But the man was already clearing off the small white plastic table in the corner, holding out the seat for Sophie as if she really were a princess. Jake shook the man’s hand and as he introduced himself, he knew what the guy was thinking as he studied him with narrowed eyes.
“You own those Irish pubs.”
He nodded, saying, “I do,” while making sure Mr. Chu heard what he was really saying: I know I’m not good enough for her, but since I can’t let her go, I’m going to do my damnedest to take care of her.
Mr. Chu studied him before nodding once and disappearing into the back.
“What was that all about?” Sophie asked.
Jake shrugged as he put a stack of magazines on the floor and sat on the other chair. “How do you know this place?”
Before she could answer, Mr. Chu was back with tea. “How is Stanley’s freshman year going?” she asked him.
“Good. Although he says none of the girls there are as pretty as his tutor.”
She laughed out loud at that. “Let him know I miss him, too.” She was still smiling as he moved back into the kitchen. “Stanley always was the world’s biggest flirt.”
Jake knew it was crazy to be jealous of an eighteen-year-old, but just because it was crazy didn’t mean he didn’t feel it. Especially when he thought about the fact that she must have spent plenty of time alone with the kid if she’d been tutoring him.
“You have a full-time job. When do you have time to tutor kids?”
She blew the steam off her cup of tea. “Free time is overrated. I’d much rather be doing something I enjoy with people.”
Now he knew why he’d liked his tutor, Mrs. Springs, so much. It wasn’t just because she’d been the only one he hadn’t been able to scare away. It was because she’d reminded him of Sophie. Gentle, but with a spine of steel beneath that soft exterior.
“Besides,” she said, “ it's really all about my secret mission.” She propped her elbows on the table and put her face in her hands. “I want everyone to love books as much as I do.”
She was so beautiful, so pure, his chest clenched tight as he looked at her across the small table, knowing how badly he was going to disappoint her.
He might not be illiterate anymore, but books would never be fun.
And he would never love them.
Mr. Chu brought over a plate of steaming pork buns, then left them alone again. Sophie broke off a piece and held it out to Jake. “Here, you should have the first taste.”
Thanking God that he’d never needed books to know how to give a woman pleasure, he wrapped his hand around her wrist to hold her hand steady as he put his lips around the food. He let his teeth graze her skin as he did so and was rewarded by the desire that lit her eyes.
“Good, isn’t it?” she asked in a slightly husky voice.
“Give me another taste, princess.”
She had to know what he was doing, that he was playing outside the rulebook by touching her when he’d promised not to. But a moment later, she was back with another piece of the pork bun. Again, he made her part of their snack.
“Yes,” he told her after he finally made himself let go of her hand, “it’s very good.” He slid the plate away from her and broke off a piece. “Your turn now.”
She flushed, but didn’t hesitate to open her mouth. At first he thought she was only going to take the food, but at the very last second her tongue came out to curl over his fingertip.
He barely bit back a groan. Why the hell had he made that stupid promise not to touch her?
* * *
Sophie felt happier than she had in a very, very long time. Just being with Jake, slowly walking hand in hand through downtown San Francisco, was better than any of the fancy evenings out she’d had with the men she’d dated before him.
Not, she supposed, that they were technically dating. No, they’d skipped right past that part, hadn’t they? From one kiss to twins-on-the-way so quickly it made her head spin.
She was glad he’d insisted on this day together, on wanting to prove to her that they were compatible outside of the bedroom. She flushed as she realized they’d had sex in far more places than the bedroom.
Still, she couldn’t shake the sense that the tenuous connection she and Jake had been forging with one another had broken slightly when they’d been at the bakery in Chinatown. Something kept coming between them and she wished she knew what it was, wished that he would open up and tell her.
But she’d known Jake long enough to understand what would happen if she pushed too hard too fast. He’d shut down completely...and it would break her heart to lose him just when it looked like they might have a chance of making things work.
Her newly overactive bladder had her stopping in front of a Starbucks. “Nature’s calling. I’ll be right back,” she told him, leaving him standing out on the sidewalk while she went to go wait in the surprisingly long line inside.
Jake was holding a fairly large plastic bag when she came back out. The only store anywhere near the coffee shop was one that sold cheap little tourist trinkets. Just the kind she absolutely adored, as a matter of fact.
But what could Jake possibly have bought?
Before she could ask, he grabbed her hand and said, “If we run, we can probably catch that cable car before it heads back down the hill.”
Hand in hand, they dodged people and dogs and garbage cans. Laughter and pure, unfettered joy bubbled up inside her at a side of Jake she hadn’t known existed until now.