Leo(A Sign of Love Novel)(23)

I try to whirl around, but I'm caught up short because Jake grabs my hand and tugs. I have no choice but to whirl right back around to him and when I do, there is instant and extreme intensity in his eyes. He pulls me right up close to him and grinds out, mostly to himself, "It wasn't my intention to do this on a street corner, but this stubborn girl is gonna make me." Then he sighs and I'm staring at him with wide eyes because, frankly, what else can I do without making a huge scene. And did I mention that I'm tired?

He continues. "You think I don't know you, Evie? I'll tell you what I know about you. That week I was following you, I know that you took the goddamned BUS to an old man's house to drop off cookies."

I'm momentarily stunned and I shake my head in confusion. "Mr Cooper?" I furrow my brow. "He lived next to the house where I lived for four years. He was always nice to me. He's widowed. Lonely. He really likes my chocolate chip cookies."

"It's a two hour round trip bus ride, Evie." He says gently.

I take a deep breath. "Jake, I'm sure there's a point here but - "

"That guy across the hall was going to kill me before he let me even think about so much as making you uncomfortable."

"Maurice?" I say, and now my face is all scrunched up because I am just plain confused. "He's a really protective guy."

"Like the guy last night who practically melted me with the angry lasers coming out of his eyes after he thought I disrespected you in public?" Jake asks, again gently.

"Landon?" I say. "He's one of my best friends, he - "

"Evie, I think you're failing to grasp what I'm saying to you and so I'm going to spell it out for you here, baby."

Baby? Did he just call me baby?

"You say 'please' and 'thank you' to everyone, Evie. You almost bumped into a cocker spaniel being walked by his owner and when you ducked around him, you said, 'excuse me.' You said 'excuse me' to a dog, Evie. And I bet you didn't even think twice about that. And that's because your manners are so deeply ingrained in you, that that is second nature. And given what I know about your past, I'm gonna guess that no one f*cking taught you that. That that is just all Evie."

I'm speechless, staring at him stunned because I am just literally at a loss for words.

"What I know about you, is that people who are lucky enough to have your trust and your friendship, it is clear that they would have your back to within an inch of their life and that is because you give them you, and they know that when they have you, they have a f*ck of a lot.

"And, Evie, when you walk away from people, even strangers, you gotta know that their eyes follow you. And I'll tell you why because I've felt it myself. It's because they don't want to see the light that is Evie, the light that is you, walking away from them. They want to see it coming towards them and staying with them."

"Uh, - " I start.

"So maybe I don't know what your favorite meal is, maybe I don't even know your birthday. But what I do know is beautiful, and Evie, what I do know lets me know that I want to know more."

He stops now and we stare into each other's eyes in the middle of the sidewalk, at a public bus stop, and for all I know, we are both standing on the moon.

"Um, Jake," I say.

"What, Evie?"

"I missed my bus. I'm gonna need a ride."

He looks at me for a minute and then his gorgeous face breaks into a big grin.

Oh, wow.

We don't say another word as he leads me to his car. He opens the passenger door and deposits me inside his car.

Jake walks around and slides into his seat, all smooth grace.

We pull out and Jake looks over at me and says, "I want you to listen to me about last night."

I bite the inside of my cheek, realize I'm doing it, stop and glance nervously over at him as he continues.

"Gwen's father is the CFO of my father's company. And when I say 'my father's company,' I really mean to say 'my company,' because that's what it is now, but that's a transition my brain is still working on."

He's silent for a second and then, "Anyway, I've known Gwen and her father for a long time and over the years Gwen and I have spent some time together here and there, although I always made it clear to her that I wasn't interested in anything more than what we had, and what we had was very little. Gwen made it clear that she was interested in more, and Gwen was raised to believe that she is entitled to what she wants and that eventually, if she whines enough, she'll get it.

"When I moved here, I tried to be a friend to her because, despite the fact that Gwen is a superficial bitch, I treated her disrespectfully over the years and in part that was because a side benefit of screwing Gwen was screwing my father, who was embarrassed at my treatment of a colleague's daughter." He is silent for a second, frowning slightly and I wonder what he's thinking but I remain quiet.

"I had arranged the event last night with Gwen months ago and I couldn't get out of it. It's a cause that is important to me and I didn't think it was any real skin off my teeth to bring Gwen as I'd planned. Three seconds in and I realized that I was mistaken on that front and that was even before I saw you there."

I don't want to feel satisfaction at this but I do. God, I do. But then I frown.