“But I promised you dinner and I’m not going to have you fainting on me.”
“But, but—” Again, her stomach made its opinion known.
His eyebrows rose. “You were saying?”
Jada lifted her chin. “Fine. You promised me food, so where’s the food?”
Yeah, there was no denying it. Her bougie tone got him hot as hell.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, they were settled on his massive sectional couch, close enough for Jada to touch Donovan whenever she wanted. Close enough to lay out on if the mood struck.
It was cute that he wanted to take care of her. She still couldn’t believe she was here with him and they weren’t fighting, unless coming dangerously close to tearing each other’s clothes off counted. An activity she planned to return to in the near future.
“Stop looking at me like that,” he growled.
“Like what?” she asked with her most innocent voice. “I’m simply enjoying this fantastic meal your chef made.” She gestured toward the plate on her lap that contained perfectly roasted chicken, fingerling potatoes that practically melted in her mouth, and the best asparagus she’d ever tasted.
When she’d expressed surprise that he wasn’t cooking since he loved baking, he’d reminded her he didn’t have much time to cook, with the bakery and his other full-time career of playing football, and his chef was more knowledgeable than he was about what he needed to keep his body in peak condition.
Jada perused his fine form one more time. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on him again. Oh, yeah. She definitely needed to give her compliments to the chef.
He side-eyed her. “I’ll bet. Wanna tell me what happened with John?”
Jada choked on a bite of that perfect asparagus. After taking a swallow of water, she glared at the man she’d been fantasizing about doing all kinds of wicked things to. Now those wicked things included murder. “Way to bring the mood down.”
His expression remained unfazed. “Need I remind you that you only realized you wanted to be with me after he showed up?”
“You said we were going to end up here anyway,” she immediately countered.
He ducked his head for a second. “We were, if you agreed, but I didn’t anticipate having to wait to see if he could win you back first.”
She was in so much trouble. He was entirely too cute. “That wasn’t going to happen.” While it was nice to know she hadn’t left John with any lingering damage, the rush of attraction hadn’t materialized. Neither had the overwhelming need to be in his presence. No, that feeling was only reserved for the man sitting a few inches away, currently scrutinizing her face.
“Did he take it well?”
“Yeah, for the most part. He was disappointed, but he took it like a gentleman. He said he had to give it one last shot, but he hoped we could remain friends.”
Donovan grunted. Then he shocked the hell out of her. “I watched the show.”
This time, a piece of chicken had the honor of getting stuck in her throat, sending her into a coughing fit. He reached over with a long arm and whacked her on the back. When she was done embarrassing herself and could breathe again, she glared at him. “You can’t say stuff like that.”
He had the audacity to smile. “Why not?”
Jada threw her hands up. “Because you’ve always acted like you barely knew what the show was!”
“Which is why I watched. Reality TV isn’t my thing, but I felt like there was a huge part of you I didn’t know or understand.”
Which was really sweet, and not simply mortifying. He’d watched the show? Her brain was having a hard time accepting the fact. She’d assumed he’d read an article and that’s why he knew who John was.
He held up a finger when she groaned. “I’d like to hear the story from you though. You done eating?” When she nodded, he deposited both of their plates on the coffee table and tugged her closer until her back rested against his hard chest. “Don’t worry. I got you.”
I got you. Such a simple phrase, but it did the trick. Had anyone, other than her grandmother and her best friend, ever really had her back? Certainly, no romantic partner for any length of time. Or her parents.
Jada filled her lungs, then exhaled. “I was contacted by the show through Instagram to ask if I was interested in being on it. I’d just bombed another audition in L.A. and said yes. I had nothing else going on.” She shrugged. “I’d seen an episode or two over the years. I did some research on the show and the contestants and discovered people had essentially turned being reality show contestants into full-time careers. I figured I could use the exposure to launch a lucrative career as a social influencer.”