Silver sighed as she set the card down grabbed the book. She flipped it open, smiling as the smell of real paper hit her nose. She couldn’t remember the last time she had actually owned a real book. She almost couldn’t believe that her mom had sent her this—her mom loved books, too. This must have been one of her most treasured possessions.
Silver set the book down and quickly wolfed down her waffles, then made her way to the living room. She sat on her old couch with the old book, and settled in to read. The story in the book was inspiring. Set in the wild west of Montana, it followed a spunky cowgirl who had followed her dreams of leaving the big city to work on a ranch. On that ranch, she had met and fallen in love with one of the ranch hands. Not content to sit around and hope that the man would notice her, the heroine had marched right up to him one day, declaring that they were perfect together and he was an idiot if he didn’t see it.
Silver had laughed and cheered through the whole novel, and, by the end, she was beginning to wonder if maybe she should just go up to Jack and tell him they should stop playing games. They both felt something for each other. Maybe it was time to figure out what that something was, exactly. As Silver set aside the novel late that afternoon, she had determined that she was just going to go for it. Life was too short to put off the things that were important to you. She could have died after being poisoned, and then she wouldn’t even be here to take a chance on talking to Jack.
Silver had once been a little girl who went after whatever she wanted without a second thought about whether others would think it was okay, or whether she might fail. She had been a dreamer and an action-taker. Silver sat up straight with a determined look on her face. She was going to be that action-taker again. Silver grabbed her phone, and started mentally composing a text to Jack. She was going to confront him about his feelings for her, and demand an answer. Ready or not, here she came.
Chapter Thirteen
The sun was just peeking over the horizon of Lake Michigan as Jack left the hospital. His shift had been pretty uneventful, which he was thankful for after the chaos of the last few days. There hadn’t been any situations that required emergency anesthesia. Everything had been scheduled and planned, and it had been nice to have a day that felt a little more routine. The most exciting thing that had happened all night was receiving a text from Silver. She had texted him around six-thirty p.m., not long after he had started his shift, wanting to know if he was interested in grabbing dinner. He hadn’t seen the text until several hours later, at which point it must have been obvious to her that he wasn’t available for dinner that night. He’d texted back to apologize for the delay, explaining that he was working overnight tonight but would be happy to grab dinner another night next week when he didn’t work. He hadn’t heard from her again after that, and he resisted the urge to worry that she was angry.
For one thing, Silver wasn’t the kind of girl to get mad when someone wasn’t available because they were working. And for another thing, she had probably gone to bed without seeing his text. Jack sighed as he paused on the sidewalk for a moment to look out over Lake Michigan. He had to make a decision, and he knew it. He couldn’t keep thinking about Silver all the time, wishing that she was his girlfriend but not saying anything. He had to get off the fence one way or another. And, right now, he was inclined to resign himself to being just friends with Silver. He couldn’t justify having a girlfriend when he only had scraps of time available. It just wasn’t fair. Especially to a woman as amazing as Silver. She deserved more.
Jack pulled out his phone to request a hovertaxi, but just before he unlocked the screen with his fingerprint, he heard a familiar voice calling out his name.
“Jack! Jack, wait up!”
Jack looked up, surprised, and was shocked to see Silver running down the sidewalk toward him. She was wearing a pair of simple black yoga pants and a fitted, short-sleeved gray t-shirt. Her hair was up in a perfect bun, like she always wore it when she danced. She looked like she was on her way to dance practice, although Jack had been under the impression that she had a few weeks off. He also didn’t know why she would be here, by the lake, if she was heading to practice. The dance studio was several miles from here, in the Loop, the heart of downtown.
“Silver, what a surprise,” Jack said as she drew closer and slowed from a run to a walk. “What are you doing over here? Especially this early. It’s six in the morning.”
“I brought you coffee,” Silver said, gesturing to the small backpack she was wearing. “I thought maybe you’d like some after a long night of work. And I thought we could watch the sun rise together. I didn’t realize I would actually be a little late for that. Looks like it’s already kind of up.”
