“My grandparents, yes.” Jessica set her menu aside, which garnered an amused look from Sydney.
“I see you don’t need a list of options.” She closed her own menu. “Okay. Tell me what to order.”
“Tell me what you like.”
Sydney tilted her head to the side and again, they held eye contact in a way that made Jessica’s entire lower body tighten. “I like meat. I like most vegetables except Brussels sprouts. I don’t like fennel either. I don’t love seafood, but I’ll eat it if it’s good.”
“How are you with messy sandwiches?”
Sydney grinned. “I am exceptionally good with messy sandwiches.”
“Perfect.” As if on cue, Kim appeared to take their orders. “Two Reubens, please. Sweet potato fries. And an order of the pickle chips to start.”
Kim nodded, topped off their wine, and was off.
“Am I drooling on myself?” Sydney asked. “Because that sounds amazing.”
“You’ll thank me.”
There were a few moments of grinning and of listening to the music, which was a smooth, palatable sound Jessica loved. She watched Sydney as she watched the band. Her hair wasn’t as perfect as it had been this morning—every strand in place—but this casual, slightly tousled look suited her, made her seem more relaxed and approachable. She’d replaced the black pantsuit and raspberry tank top with worn, soft-looking jeans and a simple black V-neck T-shirt. While Jessica missed the sight of Sydney’s bare shoulders in the tank, she appreciated the rather low cut of the V-neck, showing a lovely collarbone and a wide expanse of skin dotted with a handful of freckles.
Sydney turned those blue-green eyes to her and smiled, and Jessica heard distinct yet gentle warning bells go off in her head, so she pulled her own gaze away and forced herself to look at the band.
“Hey, I wanted to tell you something,” Sydney said, reclaiming Jessica’s attention as she sipped her wine.
Jessica wet her lips and turned to face her.
“You’ve been doing an amazing job. I know I’ve thrown more at you than you’re used to, but it’s only because I saw your potential.”
The compliment went in Jessica’s ear, weaved through her body, wrapped around her heart, and settled there. “You did?”
“God, yes. You’re impressive on camera. You’re a terrific speaker. Not a lot of people can just ramble on about something without stuttering and stammering or using ‘uh’ fifty-seven times. Your speech is smooth, you know your subject matter inside and out and…” Sydney took another sip of her wine before dropping her voice slightly and saying, “And you look fantastic on the screen.”
Jessica felt the blush creep up her neck and warm her cheeks. “Thank you for that,” she said quietly. “It means a lot.”
Again with the eye contact, she thought as Sydney’s ocean-colored gaze held hers firmly.
This time, their shared stare was broken by Kim arriving with their pickle chips. She set the plate down and told them their sandwiches would be up soon.
Sydney looked at them. “I’ve never had these.”
“Then you, my friend, are in for a treat.” Jessica picked one up, dipped it in the tiny bowl of ranch, then took a bite, steam wafting up once the coating was broken.
Sydney followed suit. “Oh, my God. These are delicious!”
“See? Stick with me, kid. I know stuff.”
“You certainly know pickles. I’ll give you that.”
“So, tell me how you came to be a news reporter.”
Sydney chewed as she seemed to gather her thoughts. “I have always loved to interview people. Even as a little kid, I’d use a hairbrush for a microphone and just ask people questions.”
“That is the cutest image.” Jessica couldn’t help but grin. “I see a tiny Sydney, pointing a hairbrush at her mom, asking her about bath time and why there had to be such a thing.”
“Exactly!” Sydney laughed and the sound was beautiful, a thought that took Jessica by surprise. “I have watched the Barbara Walters Oscar night special ever since I can remember. I used to write down the questions she’d ask people.” She popped another pickle chip into her mouth. “My best friend calls me Walters.”
“No.”
“Swear to God.”
“That’s ridiculously adorable.”
“Yeah, well…” Sydney shrugged and Jessica was pretty sure she saw a little bit of pink coloring her cheeks. “What about you? How’d you end up in the shelter business? I mean, I know you inherited it from your grandmother, but why’d you stay?”
