and something else that bridged the years and swept her back to a simpler time before she’d married the wrong man and Jake had become a serial monogamist. She breathed in deeper, wondering if they were still the same people or if the years and circumstances had changed them too much.
She bent to pick up a dog-eared issue of Sports Illustrated that was sprawled on the floor facedown. As she prepared to close it back to its regular shape, she nearly dropped it again when she spied the tiny, silky purple thong hidden underneath. Like a lavender spider. Only it didn’t get up and crawl away.
“Eww.” Anna grimaced. “I think Miss Texas forgot something.”
Jake gave a start as his gaze fell to where Anna pointed.
She reached over and grabbed the poker from the fireplace tool set on the hearth and used it to lift the thong off the ground.
“This is classy. How does a woman forget her underwear?”
He smiled that adorable lopsided smile that always suggested something a little bit naughty. There was no doubt why women fell for him. Heck, she’d fall for him if he weren’t her best friend.
“She carried a big purse,” Jake said. “It was like a portable closet. She probably didn’t leave here commando.” His gaze strayed back to the panties. “Then again, maybe she did.”
Anna raised the poker. The thong resembled a scanty purple flag, which she swiftly disposed of in the trash can.
“She might want that back,” Jake protested.
“Really? You think she’s going to call and ask if you found her underwear?”
They locked gazes.
“If she does—” Anna scowled at him and pointed to the garbage “—it’s right here.”
He was quiet as he pulled out the toaster and put in two slices of whole wheat bread.
Anna returned the poker to its stand.
“Jake, this is why we need to have a heart-to-heart talk about what you want in a woman. It’s no wonder you can’t seriously consider spending the rest of your life with a woman who leaves her panties on your living room floor. Even if she lived here, leaving her panties lying around in the living room wouldn’t be a good sign.”
“I leave my socks on the floor,” he said as he transferred the omelet from the frying pan onto the two plates Anna had set out.
“Yeah, and it wouldn’t take that much more effort to put them in the laundry hamper,” she said. “Do you want orange juice? I need orange juice with my eggs.”
“Sorry, I’m out. I have coffee and there’s more beer. I need to go to the grocery store. I really should go tonight because I’m not going to have time to go later with everything going on this weekend.”
She passed on the beer. Not her favorite thing to drink with eggs. Even if it was dinner. It was one of those combos that just didn’t sound appetizing. She opted for making herself a quick cup of coffee in his single-serving coffee brewer. As she pushed the button selecting the serving size, it dawned on her that even if they had been apart for a long time, she still felt at home with Jake. She could raid his K-Cups and brew herself a cup without asking. Even in the short amount of time that she’d spent here, she knew which cabinet contained the coffee, and that he stored his dinner plates in the lower cabinet to the right of the sink because they stacked better there.
“I need some groceries, too,” she said. “How about if we shop together after we do the dishes? We can talk as we shop and figure out where the happy medium is between the nice women you should be dating and the ones who leave their underwear all over town.”
Jake’s brows knit together as he set the dinner plates on the table.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Anna said as she slid into her seat at the table. “You know I’m right. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting and you’ll keep repeating the same pattern. You need to look a little deeper than a pretty face.”
He sat down, speared some of the omelet and took a bite, watching her as he chewed. She wished he’d say something. Not with food in his mouth, of course. But that was the thing about Jake—he may be a manly guy’s guy who didn’t know how to pick up after himself, but he still had manners. He didn’t talk with his mouth full, he said please and thank-you; Jake Lennox was a gentleman.
He knew how to treat a lady. He just didn’t know how to choose the right lady.
“So what are the deal breakers, Jake?”
“Deal breakers?”
“You know, the qualities in a woman that you can’t live with.”
“Why don’t we focus on the good? The attributes that I’m attracted to?”
“Because attraction is what gets you in trouble. Attraction is what caused Miss Texas to leave her thong on your living room floor.”
Ugh. She sounded like such a harpy. She knew that even before she saw the look on his face and consciously softened her tone.
“I don’t mean to be a nag. Really, I don’t. It’s just that sometimes it helps if you work backward.”
She wasn’t going to pressure him. That was the fastest way to suck all the fun out of the bet. This was supposed to be fun, not an exercise in browbeating.
She was prepared to change the subject when he said, “Anyone I date has to be comfortable with the fact that I don’t want to get married and I don’t want kids. I don’t want anyone who thinks they can change my mind. That’s a deal breaker. It’s what started things going south with Dorenda. She was Miss Independent for the first couple of months. Then she started in with the five-year plan, which eventually turned into an ultimatum.”
Anna realized it was the first time she’d ever been on Dorenda’s side. Who could blame her for wanting more? Especially when it involved more Jake. But she wasn’t going to argue with him. This anti-marriage/anti-family stance was new. Or at least something that had developed during the time that they were apart. Probably the reason he’d been involved in his string of relationships. Jake had grown up in a single-parent household. His mom had left the family when Jake was in first grade.
One night before they left for college, when she and Jake were having one of their famous heart-to-hearts, he’d opened up about how hard it had been on him and his brothers when their mom left the family.
Yet he’d never mentioned that he didn’t want to get married.
Actually, though, when she thought about it, it was a good thing he was being so up front about everything. That’s just how Jake was. He knew himself, and he was true to himself. Maybe if Hal had been more honest with both of them, they might have avoided a world of hurt.
So yeah, considering that, Jake’s candid admission was a good thing.
Now, her mind and its deductive reasoning just had to convince her heart that was true, because she hated the thought of Jake ending up alone years down the road.
*