Jack glanced at the horizon and chuckled. “Yeah. It peeks out early in the summer months. But we can still walk over to the lake and watch it rising higher. I love this time of morning, when everything feels fresh and new and the light is still soft.”
Silver grinned. “Awesome. Let’s go.”
The pair walked a block over to where a pedestrian tunnel went under Lakeshore Drive. On the other side of the tunnel, long, wide steps led down to a huge concrete walkway and bike path, which was already full of morning exercisers. Silver and Jack found a spot on the steps to sit, and Silver pulled a large thermos and two paper cups out of her backpack.
Jack was floored. He had a sneaking suspicion that Silver was trying to tell him something by bringing him coffee after work. This was more than just a friendly gesture, and he knew it. And, despite having decided just minutes earlier that he was better off alone, he found himself unable to resist Silver when she was sitting right in front of him, clearly interested in him too. She smiled as she handed him a cup of steaming hot coffee, then held her cup up to toast him.
“Cheers, to a brand new day,” she said, her perfect white teeth gleaming in the light of dawn. Jack felt his heart skip a beat.
“Aw, screw it,” he said aloud. “There’s no use trying to pretend this isn’t happening.”
Silver gave him a cautious look that said she thought she might know what he was talking about, but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions.
“Pretend what isn’t happening?” she asked.
“Me, falling hard for you,” Jack said, and then he leaned in to kiss her. The moment his lips touched hers, he knew he’d made the right choice. His heart leapt within his chest, and every hair on his body stood on end from the rush of electricity that flooded through him. He had closed his eyes, so he couldn’t see the expression on Silver’s face. But he could tell by the way she melted into him that she was pleased with this turn of events. Emboldened with this knowledge, he pushed the kiss further, gently slipping the tip of his tongue past her lips and into her mouth. He ran his tongue over her perfect teeth, over the roof of her mouth, and across her tongue as well. She moaned softly, and Jack felt himself growing stiff between his legs.
He forced himself to pull back and open his eyes. This wasn’t the time or place for quite that strong a show of affection.
“Silver,” he said, searching her beautiful, dark eyes with his own. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I’ve wanted to ask you out forever, but you were dating Joe. And then, even when you broke up, I didn’t think it was fair to ask you to put up with my crazy schedule. But, crazy schedule or not, I’m crazy about you. You haunt my dreams every night. I’m not kidding. I have trouble sleeping because I wake up alone and want nothing more than to have you next to me.”
Silver’s eyes widened slightly. “You dream about me?”
The sweet look of surprise on her face made it difficult for Jack to restrain himself from pulling her back into his arms for another kiss. “Every night, Silver. Look, I know that dating me won’t be easy in a lot of ways. My schedule is pretty crazy, and will be for a little while still. Even when I finish my residency, I’ll be on the bottom of the ladder when I start my full time job as an anesthesiologist. I can’t promise date nights every Friday, or even
to be home every night. And I do okay financially, but I’m no Astor family. What I lack in time and money, though, I promise I’ll make up for in heart. I know you better than any other man ever will, Silver. I’ve watched you grow up from a spunky little girl into the poised woman that you are today. I think you’ve always held my heart, but I’ve never loved you more than I do right now. Watching you dance your heart out, watching you laugh with friends, and listening to you sharing your thoughts on how to handle dangerous situations…I just can’t get enough of you. I take it all in and I want more. I want you to be my girl. I want to be your man. I want the chance to show you how special you are. You deserve someone who does that. I always thought you deserved better than Joe and his family. I’ve told myself not to get tangled up with you, because friendship and romance don’t mix. But I can’t hold back any longer. I have to tell you how I feel. I have to take a chance on you, and I’m hoping you’ll take a chance on me.”
Jack took a deep breath and forced himself to stop talking. He felt like he was rambling, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to keep talking until he felt like he’d said enough to make Silver see how deep his feelings for her ran. To his surprise, Silver’s eyes widened, and then she burst out laughing. Confused, Jack set down his coffee cup.
