“Your dinner is served,” came the soft, polite cough of the waiter. He stood to the side, closest to her.
The wafting deliciousness reminded her stomach she hadn’t eaten since earlier that morning. Thankfully, this saved her from having to say anything else. J.C. was hot, but so was her beef stew. She was, if anything, a lady with priorities. She thanked the server this time with a more welcoming smile than she’d given him before and waited as he placed J.C.’s meal before him.
“Could we get a bowl of those yeast rolls, too?” she asked just as the waiter was about to walk away. He flashed her a brief smile and indicated he’d be right back.
She bowed her head, and said a silent prayer. Lifting her head, she noted that she was actually gazing at the top of J.C.’s. The thought of her dinner companion as a spiritual person warmed her on a different level.
She waited until he lifted his head before reaching for the salt and pepper shakers and digging in. After the first delicious bite, she closed her eyes and swayed as to some sensuous tune that played in her head. In that moment, as the velvety rich tomato and beef broth slid over her tongue down her throat, she didn’t care who was watching.
When the warmth hit her stomach and spread like a fine whiskey, she opened her eyes and stared directly into the most amazing blue eyes she’d ever seen. The attraction, appreciation, and humor she saw there did the kind of things to her heart that the beef stew did to her tummy.
“Should I change my order? You’re doing things for that beef stew that mama’s love never could.”
Blushing slightly, Jaycee dipped her spoon back into her bowl and fished out a piece of choice beef and a bit of potato before bringing the utensil up and offering it to her companion. She watched him as he arched a brow in question. Finally, he reached one very large, very manly hand up to steady her own, as if he thought she might jerk the tidbit away at the last moment. His fingers caressed her wrists before settling over her fingers and guiding the spoon to his mouth.
Jaycee had to focus all her energy on keeping her hand steady and her pulse from racing beneath his steady gaze. His kissable lips claimed her spoon, seductively tasting a small taste of her stew. With his eyes locked onto hers, as if he had another tasting in mind. He made her shudder, and with his hand on her wrist, her mouth went dry. Gulping back the knot of “wow” that was trying hard to burst off her tongue, Jaycee gently pulled back, only to find that her male counterpart had locked the spoon in his mouth.
On a slight sigh, she released the utensil and brought her hand down, his still atop hers. When she attempted to retrieve her hand, J.C. held tight. He waggled his brows at her comically before letting her hand go. He licked the spoon lasciviously before attempting to stick it back in her bowl for more.
Jaycee quickly covered her bowl with both her hands. “No way, Jack. This is mine and unless you’re giving up that steak, one spoonful is all you get.”
Nonplussed, J.C. simply picked up her bowl and swapped it with his plate.
Jaycee sat slack-jawed, watching him spoon her coveted stew into his mouth, moaning and eye-rolling.
“Do you two need a moment alone? I was unaware that you were so familiar with my stew. I feel as if I should escort your steak home and console it and myself for your, philandering ways.”
“You know what would make this better?” J.C. asked as if he hadn’t heard her sarcasm.
“I’m sure you’ll tell me anyway,” Jaycee said dryly as she carefully began cutting the steak into bite-sized pieces.
She refused to look up and meet his hypnotic gaze as she lifted the first forkful of perfectly seared steak to her lips.
“That’s not fair. You can’t make my steak look better than your stew,” J.C. taunted her. Patting his lips with the cloth napkin and grinning outright.
“Too bad. You’re not getting it back. Eat your stew and leave my steak alone.”
“I wasn’t asking for your steak,” he said, chuckling. “I got what I want over here.”
“Do you?” she quipped. “You seem a bit wishy-washy to me.”
“I am not, wishy-washy. I wanted stew, but I wanted steak as well. When you ordered the stew, I got the steak that way I could barter with you.” J.C. shrugged and dove back into his stew.
Jaycee couldn’t help, but laugh. “You never told me what would make that stew better.”
J.C paused long enough to lift his spoon and scoop a bite-sized chunk of steak off her plate and drop it into his bowl. The mischievous, half-smile he gifted her with caused her to catch her breath.