“Oh, that’s a good interview question,” Jessica said with a raised eyebrow and a grin. “Deep and personal, but not rudely so.”
“I pride myself on those.”
“The simple answer is that I wanted to carry on what my grandmother had started. The shelter meant a lot to her.”
“And the long answer?”
“The long answer is that it started to mean something to me, too. I fell in love, not only with the animals, but with being the one who could help them. The one who had the space and the time and the resources to, not so much fix the problem, but to put a Band-Aid on it until a permanent solution could be found.”
“So…you’ve got a bit of a hero complex, do you?”
Jessica laughed at that. “I suppose maybe I do. Is that a bad thing?”
“In this case? No, I don’t think it is at all.” Sydney winked at her and grabbed a chip.
They ate in companionable silence as they listened to the band play “The Look of Love.” Jessica silently marveled at how easy it was to be with Sydney, to be quiet with her. There was no need to fill the silence. They would smile at each other and turn back to the band, completely comfortable. Kim delivered their sandwiches just as they each took a final pickle chip. She topped off their glasses with the remainder of the bottle, then left them to their meals.
Jessica watched as Sydney took a bite of her sandwich, then proceeded to make all kinds of humming noises and roll her eyes back in her head. Jessica laughed as she asked, “Have you lost the ability to speak? Use your words, Sydney.”
Sydney finished chewing and swallowed. “Holy shit. This might be the best sandwich I’ve ever had. In my life. Is Henry a wizard? Does he use magic to cook?”
“I can tell you for certain that Henry is not a wizard.” She sipped her wine. “He’s also not the cook. That would be Javier. He might be a wizard.” She popped a sweet potato fry into her mouth with a grin.
“Well, I’d like to go find Javier and kiss him right on the mouth.”
They continued eating with a minimum of discussion. Once they had both finished their sandwiches and the band took a break, Jessica looked at Sydney. “I’m the kind of girl who has to have a little sugar after dinner, but I can’t eat a whole dessert on my own. Share?”
“I’m going to have to spend an extra half hour on the treadmill, but…why the hell not?”
“Excellent.”
“I see you have no dessert menu, so I’m going to assume you know what you want.”
“Chocolate raspberry cheesecake.”
“You’re killing me.”
Jessica smiled and within three minutes, a plate of the cheesecake was set in the middle of the table, two forks accompanying it.
Sydney blinked. “How’d you do that? You didn’t even order.”
“I have connections,” Jessica said with a shrug.
“Apparently.”
“And FYI, Javier makes this from scratch. This is not store-bought or even purchased from a bakery.” She spun the plate so the point of the slice of dessert faced Sydney. “Go ahead.”
Sydney dug her fork in and took a bite. More humming ensued, which made Jessica laugh. Again. Sydney seemed to have a knack for that.
“Good?”
Sydney nodded, hummed some more, nodded again. When she finally found speech, she had only one word. “Sinful.”
“Agreed.”
Working together, they polished off t
he dessert, the wine, and were close to emptying their water glasses. Sydney sat back in her chair and let out a huge breath, hand splayed across her stomach. “Holy crap, I don’t need to eat for a week.”
“Please,” Jessica said with a snort. “I bet you hardly eat at all. Look at you.”
“Hey, they’re not kidding when they say the camera adds ten pounds. It’s a thing, especially for the women in this business.”
“How does that not make you crazy?”
“Oh, it does. But there’s not a lot I can do about it, unfortunately.”
“Well, that sucks.”
Sydney laughed. “In a big way.”
Kim stopped by with the check, and they fought good-naturedly over it until they each had a grip on it, hovering over the center of the table.
“Please,” Sydney said, and Jessica watched her playful expression slip away, only to be replaced by a rather serious one. “I worked you like a dog today. No pun intended. And I’ll probably do it again tomorrow. The least I can do is buy you dinner.”
With a reluctant sigh, Jessica let go of the little leatherette portfolio. “Okay. This time. Next time, it’s on me.” Next time?