“Jeez, Silver. I know that wasn’t the most eloquent speech ever, but you don’t have to laugh in my face about it.”
Silver shook her head, tears starting to run down her face from laughing so hard.
“No, no,” she said. “I’m not laughing at your speech. I’m laughing at how absurd this whole situation is. I came down here to tell you that I had feelings for you, nervous that you were going to tell me that you didn’t have any interest in dating me. I rehearsed this whole perfect speech, and have been fretting all night that I was going to look like an idiot. But before I could even get a single word out of my mouth, you told me that you feel the same.”
Jack felt a flood of relief washing over him, but he was still confused. “I still don’t see why it’s so funny,” he said, cautiously reaching for his coffee cup again.
“Don’t you see, Jack? We make things so hard on ourselves. We have all these feelings deep inside of us, all these things we want to say. But we don’t because we’re scared. Then, when we finally take a step forward, we often find out that the decision we wrestled long and hard to make didn’t have to be so hard, after all.”
Jack smiled. “I guess you’re right. But putting your heart on the line is never easy.”
“No, it’s not. But it’s always worth it. Even if you get rejected, at least you can say you tried. And, often, things turn out better than you thought they would.”
“Is that a yes, then?” Jack asked cautiously. “You’re saying you’ll be my girlfriend?”
Silver grinned. “Yes. A hundred times yes.”
Jack let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I…I don’t even know what to say. I’m so happy. I had literally just given up on ever dating you, and then you showed up outside my job with coffee for me. It was like some sort of sign. Some sort of little nudge from destiny that I shouldn’t let the idea of you go.”
Jack leaned over and kissed Silver again. He could taste a mixture of coffee and toothpaste on her lips and he couldn’t keep a smile from turning up the corners of his mouth even as he kissed her. She had brushed her teeth before coming here to drink coffee with him. Had she been hoping he would kiss her?
He set aside his coffee cup again, without breaking their kiss. Then he lifted his right hand and gently, tenderly cupped the side of her face with his palm. He ran his thumb back and forth across her cheek, marveling at the softness of her skin. Was this really happening? He half-expected to wake up suddenly and realize that this was just another one of his many dreams about Silver. But, no. He knew this was no dream. He was really sitting here, watching the sun rise higher and higher over Lake Michigan while kissing the woman who had completely captured his heart.
For so long, he had believed that love would never happen for him. Yet, here he was, discovering what it felt like to care for someone and have them care back. The feeling was amazing—more than he could have ever hoped for. Jack pulled back again and looked into Silver’s eyes. He didn’t want to stop kissing her, but he desperately wanted to see her face. He wanted to take in her whole expression and know that she felt as strongly for him as he did for her. He wanted to drink in this moment and never forget it.
Silver looked at him with such love that Jack felt overwhelmed. How had he ever doubted the feelings that were growing between them? They would make it work. Life would always be busy, but Jack had always found a way to make time for the things that were truly important to him. And Silver was important. More important than anyone or anything else in his life.
Silver ducked her head shyly under his intense gaze, then peeked up at him from underneath her long eyelashes. “I half-expected you to tell me that I was out of my mind when I randomly showed up at the end of one of your long work shifts,” she said.
“You are out of your mind. And so am I,” Jack said. “But I’m so glad you showed up. It was just the nudge I needed to remember that love doesn’t have to make sense or be perfectly planned out. If you feel it deep within your bones—and I do—then that’s all that matters.”
Silver smiled. “So, where do we go from here?” she asked.
“I guess I should take you out on a proper date, huh?” Jack said. “I work the next couple nights, but I’m off next Monday night. Would you be free for a dinner out with me?”
“Definitely,” she said. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather spend Monday night with.”
“Good, then it’s a date,” Jack said. “A real, proper date. I’ll pick you up in my hovercar at seven?”
“Sounds good,” Silver said.