“Listen, Jack...you do that again and...”
“Jethro.”
“What?”
“You keep calling me Jack. That’s not my name. I’m Jethro Cornelius Frost. J.C.”
Jaycee tried not to laugh, she really did. She put her knife and fork down and tucked her chin into her chest causing her hair to fall forward.
“Wow.”
Jaycee glanced up. “What?”
“Your hair is just, wow,” he said, softly. “I’ve never seen a woman’s hair, with those curls shine that way. When you laughed just now, the lights caught it and well, yeah.”
Jaycee mouth dropped a bit. He liked her hair? Wet from melted snowflakes, and probably getting frizzier by the minute, but J.C. liked it. As corny and lame as what said had been, it still made her blush.
“Thank you, Jethro.”
“Wow, a man gives you a compliment and you go laughing at his given name.”
“The same man who, stole my reservation and my stew.” She pointed out.
“I still like your hair,” he said before returning his attention to his meal.
Jaycee gladly accepted the silence. It gave her time to get herself under control. What the hell was she doing? She’d just learned that her ex-husband was suing her parents over some made up nonsense. Luckily, he hadn’t stumbled onto the real loophole in her former in-laws’ will. Now here she was sharing a meal with a man she hadn’t known five seconds before sitting down.
And she was enjoying herself.
So why did it surprise her when she asked, “Do you want to get dessert?”
With a wolfish grin, J.C. answered. “Absolutely.”
Chapter Four
The nearly empty streets stretched north and south in picturesque frost. All sounds had been muffled by the falling snow. The buildings looked like someone had taken a giant butter knife and spread frosting over the entire city. J.C didn’t think he’d been inside the restaurant for long, but now standing outside in the below-freezing temperature, the heavy fall of snow, and the complete desertion of pedestrians, revealed the lateness of the hour.
But the sexy heater beside him, made it worth braving the cold. Holding a white take-out bag laden with slices of O’Malley’s Red Velvet cake, Jaycee stood tall—all five feet three inches of her against the icy wind gusts. Strike that, four feet nine inches. The boots she wore had a very tall heel and appeared to have some sort of raised platform. His sister would be proud of him for being able to somewhat recognize the style. Either way she was carried an air about her. Her attitude made her taller than his own six feet plus.
“Should I offer you a ride, or call you a cab?
He glanced again at the streets. “My car’s this way.”
“I didn’t even answer.” she snapped, trying hard not to show how damn cold she was.
“You didn’t have to. I can hear your teeth chattering from way up here. C’mon shawty.” He made his voice drop into some twangy dialect that his best friend often used. He could tell she was not amused. She was probably just too cold to expend energy cursing him out about it.
Pulling off his overcoat, he wrapped her in its warmth and tried not to chuckle at the way it engulfed her. She’d never be able to keep up with his long stride in those boots, and the weather didn’t make him want to stand on the street with just his suit jacket. At least that was the story, he concocted in his head when he bent and scooped her into his arms and headed briskly to th
e parking garage. His heart skipped a beat when she didn’t complain, but sighed softly. He nearly stumbled when she tucked her nose into his chest and buried her face away from the fat flakes that were starting to fall more rapidly.
Damn. If he’d been thinking, he could’ve got valet to retrieve his car and warm it up before they left O’Malley’s. But then again, he wouldn’t have the pleasure of holding her like this. She fit well in his arms, and he smiled, despite his freezing cheeks.
When he stood her up on her boots beside the car, he missed her warmth. With surprise, he realized he wanted her back in his arms. She didn’t speak, but he unlocked her door, tucked her inside the soft leather seats of his car. Thankfully, the seats had heaters. He jogged around the vehicle, got in, started the car and turned on the heaters. Taking her gloved hands into his, he rubbed them. She still wore his coat, and it swallowed her completely.
“Sorry about this,” he said.
“Oh, you taking credit for the weather now?” she asked, smiling at him, her breath coming out in a rush of smoke, the cold turning her words to wisps.