Sydney smiled and tucked her credit card into the little pocket. Kim collected it immediately.
With a glance at her watch, Jessica said, “Wow. I’m not used to being out of work so early. I can’t believe it’s not even nine.”
“Really?” Sydney glanced at her own watch. “Huh. I’m usually still at the station.”
“I’m usually still in my office.”
“Well,” Sydney said and sat back in her chair. “I don’t know about you, but I’m having a great time. I kind of don’t want the evening to end.” As soon as the words were out, she looked as if she hadn’t meant to say them. Wanting nothing more than to make her feel better, Jessica spoke quickly. And honestly.
“Me neither.” That got not only a smile, but an easing of the tightness around Sydney’s mouth.
“What should we do?”
“My place isn’t far from here.” What? Who said that? What am I doing?
“Neither is mine. Though yours is probably much less…sparse.”
“My place has wine.”
“Your place it is then.”
Sydney signed the check and they gathered up their things. Jessica waved to Henry as they passed the bar on their way to the door, could feel his weighted gaze. He’d have questions next time she saw him—of that, she was sure.
The night was beautiful. Warm for early spring, which you could tell by the number of people wandering the streets on a Wednesday. A few shops had stayed open late, restaurants and bars were bustling, the overall atmosphere was bright, friendly, and jovial. Light spilled from different establishments as Jessica and Sydney strolled slowly along the street, Sydney stopping to peek in a window every so often.
“I didn’t realize all this was here. That one night I saw you at Bucky’s was my first night out and I was just following the sound of jazz.”
“You should pay more attention to your surroundings,” Jessica teased, but meant it, as she was paying a lot of attention to her current ones. Specifically, the wildly attractive woman walking next to her, how differently they interacted when not working, the fact that she wore slight heels even with her jeans, the way she smelled like honey, how the trio of men they passed looked for an extra beat. Oh, yes, Jessica was very, very aware of her surroundings.
In less than ten minutes, they were on the front steps of Jessica’s building and she was sliding her key home.
“This is nice,” Sydney said, her head tilted up as she took in the outside of the large house. “Is it all yours?”
“It is. I have the top two floors and my tenant lives on the first floor.”
“Not sure I could be a landlord,” Sydney said, a touch of hesitation in her voice.
“Not sure I can either,” Jessica said with a smile as she led Sydney up a flight of stairs. “I inherited this house from my grandparents, along with the current tenant, who is a dream. If he ever leaves, I’m not sure what I’d do.”
Sydney chuckled as they stopped at the top. “My thing is, I don’t like to share my stuff. I’m an only child, so never really had to. I guess that stuck in a not-so-great way. If I owned a house, I don’t think I’d do well with a stranger in there, putting holes in my walls and spilling sticky stuff in my cupboards.”
Jessica turned to look at her. “Those are pretty specific,” she said, raising one eyebrow. “Do you have issues I don’t know about?”
Sydney scoffed. “Tons, I’m sure.”
Jessica pushed the door open and stepped inside. “Welcome.” The cats showed up from three different directions to greet their mom and inspect the visitor. Sydney immediately squatted and reached out to pet each of them.
“Hi, guys,” she said quietly. “It’s nice to meet you.” She looked up at Jessica and told her, “You have a few cats.”
Jessica nodded and pointed. “Fred. Shaggy. Scooby.”
“Awesome names.”
“Thanks. I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid and I much prefer the older ones. Scooby-Doo. Tom and Jerry. Et cetera.”
“I completely get that.” Sydney stood, Shaggy in her arms. “This guy likes me.”
Jessica smiled and refrained from mentioning that Shaggy liked everybody. “Wine?”
“Yes, please.”
They moved into the kitchen where Jessica pulled a bottle from a small countertop rack and held it up for Sydney’s approval. “Or I have beer.”
