, it was unfair for one man to be that good-looking. Or at least, unfair to me.
“My aunt and uncle have a skewed version of what I look like. It comes from a place of love, but they’re a little ridiculous.”
“I disagree,” he said, shaking his head as his eyes held mine again.
“What, that I can’t handle a few horny cops? I handle broody high school kids, which are more or less the same thing. I promise I can hold my own.”
“I’m sure you can.” His voice dipped to a husky rasp that made my pinkie toe jerk as if an electric current ran through me. “But you should look in a mirror sometime. You’re every bit the knockout your aunt said you were.”
Jake Russo had just said that I was a knockout, with enough heat in his eyes to halt my breath and my heartbeat. That couldn’t have been right. I blinked a couple times, sure I’d heard wrong. I would have asked him to repeat that, but my gaping mouth refused to form any words.
“Finally, someone to listen to what Keith has to say without having to pretend!” Aunt Maya came into the kitchen with the last of the plates I hadn’t noticed. “Mike can come over anytime.” Her smile faded as she looked between us. “Everything okay?”
“Oh yeah,” Jake said, clearing his throat before turning away from me. “Even though it’s not a school night, Mike and I are going to head out.” He kissed Aunt Maya’s cheek. “Thanks for everything.”
“Stop that, Jake. You’re always welcome here.”
“Good night, Peyton.” His regular voice, the one without sex dripping from it, was back. He straightened as if a surge of tension shot across his shoulders.
“Good night, Jake. Good night, Mike,” I called out to the living room.
Jake nodded before he padded out of the kitchen.
“Dessert was amazing. After these dishes, I’ll go back downstairs if that’s okay—”
“Everything all right?” She lifted a brow.