He chuckled slightly to cover his own tremors. “No, I’m no fool. I don’t need the Man Upstairs on my bad side. I meant I am sorry I didn’t pay for valet or at least spend the extra 200 dollars to get the remote starter in this heap of metal.”
Pulling back as the heat settled around them and thawed their chilled skin, J.C. reached across her small frame and fastened the seat belt.
“It’s late, so I won’t suggest you come to my place. If you’ll tell me how to get there, I’ll take you home. But I won’t pretend like I don’t want to be invited in. Even if all you have is diet beer and soap operas on DVR.”
Jaycee looked at him and smiled. “Now why would a man such as yourself, suave, successful, and charming want to spend time with someone he just met?”
J.C. loved her smile. It lit her face and beckoned to him.
“Why wouldn’t I? Your name alone says that you’re one outstanding individual.”
He grinned cheekily. How could he tell her he was...drawn to her? Something about her compelled him to climb inside her warmth and hide there. That a perfect stranger such as she had stumbled on to him in the rare moments when he was questioning everything about himself. When he was most vulnerable. He needed the comfort she offered him in her smile. He needed to be connected to someone.
Someone like her. Someone with sass and spunk. Life with her wouldn’t be boring. Maybe because it was Christmas Eve. Maybe it was the snow, or how great she felt in his arms. He liked Jaycee. Liked her a lot and as he drove slowly, careful of the snow-packed streets, J.C. entertained visions of her in his life.
Drinking coffee in his kitchen, in his living room, lying on the sofa, and most definitely in his bed. He found he liked those images. And on Christmas Day, dressed in his shirt, decorating the tree, or even chasing around a few rugrats. Maybe sitting holding his hands during Christmas services or laughing at his mother and step-father singing under the mistletoe.
Maybe he just needed to change careers. Being a divorce attorney was starting to wear on him. He’d joined his profession to protect women like his mother from scathing assholes who pirated the young lives of loving women. But more and more he was feeling—like it was eating away at him. He lived and breathed high profile cases. And when he did have time for female company, well he didn’t have time for a meaningful relationship.
He found himself missing that. Missing...whatever he was missing. He had to put it aside. He felt his car drift a bit on the slick asphalt. Refocusing his attention, he guided the car steadily through the city to the trendy Hyde Park.
“1360,” she said, pointing to the right driveway.
He followed her directions and pulled the car into the driveway outside the garage. The snow fell faster and heavier than he’d seen in years. Damn Chicago’s lake effect snow. Even with his wipers on high, they couldn’t keep up with accumulation.
“Where did all this snow come from? There was no report of a blizzard that I heard today.” He grumbled as he forced himself out of the warm vehicle and around to help Jaycee. Once she was out of the car, she stopped and looked up at the night sky.
“I grew up in the south. I could have told you earlier that we were in for it. Look up. See how the sky is kinda pinkish-purple…It’s going to snow for a while.” She pointed out to him before doing a little shuffle walk toward the garage door.
When she reached the garage door, she tapped on the button several times, but the door wouldn’t rise. J.C. pressed himself closer to her, in part to steady her, but mostly to stay close to her warmth.
“If you’ll get your keys out, I’ll help you up the steps so you can just open the door from inside,” he offered, battling back the shuddering threatening to overtake him. He waited while Jaycee searched her bag for her keys, and then he tucked her in close to his side and guided her up the seven steps to her front door. He took the keys from her trembling, gloved fingers and opened the door. The warmth of heat enveloped them in seconds.
“Do you own a shovel?” he asked.
Jaycee stared at him confused.
“Because there is no way I am going back out there to move my car into the garage. I’ll just have to dig it out later.”
Jaycee laughed at his declaration.
“I’ll do you one better. I have a snow blower. Besides my car is in the garage so you’re stuck either way.”
J.C. closed the door behind them and followed his host further into her home. This was one of the largest townhomes he’d ever seen in Hyde Park. It appeared to be at least three bedrooms, which didn’t impress as much as the square footage.