“That’s perfect.” Sydney gestured to the wine with her chin. The apartment had been modernized before Jessica moved in, so it was basically open concept. As Jessica pulled a corkscrew from a drawer, she watched Sydney wander her living room, taking in the art on the walls (mostly from Target), the framed photo of her grandparents on the mantel of the gas fireplace, the wicker basket filled with cat toys. “You don’t have a dog?”
Jessica poured the wine as she answered. “No. Not currently. I think about it, but my hours are so long and unpredictable.”
Sydney gave her a look. “You run an animal shelter. I don’t think the boss would mind if you brought your dog to work.”
Jessica laughed as she walked into the living room and handed Sydney her wine. Shaggy abandoned her arms as she grabbed the glass. “Catherine says the same thing. I could do that.”
“How come you haven’t?” Sydney looked at her with those eyes, intent and expectant and, more than that, genuinely interested.
“Are you wearing your news reporter hat now?” Jessica touched her glass to Sydney’s, then sipped, watching as Sydney grinned knowingly. Over the rim of her glass, Jessica said quietly, “I will definitely have a dog in the future. I just…haven’t met the right one yet.”
“That, I can understand,” Sydney said quietly as their gazes held.
This?
This right here?
Not at all where Jessica expected to be tonight.
Not having dinner with Sydney Taylor. Not genuinely enjoying the time and conversation with her. And certainly not in her own apartment, standing a few inches away from her, about to lean in and kiss those gorgeously full lips. None of this was what she’d expected when she woke up that morning. Not even close. And yet here she was, about to lean in, about to take a taste. About to—
“I should go,” Sydney whispered, and took a step back. Jessica opened her eyes before realizing they’d been closed, and if she’d been paying any less attention, she’d have fallen over forward—she was that far into her move.
“Oh,” she said, for lack of anything more in-depth, and stood up straight. “Um, okay.”
“I’m sorry,” Sydney said, and sounded like she meant it, but suddenly all that delicious eye contact was withheld. Her eyes darted as she looked around the room, her gaze landing on the well-lit kitchen, and she quickly moved in that direction. Jessica blinked once. Twice. Finally followed. “It’s been a long day
and it’ll be another one tomorrow. You know? I should get some sleep. You should, too.”
“Oh, sure. Absolutely.” It’s fine. Everything’s fine. That wasn’t embarrassing at all. The thoughts ran fast and furious through Jessica’s brain, but she kept a gentle smile plastered on her face because she’d be damned if she was going to let her disappointment—or worse, her embarrassment—show. No, she wasn’t going to give Sydney Taylor another ounce of power over her. She’d given her too much already.
In the kitchen, Sydney set her nearly full wine glass on the counter and grabbed her purse from the spot where she’d left it. “I had a great time tonight,” she said, her eyes still not quite meeting Jessica’s.
“Me, too.” Jessica opened the door for her.
“See you tomorrow. Bright and early.”
“You certainly will.” With a nod, Jessica watched her descend the stairs. With a half-hearted wave over her shoulder, Sydney pushed through the front door and was gone. Her head against the edge of the door, Jessica stood there for long moments, eyes on the empty front foyer one floor down as she tried to figure out two things.
First, what had just happened?
Second, how the hell was she supposed to handle tomorrow?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Thursday dawned gray and rainy. Foggy. A little chilly. Very much like Sydney’s mood.
She’d woken up with a pounding headache, probably from lack of sleep, since she’d done nothing more than lie there in her bed, eyes open, thoughts swirling. At 3 a.m., she’d hopped onto her computer, having given up completely on even dozing, and checked on some of the reels she’d sent out. There was a reply in her inbox from a channel in Austin that asked her a few questions. She’d typed up a response, but left it in her draft folder, figuring she’d better proof it when she wasn’t bleary-eyed and when her brain wasn’t taken up with something altogether not about work.
Last night had been so good. And then so bad. How she’d let it go from one to the other so quickly was beyond her. She replayed and analyzed and dissected and came up empty. All she could think was that she needed to be much more careful because she had been this close to making out with Jessica Barstow last night and that would have been bad on so many levels.
Dare to Stay (Puppy Love Romances Book 3) Page 14