Jack felt his stomach do a couple of excited somersaults. He felt a little bit ridiculous. He was sitting here acting like a crazy teenager in love, but he was a grown-ass man. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he shrugged it off. He didn’t care if he looked ridiculous. He had just discovered that the most beautiful woman in the world was into him, and she was letting him kiss her. He deserved to feel a little bit excited. And he wasn’t going to pass up this chance to kiss her. Even though he was exhausted from a long night of work, Jack couldn’t think of anything he would rather do than put his lips on Silver’s lips.
In the next instant, that’s exactly what he did. Who really needed sleep when your heart was dancing away with your head? Jack had a feeling that waiting for Monday night was going to be one of the hardest things he had ever done.
Chapter Fourteen
Silver nervously tugged at the hem of her dress. The air tonight was sticky and hot, as it had been for the last several days. Silver was glad she had worn a light sundress, even though she had worried that it would be too chilly after dark. The sun had set over an hour ago, but Silver was still sweaty from the unusual early June heat wave sweeping across Chicago. She was walking along the lakefront path with Jack, one hand intertwined with his and one hand gripping the fabric of her sundress.
She wasn’t sure why, exactly, she was so nervous. True, this was a first date. But it was a first date with someone she had known pretty much her entire life. And the evening had gone better than she could have hoped for so far. They had enjoyed a lovely, romantic dinner by candlelight at a small, popular bistro named Ruxbin. Silver had never heard of the place, but Jack said it was one of his favorites. He told her they changed the menu seasonally, and he always thought the new menu couldn’t possibly be better than the last. But, somehow, it always was. Silver wasn’t sure she believed him, because the meal they’d had tonight had quite possibly been the best of her life. Maybe her judgment had been clouded by the fact that she was high on new love right now, but the carnitas, duck, and oyster had all been to die for. For dessert, Silver had indulged in the most delicious chocolate cake she’d ever tasted, top
ped with white chocolate mousse. It literally melted in your mouth. The place was BYOB, and Jack had brought two bottles of exquisite Cabernet Sauvignon. The two of them had polished off both bottles, leaving Silver full, buzzed, and happy.
The whole meal had been perfectly relaxed. They had told stories, talked, and laughed until Silver’s mouth had hurt from smiling. By all accounts, it had been a perfect first date. Silver couldn’t help but notice how much better the evening had been than any of her dates with Joe. True, Joe had been fun to hang out with when his parents weren’t around. But Silver hadn’t even realized until tonight how much of a spark had been missing from that relationship. There was definitely a spark between her and Jack. In fact, there was more than just one spark. It was like fireworks were going off in the room all night. Silver was head over heels for Jack, and he obviously felt the same way about her.
As if the night hadn’t been wonderful enough already, Jack had asked her if she wanted to go for a stroll by the lake to walk off some of the food they had eaten. Silver had gladly agreed. She needed time to let her food settle, and, besides, what could be more romantic than a moonlit stroll along the water? They had been walking for a long time now, and Silver’s dark, wavy curls had frizzed out quite a bit from the humidity. Her makeup was melting off, and little beads of sweat were running down her back. On any other first date, Silver would have been mortified by how awful she surely looked. But this first date was different. It was Jack. It might technically be their first date, but he had already seen her looking her worst thousands of times. She didn’t feel the need to be anything but herself around him.
So why this nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach? Silver bit her lip and tried to sort out the way she was feeling. It probably had something to do with the fact that Jack had abruptly, almost angrily, changed the subject when Silver casually mentioned wanting to tell her parents about Mr. Astor and the eye scanners. The angry flash in his eyes had only lasted a moment, but Silver couldn’t get it out of her head. Even now, as Jack talked at great length about the different kinds of anesthesia he had to administer to patients for his job, Silver fretted about whether their different views on how much to tell their parents about the threats to shifters would end up being a constant argument between them. Silver had a feeling that the subject was going to come up more and more as time went on. The scanner threat wasn’t likely to go away anytime soon. The Fur Coats could lie low for the time being, but at some point they were going to have to take action.
Trouble in a Fur Coat (The Fur Coat Society Book 1) Page 11