“Listen, you can pretty much find your way around without a map. There is a guest room and a full bath at the end of that hall there. My brother was just here last month so there should be some sweats or pj’s you could borrow. I’m gonna go get warmed up, and then I’ll come down and make us some hot chocolate or something, yeah?”
J.C. listened as she threw info at him in rapid-fire succession. He couldn’t for the life of him decipher most of it. Jaycee had removed both his overcoat and her own. She draped them on the coat rack just inside the door. Bent over, at the waist, she continued firing instructions to him while removing her boots.
He’d like to say he did the gentlemanly thing and looked away. Actually, J.C. thought. No—no, he wouldn’t. He liked the idea of being able to say he ogled that ass like a dog in heat. It was high and round and with her bent at the waist as she was, he could easily imagine himself...
He blinked out of his musing as she snapped her fingers under his nose.
“Did you hear anything I said or were you too busy staring at my ass?”
J.C. grinned and watched as understanding dawned on Jaycee’s face.
“Perve,” she muttered as she made her way up the stairs in her stocking feet.
J.C kept his eyes glued to the sway of her hips. A certain hypnotic rhythm enchanted him, and he kept his gaze locked on the prize until she disappeared from sight. Once he heard the faint roar of Jaycee’s shower, J.C. focused on himself. With his clothes saturated from the cold and his aching hands, he headed down the hall she’d pointed out and found the second bathroom. If he managed to be quick about it, he’d be out before Jaycee realized it.
He entered the immaculate oval room. It reminded him of a plush room in a bed and breakfast. Nicely decorated and comfortable, the room conveyed that Jaycee wanted her guest to know they were not only welcomed for the night, but welcomed in her life. Not wanting to waste too much time, he peered in the bureau of drawers and found a pair of draw-string shorts and a t-shirt.
Hustling into the shower, he let the warm water wash away the day and the cold that had nearly seeped to his bones. Rushing from the shower, J.C. donned his borrowed clothes and made his way back down the hall in his bare feet. Once he reached the kitchen, he set about opening cabinets and drawers, familiarizing himself with Jaycee’s home.
/>
J.C. smirked.
Everything was stored at levels easily accessible to Jaycee. Several step stools were placed strategically around the room. She really was a small wisp of a thing, but her personality and aura permeated the room and filled the space. Training his ear, he heard her finishing her shower. He set about warming the milk and mixing in the rich cocoa he found hiding in her cabinets.
Keeping his ear tuned to listen for her coming down the stairs, J.C. set out plates with slices of the cake they’d gotten from O’Malley’s. Then he turned his attention to whisking the warm milk, vanilla and cocoa together. He was just pouring the mixture into mugs when he heard Jaycee’s phone ring. It was late so he assumed it must be family calling to check on her. He could hear the faint whirling of a blow dryer, so he knew she hadn’t heard the ringing.
The answering machine kicked in with its robotic voice and then—
“I know you’re home. You can’t avoid me forever, Jaycee. I’m going to get what’s mine. The will was a little tricky, but you know, you can fix it by just giving me what I want. It’s that simple. I get my parents’ money and I leave your parents alone. Or we’ll be having a family reunion in court. Chow.”
J.C. gawked at the scarlet mugs. All he kept hearing—over and over in his head was his father’s condescending verbal digs at his mother when she filed for divorce. He didn’t know who the hell the male voice belonged to, but he already knew the unknown voice was a bastard.
“Oh something smells good and chocolaty,” Jaycee said, rounding the corner and coming into the kitchen. She gave him a once-over. “You seem to have made yourself at home.”
“Thank you,” he said, more than aware of his still wet hair. “Tried to get warmed up so I made us both these.”
J.C. turned his attention to the stove top, clearing the pot and making sure the flame was off. Outside snow poured like white rain, falling fast and thick. He wouldn’t be leaving any time soon. The constant beeping of the answering machine reminded him of what he’d just heard.
He wondered if Jaycee had heard the vile message, how could she not if she’d been coming down the stairs. He wanted to ask, wanted to know who the asshole was, and where he lived so J.C. could beat the meaning of being a man into him, but he didn’t feel as if he had the right to ask.
A Trick of Frost Page 2
